Long ago, there was a small town surrounded on three sides
by forest. People of the town were happy and hardworking. They kept their
houses clean and groomed their children well. Every house had a garden and a
pet. Plants were trimmed and watered regularly and pets were fed on time. Wildflowers
wafted their sweet fragrance along the gentle breeze and bees made the environment
lively with their melodious humming.
Every evening, children
would go playing around the town and near the forest. However, they were not
allowed to enter into the forest. People believed that a dragon had been
sleeping in the forest since ages. “In the hour of need, the dragon will wake
up and save as all, by make up a lake!” this belief had passed on from elder
youngsters, generation after generation.
One summer, it was
extremely hot afternoons became lazy and nights became restless. Morning was
tiring after the sleepless night and evening were scorching even after sunset. Water
were the only relief. People took bath as often as
they felt like, and children jumped and played in the ponds and rivers. But, as
the season advanced , it became hot and
dryer. Wells became to dry out and rivers began to recede.
People
anxiously waited for the rains. But, to make matter worse,even the rains did
not turn up that season. The wells gave only muddy brown water and the ponds
became nothing but vast patches off swamp. The lush gardens became pale
yellow-brown and the flowers drooped helplessly. Even the trees seemed to hang
their branches like weary arms. The towns turned browner and drier with each
passing day.
The townsfolk
grew worried and gathered in the open fields, looking upwards, searching for
rain clouds in the blue, clear sky, but none ever came. Men and women began to
wail and cry, “We all will die! We all will die! And die very soon!” Suddenly,
an old man with a long beard said, “In the hour of need, the dragon will wakeup
and save us all, by making a lake!”
“Isn’t
this an hour of need?” murmured on old shopkeeper. “Will the tale of the dragon
ever come true?”
“Sure , it will! Indeed, it will !” cried the
children,clapping and dancing with joy and hope. That afternoon, when the
grannies were dozing inside their homes and the mothers busy drawing water from
the near-dry well, a group of children stole their way into the forest, the
forbidden area where the dragon was believedto be sleeping!
They had secretly planned to wake up the dragon..
As the
children strayed deeper and deeper into the forest , they chorused, “In the
hour of need, the dragon will wakeup and save us all, by making a lake. “Picking
and pucking the fading flowers , they rustled over to a vast clearing. And there
they saw the dragon, the sleping giant, as still as ever.
"My, my!`the dragon indeed sleeps here!“ they whispered to each other excitedly. Some of them
placed flowers around the dragon in a big circle, while some scattered petals
around his head. And then, they all began to dance and chant the rhyme that
they knew so well.. “In the hour of need, the dragon will wake up and save us
all, by making a lake!”
Time dragged by , but the dragon did not shake a bit. As he
snored, his big nostrils emitted heat, which made the children dizzy and fuzzy.
“Don’t give up friends!” they cheered each other, and their song continued, “in
the hour of need, the dragon will wake up and save us all, by making a lake!”
Suddenly, a dry wind lazily picked up some flowers and
swirled then around the dragon’s nostril. The air was thick with pollen and
perfume. Feeling the sensation, the dragon’s nostril twitched.
“I saw something,” cried a little boy. Instantly, all the
children started at the dragon’s face.
His ear swivelled like a balloon. The ground began to rumble.
“Look out! Run! Run! The children scampered in all directions, shrieking and
squealing, arms pumping with excitement. The rumbling grew and grew. The Dragon
raises his head. He got into his front feet and stood up, stretching his long
scaly back. Then he blinked and looked around with big, fiery eyes. His nostrils
twitched and quivered again.
By now, the children has run out of the forest, shouting, “
The dragon is awake! The dragon is awake!” People were alerted by the screams and
shrieks. Soon, they all stood together in a tight huddle at the edge of the
forest. People started up at the beast with mouths hanging open. Suddenly, the
dragon yawned, “Y...AAAA...WWNNN!”
People gripped each other tightly and shut their eyes. The terrible
yawn kicked up a storm of dust and dirt. When the storm settled, the people
slowly opened their eyes only to find the dragon digging up the ground with his
long, spiky tail. In no time, the dragon had dug up a deep hole. Suddenly, a
thin stream of water oozed out of the hole! And then a thick stream gushed out
of the hole! And then a thick stream gushed out of the hole!! As the people
watched with awe and surprise, the barren land between the town and the forest
was converted into huge lake!
The townsfolk danced and laughed with joy. To show their gratitude,
the townspeople built a statue of the dragon at the place where he used to lay.
The town never suffered from draught again. Even today, it i s said that the
lake looks fresh and blue as it was when it was created!
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