The story
By Juliana Carter
Emily's dad was sitting at his desk at
home when he felt a tug at his shirt. "Daddy, tell me a bedtime
story. Please, please, please."
Mr. Granger glanced at his watch and then at the stack of papers in
front of him. He had brought work home with him again. He had a
very important job working as the bookkeeper for a construction
company. His company built tall buildings downtown and amusement
parks. His job was to keep track of all of the money going in and
out of his company.
Sometimes Emily's dad took her to work with him to different job
sites and she watched the men with their hard hats and big yellow
boots. They were always happy to see her and would give her a
little wave.
"Good to see you today, Emily. I hope you're keeping your dad out
of trouble," they would joke.
Emily liked going to work with her dad. On the way home they would
stop and get an ice cream cone. Emily's favorite flavor was nutty
coconut.
Tonight Emily's mom was teaching a class about computers at the
local adult school. She usually told Emily her bedtime stories, and
when she did, she told them just the way Emily liked them. Earlier
that day she had told Emily to be good for her dad and that she
would be home in time to tuck her in for the night.
Mr. Granger thought for a bit.
"Let's see," he scratched his head. "How about a story about
dragons?"
"Too scary," Emily said.
"Hmmm. How about a very nice dragon who wore braces and felt
embarrassed because none of his dragon friends had braces on their
fangs?"
"That does sound silly, Daddy. Okay, tell me about the dragon with
braces on his fangs. But not too scary; okay?"
And this is how his story went:
Once upon a time, there was a young dragon named Henry. He had two
older sisters, who were usually very nice to him. His mom and dad
worked as security guards for the local castle.
When it was time for Henry to go to the dentist for his routine
fang de-scaling, the dentist told him he needed braces on his fangs
or else he would have a terrible overbite. After Henry got his
braces, they felt funny in his mouth. When he ran his tongue over
his fangs, it felt bumpy and not quite right at all. The
orthodontist told Henry there would be no gum chewing while he wore
his braces, and this made Henry very depressed.
Henry was afraid to go to school the
next day because he thought his classmates would tease him. His
parents told him not to worry; that lots of young dragons are
wearing braces on their fangs these days. His sisters, being
generally very nice, reassured him. "You don't look bad at all,
Henry. In fact, we think you look cute."
"Ugh," thought Henry. He was not convinced.
The next day, the other young dragons didn't tease Henry at all. In
fact, they thought his braces were cool. He had gotten red and
yellow rubber bands around them, so when he opened his mouth, it
looked like he was breathing fire.
"I liked that story," said Emily. "Will I have to wear braces some
day?"
"Maybe," said her dad.
"Well, if I do, I won't be afraid."
"You're very brave," said Mr. Granger as he tucked her in.
"And, Daddy, you can tell me a story any time."
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(c) 2007 StoryRhyme.com