The Brave Little Dragon
High on a mountain of soft grey clouds lived a little dragon named Ember. Ember was small — smaller than a teapot — and he had one very big worry: he was afraid of the dark.
Every night, when the sun slipped behind the hills and the sky turned deep and velvety, Ember pulled his wings over his eyes and whispered, “Too dark, too dark.”
One evening his mother nuzzled him gently. “Ember,” she said, “did you know you carry your own little light, right inside you?”
Ember blinked. “I do?”
“Take a slow breath,” she said, “and let out the tiniest, softest flame.”
Ember took a breath — in through his nose, out through his mouth — and a warm golden flicker glowed at the tip of his lips. It was not a scary fire. It was soft and round, like a candle, and it painted the whole cloud in cozy amber light.
“Oh,” Ember laughed. “It’s warm.”
He carried his little flame to the edge of the cloud. The dark did not feel so big anymore. It felt like a soft blanket tucked all around him, with his own gentle light glowing at the center.
That night Ember curled up nose-to-tail, his tiny flame flickering like the world’s smallest nightlight, and he was not afraid at all.
And if you are ever a little scared of the dark, remember Ember — and remember that you, too, carry a warm little light, right inside you.
The end. 🐉
Talk about it together
- What makes you feel brave when it is dark?
- Ember was scared at first. What helped him feel better?
- If you had a little flame like Ember, what would you use it for?