A Dragon's Perfect Pet

Delvin was a dragon who was having a rather rotten year.

First, his older sister had left the family cave to move far away and make her own way in the world. He missed his sibling's companionship.

Then, the dragon he held in the highest esteem, the Great Grank, had passed away from old age. This upset Delvin, for he could no longer hear the Great Grank's wonderful tales of adventure and words of wisdom.

Delvin's father was also ailing, having caught a nasty infection from a fight with a wild boar, and it looked as though the family might lose him as well.

Delvin sighed and kept on going about his life as best he could, but he wasn't happy.

His mother noticed the sadness in her son's eyes, and thought long and hard about how she could help Delvin stop concentrating so much on the sadness in his life. Finally, she pulled him aside with an idea. "Son, I think you are mature enough now to handle having your own pet, if you'd like."

"A pet?" Said Delvin. "Wow, you never let sis have her own pet. Oh! Can I have a puppy? The gryphon down the bottom of the mountain has one, a little wolf puppy, and it's the cutest thing!"

Mama dragon shook her head. "A wolf puppy needs lots of room to run," she said, "and we live high up on the mountain in a cave. Besides, a puppy is soft, and we are full of spikes and scales that might catch in their fur. It would be unkind to keep a dog. Maybe a different pet would be better for you."

Delvin looked disappointed, but he thought some more. "Well, I know the nymphs and fauns down by the river have some trained fish. They jump out of the water for food and everything!"

"Think, Delvin," said his mother. "We have no stream in our cave."

Delvin looked crushed. "Well I don't want a smelly mean ol' cat," he pouted. "Or a pig or a cow or anything like those for-eating animals. That'd probably rule out humans too, I guess."

"Mm, no, humans are too messy, you're right," mother nodded. "I tell you what - I've got just the thing. I'll be right back." And she was gone from the cave and back again in a flash, with something green in each fore-paw.

"What are those?" Delvin squinted and pointed at his mother's hands. She opened them, and there sat two tiny lizards - one with orange and purple spots, the other with blue and yellow.

"Oooh," said Delvin. His eyes went all bright.

His mother passed the little creatures gently to Delvin, where they climbed all over his sharp spikes like a pointy jungle-gym.

"They aren't afraid of my spikes!" Delvin grinned. "And oh, look, the one is falling asleep on me. . ."

His mother smiled too. "You're a hot-blooded dragon; they are cold-blooded lizards. They like your warmth. They have sticky, tough feet so your scales don't hurt. And they are easy enough to feed - just take them with you when you fly and they will snatch the insects out of the air. But they need you to take care of them."

Delvin smiled wider and curled up with his new pets. "I will," he said. "I promise."

From that day on, Delvin and his two lizards were nearly inseperable, and though hard times came and went, as they do in all lives, they were a little more bearable for him, knowing that he had someone to care about.


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Polymer clay, baked, painted, glazed.

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It's also on auction here if you like: [link]

What some folks might or might not know is that this is partially autobiographical. No, I don't fancy myself a dragon - I'm not quite that nuts yet. However, I've been having a bit of a rough year, and making pieces like this, with stories to go along with them, is quite cathartic. As will be my new pets, when I'm able to get them. I'll be sure to take lots of pictures - this auction will help raise money to make sure they're the spoiledest rottenest pets ever.