Dragon's Breath

Whirrrr! A wind and a whirring sound woke Asia from her sleep. She sat up and stared out into the middle of her room. "I must be dreaming," said Asia. A gust of wind blew across her face. It was coming from the umbrella that turned briskly around on the cart that now hovered in the air in the middle of the room. The cart had grown in size and a sandy-haired man sat in the driver's seat laughing. He said:

"Ho ho! Whether or not a dream it seems
You won't know a fiddle about what it means
Unless you climb out of those crumply covers
And over to where your night taxi hovers!"

Asia grabbed her doll, walked quickly to the cart, and with a helping hand of the driver, climbed up onto the rider's seat.

"A fine day as it were or a fine night as it be; whichever have you and whatever suits your fancy," greeted the elderly man.

"Does that mean 'Hello'?" asked Asia.

"Yes my cherry-cheeked pomegranate."

"You certainly are goofy, sir."

"No, I am known by your kind as the Sandman."

Asia gasped. "You're the sandman?" She looked around at the bags on the cart. "Aha! Those must be your bags of sand!"

"Yes, yes, of course. But my sand is finer than dust."

"Did you ever throw sand in my eyes Mister Sandman?"

The Sandman replied:

"If ever you dreamed a dream you can trust
Upon your eyes I threw my dust."

Asia felt the cart move. It was heading in the direction of the window. "Where are we going, sir?" she asked.

"To the land where the sand comes from."

"Look out for the window glass!" screamed Asia. To her astonishment they floated right through. Asia placed Belinda neatly in her lap, ready for another adventure. Then she frowned and thought that she would like to have a friend along. Just then the cart veered toward the direction of Brandy's house.

"Before we head out in the direction of the wilds, my dear, I have one more stop to make," said the sandman. "There is a lady about your age who needs some dream sand sent into her eyes."

"But don't do that please! She is my friend and I want her to come along," pleaded Asia.

The Sandman obliged and floated into Brandy's room. Brandy woke up when she heard Asia's voice calling to her. After a little coaxing, she too climbed on board the evening surrey and off they went floating into the land beyond her backyard.

Asia thought it would get frightfully dark since the moon was only a crescent shape in the sky. On the contrary though, the land below was pleasantly lit by the quick flashes of millions of fireflies. Brandy pointed to where the light shone brightest over the wide-open field.

"That looks like a city with working people!" she exclaimed joyfully.

As they floated closer, indeed it was a city of sorts, with a cobblestone street bustling with little people of all sizes and shapes. There were cobblers, bricklayers, carpenters, toy makers working on little dolls, weavers making sweaters and shirts, and so on and so on . . . !

"See that building over there?" asked the Sandman pointing at a large clump that looked more like a bush than a building. "That is where they bag my sand."

Asia watched streams of sand slide down little chutes into the sandbags, but could not figure out by looking at the building where the sand was coming from.

"You might wonder where the sand comes from."

"I might wonder that," replied Asia.

"You just have to look in the right place," he said pointing above the sand factory. Asia and Brandy both noticed the very swift fairies that dashed off into space every time they saw a shooting star. The Sandman explained that they would go to where the star was falling and there they would take a shower in its light. Then they would return and shake themselves off, just like a dog does when its fur is full of water. They would shake out all the star dust above the sand factory and this would fall into the chutes.

The Sandman drove the cart out further into the fields beyond the magical village and landed gently on the ground. "This is where you get out my playful Petunias," he said.

"I'm not getting out!" shouted Brandy. She refused to budge.

"Don't be afraid Brandy," said Asia jumping out. "Maybe we can find the sleeping Princess here.

"We'll get lost," pouted Brandy.

"I'll be watching you the whole time my child," said the Sandman. "This is a field of magic, and in this field there is a special magic for you. Be careful, though, to avoid the orange-grey clouds. They are the smoky dreams made by the dragon's breathing as he sleeps. The dragon is asleep, my dears. Just remember to avoid his dream clouds. Remember, I am watching over you and if you call I will come. But how can I come to you if you do not go anywhere?"

Brandy reluctantly climbed off and the two children watched as the Sandman floated up toward the stars.

"Mr. Sandman!" screamed Brandy.

Down came the Sandman and asked what she wanted.

"I'm just checking," said Brandy.

Up and away went the Sandman driving his cart toward the stars and laughing heartily all the way.

"Let's walk around," said Asia taking Brandy's hand.

All about them were large flowers that opened their petals into the starry night. The firefly light was dim enough to cast an eerie blue light over everything, but bright enough to make the whole field of flowers visible.

"Hey, look up there!" said Asia pointing toward the sky. Floating downward were the souls of thousands of sleeping children, each one coming to rest on a different flower. As they slept, a mist rolled up from the ground. The two girls watched in utter amazement, because they could see within the mists the dreams of the sleeping children.

"Now I've seen everything!" said Brandy as she watched one child dream of candy apples that turned into baseballs that turned into ducks.

"I wonder if it is polite to peek into everybody's dreams," whispered Asia. She watched one boy dream of kissing a girl and getting slapped, then turning into Tarzan riding on a butterfly.

"This is daffy!" remarked Asia. She took Brandy's hand and walked through the field looking about. She stopped and pointed towards one of the children.

"Hey, that child over there isn't dreaming," she said. "Something must be wrong with him."

The girls ran over to the child that dreamed no dreams. There was a chill in the air around the flower and nothing came from the mists except the sound of crickets and a soft wind crossing over. The petals of the flower were wilting. The two girls looked closely at the boy and saw that it was Bobby.

"Poor Bobby!" sighed Asia. "He must have had a bad concussion."

"A what?" asked Brandy.

"A broken head," whispered Asia. "I wish I could do something."

A troll nurse walked out from the shadows and up to the flower. Asia wondered if she was the same woman who examined the sleeping princess in the window lights. Or perhaps she was the woman who took the thorn out of Rosy Petal’s foot. The old nurse had a big round nose, a head of hair that stood out as if she had received an electric shock, and large legs and big feet. She did not seem to notice the two girls standing there and went about her business of examining Bobby. She felt his head, then his throat, and then turned towards Asia and spoke, which caused Asia to jump back in surprise.

"This poor boy has had an accident I see. Be a dear and go get some medicine."

"If you will tell me the name of the medicine, I will have my mother get it from the drugstore tomorrow," replied Asia. Asia remembered the kind of medicine that the old troll nurse used to cure Rosy Petal of the thorn. She wondered if the medicine the nurse was asking for could be found in a pharmacy.

The Old Troll Nurse took a colorful string bracelet from a large pocket in her smock. This she placed around Asia's wrist.

"This bracelet is to give you good fortune and protection where you must go."

"Where must I go?" asked Asia.

"To find the healing medicine," said the nurse," you must go to the land of the very old. To get there you must walk on four, then on two and then, finally on three. Then you will reach the land of the very old. Then you will receive the medicine that will cure this unfortunate lad."

Asia was confused. "What if I don’t find the medicine?"

"Now, now," answered the troll nurse, " is that any way to think?" The old nurse walked off into the meadow and out of sight. Asia looked around and saw Brandy wandering off.

"Where are you going, Brandy? We should stay with each other you know!" She ran and caught up to her.

"I saw a big fat old frog!" exclaimed Brandy. "He went thataway!" Both girls heard a 'Glump!' and they ran toward the place they heard the sound. They thought it was funny to chase a frog.

"Maybe it's Glumpkins!" exclaimed Asia.

Again they heard a 'Glump!' a few feet away and they ran toward the sound. So absorbed were they in their chase, the girls did not watch where they were going. The frog hopped right into a drifting orange-grey cloud and they followed after.

Asia slowed to a stop and looked around. All about her was a strange, eerie, orange-grey mist. Brandy came over to Asia and held her hand.

"I think we are in the dragon's dreaming." Brandy began to weep. Asia looked all about to see if there was a way out.

"Let's go back the way we came," said Asia. She was not certain about which way that was, but there was no use standing in one spot. Both girls called out to the Sandman.

"I do not think he can hear us in here." Asia was feeling frightened, but she did not want Brandy to know. She was older than Brandy and felt that she must be the one to guide them out of the trouble they were in. As they walked along, the orange-grey cloud lifted. The sky above them was no longer dark, but instead of blue, the sky was a peach-blossom color, and all about them were fields of wheat. They were standing on a dirt road. In the distance were a few colorful farmhouses and the road led into a small village. In the distance the girls could hear the voices of children singing and laughing.