• In a far away kingdom, not known by this land,
    Lives a very nice village that would proudly stand.
    Their houses stood tall, their gardens bore fruit,
    And a large red train passed by with a ‘TOOT!’

    In this village of gossip and fun,
    Lived children of all ages, from thirteen to one.
    Who’d play all day and even all night,
    If their parents hadn’t told them about the ‘night frights.’

    The creatures that lived in the mountains far away,
    Would sometimes enter the village to play
    They’d make a horrible noise,
    That seemed to scare all the girls and boys.

    One day, probably late into the fall
    The kids wandered out of the village wall.
    They saw a strange ball, a marvelous toy,
    It probably belonged to a girl, or maybe a boy?




    Though, in a near bush there was a small rustle,
    That made all the kids run in a hustle.
    Now, don’t be alarmed, and nor am I braggin’
    Because out of the bushes stepped a small green dragon.

    He picked up the ball, and bounced it around,
    While the kids watched in wonder, not making a sound.
    The dragon looked about, and then shouted “Hooray!
    New friends!” He exclaimed, “Do you want to play?”

    The kids didn’t reply, nor did their eyes gleam,
    As a matter of fact; they looked quiet mean.
    The dragon didn’t notice, he jumped about quiet dandy,
    He flapped his wings, letting out a small ‘Poof!’ and shouted, “I’m Andy!”

    In the crowd of kids was a girl named Marigold,
    Who dreamed of being a pirate and rarely did what she was told
    She ran about with a wooden sword and sang, with glee,
    “Yo ho! Yo ho! A pirate’s life for me!”




    Marigold stepped forward, she looked quiet near,
    For Andy stepped back, looking somewhat in fear.
    Marigold scoffed, she clapped her hands when she was done.
    She grabbed Andys’ hand, “We’re going to have fun!”

    “Are you kidding?” a boy shouted, “He’s scaly and green!
    He has wings and a tail and dragons are mean!
    They breathe fire and fly and aren’t good with play!
    It’s my own opinion that he should go away!”

    A chorus of shouts then filled the air,
    All the kids threw up the fist and gave a harsh stare.
    “Go away!” they shouted. “You don’t belong here!
    Leave right now, walk off, disappear!”

    Andy fell silent; his wings fell to the ground.
    He turned away without another sound
    Marigold gave the group a horrible stare,
    She turned toward Andy, “Stay right there!”




    “What you just said was horrible and crude!
    Do your parents know you’re that rude?
    Andy came out here to see if we wanted to play!
    That doesn’t mean you can ruin his day!”

    The crowd seemed awestruck, but they didn’t budge.
    “He’s a dragon,” they said, “we’re not going to nudge.”
    And with that they retreated back to the town,
    Andy stood still, looking quiet down.

    “Why don’t they like me?” He cried in dismay.
    “I only came down here during the day,
    To see if you guys would like to have fun
    But now,” he sniffled, “you’re the only one.”

    Marigold shrugged, she didn’t know what to say,
    She thought for a moment, and then shouted, “Okay!
    Then we’ll play together, hey! Wipe your eyes!
    We’re about to have fun, no time to cry!”




    A day went by, the kids walked back across to the wood,
    Once out there, they saw in shock, where Andy and Marigold stood.
    Marigold laughed, highly, waving her sword like a knight.
    Andy stood on the sidelines, looking around in fright.

    “Dragon,” Marigold shouted, her voice laced with glee.
    “Dare you challenge thee?
    Bring out your thunder, your wings and your fire,
    For I am and knight, who was once a squire!”

    Andy growled, of course, on her behalf
    He crouched down low, “Don’t make me laugh!
    Your arms are all wimpy; your shield is quiet small,
    Why, a gust of wind could make you fall!”

    Marigold laughed, Andy giggled
    He flapped his wings and gave his tail a little wiggle.
    They didn’t realize the kids were watching,
    Until one of the kids said something;




    “We’re sorry for being so crude,
    It was our fault, not yours, that we were so rude.
    I guess we were brought up to know that anything that’s different is strange
    So we didn’t want you in our range.”

    Marigold looked toward Andy and said,
    “It’s true, we’ve been taught that to look at everyone from toe to head
    And make sure they’re the same in every way.
    If they aren’t, well we just don’t play.”

    Andy pouted, “Well, that’s not right!
    Because of it, we almost started a fight!
    From now on, try to know someone first,
    People who judge are always the worst!”

    And from that day forward no one judged another
    From every child to their dear old grandmother.
    Andy and Marigold still played out in the wood,
    And asked anyone who came by to join them, if they would.