Once upon a time there lived a dragon in the high rocks. He was enormous. He had a wide mouth full of sharp teeth, and his tail was long and strong. When he swung it around as he walked, the ground trembled as if there was an earthquake. But this dragon was different in another way.
He was the biggest in the land, and instead of fire, he breathed out lightning. When he took a breath, it sounded like thunder. And then when he opened his mouth and let lightning burst out, it terrified everyone.
The dragon called himself Thunderlash. He was proud of how big and strong he was – and how he could breathe out lightning. People far and wide feared him.
Except for Leonie, a brave and clever girl who decided to teach the dragon not to think too highly of himself. How did it happen?
Leonie lived in a village near the high rocks. She knew that a dragon lived up there – big, strong Thunderlash, who liked to show off his strength and scare everyone.
But Leonie wasn’t afraid of him. On the contrary, she believed that there was something good inside him too. She thought he could use his strength to help others, not just to prove that he was the greatest. Leonie was determined to teach Thunderlash that.
So one beautiful day, she set out to the rocks to find the dragon. After a while, she reached the place where Thunderlash was hiding. She sat down on a large stone and began to sing loudly:
“I don’t believe, I don’t believe, that Thunderlash could lift a tree,
I don’t believe, I don’t believe, he’s strong as thunder’s roar could be.”
She hoped Thunderlash would hear the song and come out of his lair. And she was right. In a few minutes, the ground began to shake. The stones bounced, and the trees trembled. The dragon approached Leonie.
Leonie sang her song again. The dragon stood angrily in front of the young girl and roared, “Who doesn’t believe I can lift a tree? I am the strongest in the world!”
“I don’t believe it,” said Leonie calmly.
This made the dragon furious, so he told Leonie to show him where the tree was that he was supposed to lift. Together, they went into the forest. The girl pointed to a huge fallen tree that lay across half the woods. The dragon took a breath, strained his strength and lifted the whole tree. Then he carried it to the edge of the forest, where it could hurt no one.
“See, I carried it away, because I am the strongest,” the dragon boasted.
“I admit, you are very strong, and thank you for your help,” replied the girl.
“Help? I don’t help anyone,” replied the dragon, surprised and a little angry. “Well, you just helped me,” smiled Leonie, “that tree could have hurt someone, but you carried it away. So thank you.” And with that, she turned and left.
Thunderlash just stood there, shaking his head in confusion. He had never helped anyone. Everyone was supposed to be afraid of him. And now a little girl had made him help her. This had never happened to the dragon before.
Several weeks passed since their meeting. It hadn’t rained the whole time, and the land grew dry. The villagers needed rain for their crops. So Leonie decided to ask the dragon for help again. Who else had enough power to blow away the clouds and bring a little rain and thunderstorm?
She bravely went to the dragon and explained everything to him. But the dragon didn’t want to be persuaded. He was still too proud for that. Leonie had to think of another way.
“That’s a shame. I thought you were stong enough to fly up into the sky and blow the clouds together to make it rain. I even thought you could throw a little lightning to start a storm. But if you can’t do it – never mind,” That made the dragon furious.
“What does that girl think? That I’m not strong enough?” he grumbled.
Thunderlash flew up into the sky. He blew his enormous breath into all the clouds until they gathered and it started to rain. Then he flew in the rain, shooting lightning bolts from his mouth here and there.
It was beautiful. Leonie stood below, smiling as she watched him enjoy himself.
When the dragon flew back down to Leonie, she said to him, “Thank you again for your help. You enjoyed that, didn’t you? Isn’t it better to use your great power to help someone than to be angry and alone all the time? I knew there was something good in you.”
Leonie smiled and hugged the dragon. Thunderlash stood still, stunned. He had never experienced such a warm and wonderful feeling before.
Today, the greatest dragon, Thunderlash, still lives in the high rocks. But he is no longer proud. On the contrary, he uses his strength to help people. And he is happy that a brave little girl once showed him how.