#adventures of algy

As Algy and his strange little friend were exploring the banks of the burn together, the little green dragon suddenly bounded towards a rock and lunged at a wee green plant that was trailing from a deep crevice.

Fascinated, Algy perched on a soft, dry heather bush beside his friend and watched while the dragon started to eat the bright green leaves of the plant with an enthusiastic glow.

“I didn’t know you ate plants,” exclaimed Algy. “I would have found you something special if I had known.”

The little green dragon interrupted its munching for a moment and looked round at Algy.

“It’s not easy being green,” it breathed softly, unwittingly quoting a much more famous character

“Of course this is not spinach, but…”

Eat a tomato and you’ll turn red
(I don’t think that’s really so);
Eat a carrot and you’ll turn orange
(Still and all, you never know);
Eat some spinach and you’ll turn green
(I’m not saying that it’s true
But that’s what I heard, and so
I thought I’d pass it on to you).    

Algy pondered for a moment, ruffling his rather dishevelled feathers. “Then perhaps I should eat something fluffy,” he mused… “Do you think chocolate brownies would do?”

[The little green dragon is quoting the poem Vegetables by the 20th century American author Shel Silverstein.]           

Algy and the little green dragon tucked themselves down cosily among the dry heather and ferns on the banks of the trickling burn, where the rushing south-east wind could not reach them, and basked in the early spring sunshine, which, by the standards of the wild west coast of the Scottish Highlands, was for once not as cold as it might be…

Notwithstanding a cool, damp sensation around the tail feathers, Algy observed that the scrubby vegetation which covered this windswept landscape had dried out like tinder in the spring winds, although the ground itself was evidently still soggy from its winter drenching, and he cautioned his friend to avoid breathing fire while they were relaxing among the bushes, for conflagrations could spread very rapidly in these conditions.

So the little green dragon obediently restricted itself to emitting a throbbing glow which posed no danger to its surroundings, and Algy perceived that in this environment his funny little friend was surprisingly well camouflaged; perhaps there were more green plants growing around its home in faraway Patadragonia than he had noticed when he was there, for the wee creature glowed both green and red.

As they chatted happily in the sunshine, Algy remarked to his friend on the amazing phenomenon which is tumblr, reflecting on the wonderful way in which his adventures could fly out around the whole wide world through this medium, alighting he knew not where, and reaching all kinds of folk, he knew not who…

This inevitably reminded Algy of a particularly famous poem, although he wondered how many people knew more than the first two often-quoted lines, for the whole was so much more to the point

Algy sends his fluffiest thanks to all his wonderful tumblr friends, both old and new, who have welcomed him back to tumblr this past week, and sends his fluffiest hugs out around the world to reach you all xoxo

I shot an arrow into the air,
It fell to earth, I knew not where;
For, so swiftly it flew, the sight
Could not follow it in its flight.

I breathed a song into the air,
It fell to earth, I knew not where;
For who has sight so keen and strong,
That it can follow the flight of song?

Long, long afterward, in an oak
I found the arrow, still unbroke;
And the song, from beginning to end,
I found again in the heart of a friend. 

[Algy is quoting the famous poem The Arrow and the Song by the 19th century American poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow.]

Algy had observed that his little green dragon friend was becoming a wee bit agitated, and he guessed that it might be feeling somewhat bemused and lost in the wild west Highlands of Scotland, which no doubt seemed a strange and alien land to a native of faraway Patadragonia.

So the next morning, which was fine but exceedingly windy, Algy suggested that they explore the local area around his home. He knew a wee sheltered spot by the burn where he thought his little friend might feel rather more comfortable, as it reminded him of a stream in Patadragonia to which the dragon had taken him when they had first met, almost a year ago.

Although it was mid-March, the landscape was showing little sign of spring green as yet, but while the two friends rested among the still-bare, scrubby bushes on the steep banks of the burn, yellow catkins danced on a small hazelnut tree on the opposite side of the water, and Algy knew that soon everything would burst into fresh growth once again.

The little green dragon seemed calmer beside the water, although whether that was owing to the delightfully soporific trickling sound which was always guaranteed to soothe any anxious creature, or simply to the more congenial location, Algy could not tell. But to soothe it even further, he began to recite, in a soft fluffy voice, a long poem which could almost have been written in the Scottish Highlands, but which in fact was the work of an American known as “the Keats of Kentucky”:

Misty are the far-off hills
And misty are the near;
Purple hazes dimly lie
Veiling hill and field and sky,
Marshes where the hylas cry,
Like a myriad bills
Piping, ‘Spring is here!’

A redbird flits,
Then sings and sits
And calls to his mate,
'She is late! she is late!
How long, how long must the woodland wait
For its emerald plumes
And its jewelled blooms?
She is late! she is late!’

Along the stream,
A cloudy gleam,
The pussy-willows, tufted white,
Make of each tree a mighty light;
Pearl and silver and glimmering gray
They tassel the boughs of the willow way;
And as they swing they seem to say,
With mouths of bloom
And warm perfume:

'Awake! awake!
For young Spring’s sake,
O little brown bees in hive and brake!
Awake! awake!

[Algy is reciting the first part of the long poem Catkins by the 19th century American poet Madison Julius Cawein.]

When the little green dragon woke up on the morning of 17th March it was astonished to see that Algy’s hair had turned bright green. For a moment it wondered whether it might itself be to blame for this strange transformation, but Algy was quick to reassure his little friend.

“My hair always turns green on this day,” he explained. “It’s St. Patrick’s Day!”

But unlike Algy, who lived almost within reach of the Emerald Isle, the wee dragon from the faraway land of Patadragonia had never heard of St. Patrick, and so Algy had to explain, albeit with a certain amount of tact, as he was not entirely sure what views the patron saint of Ireland might have held on the subject of little green dragons, which perhaps could be thought to bear a superficial resemblance to snakes

His little friend was fascinated to learn that a tradition of celebrating this day with “the wearing of the green” had developed long after the saint’s lifetime, and it obligingly started to glow in its own unique emerald hue. But a moment later a typically ferocious early March hailstorm swept in from the ocean, and the dragon, being an exceptionally warm-blooded beast, rushed under the nearest rock.

“Don’t hide,” cried Algy, pointing to the sky, “come with me and you can warm yourself in the glow of the rainbow.”

The little dragon looked up at the sky and gasped, because not only had it never seen spring flowers, it had never before seen a rainbow, for rain was exceedingly rare in Patadragonia, and a combination of rain and sunshine was entirely unknown.

“Follow me!” Algy shouted happily, as he swept up into the sky, and - a wee bit reluctantly - the little green dragon crept out of the narrow crevice in which it had tried to shelter, then bravely leaped into the air, although the rain and hail had not yet stopped.

“That’s right!” called Algy in encouragement. “Come and dance!”

The little green dragon hastened to join its fluffy friend, driven on, no doubt, by the hailstones pounding against its back, and in no time at all the two friends were dancing happily together in the beautiful glowing colours of the rainbow - the universal symbol of hope and joy… and of spring in the wild west Highlands of Scotland

“Happy St. Patrick’s Day!” cried Algy. “Happy St. Patrick’s Day!”

And for all his friends around the world he recited this special Irish blessing:

Wishing you a rainbow
For sunlight after showers—
Miles and miles of Irish smiles
For golden happy hours—
Shamrocks at your doorway
For luck and laughter too,
And a host of friends that never ends
Each day your whole life through!

p.s. Algy is thrilled that this St. Patrick’s Day rainbow dance with the little green dragon is appearing on Tumblr Radar 

Thank you tumblr staff - you have made Algy’s day

He sends you lots of very fluffy hugs

Thrilled by its encounter with the first daffodils that it had ever seen, the little green dragon begged to see more flowers. In its arid and windswept homeland of faraway Patadragonia, the strange wee creature had rarely seen a flower, and certainly nothing as beautiful as the spring flowers of the temperate northern countries.

But it was only mid-March in the wild west Highlands of Scotland: there had evidently been plenty of snowdrops earlier on, but they had all finished flowering now, and most of the crocuses which normally grew in Algy’s assistant’s lawn had been flattened by the wind and the rain. Algy was temporarily at a loss, until his assistant pointed him at a wee raised box bed by her house wall, in which she had planted a new collection of spring bulbs the previous autumn. It was full of jewel-like crocuses which were only now beginning to turn their faces to the sun. The little green dragon was so enthralled by this new discovery that he began to glow in a purple hue.

Algy laughed, and recited an old poem to his funny little friend:

They heard the South wind sighing
   A murmur of the rain;
And they knew that Earth was longing
   To see them all again.

While the snow-drops still were sleeping
   Beneath the silent sod;
They felt their new life pulsing
   Within the dark, cold clod.

Not a daffodil nor daisy
   Had dared to raise its head;
Not a fairhaired dandelion
   Peeped timid from its bed;

Though a tremor of the winter
   Did shivering through them run;
Yet they lifted up their foreheads
   To greet the vernal sun.

And the sunbeams gave them welcome,
   As did the morning air—
And scattered o’er their simple robes
   Rich tints of beauty rare.

Soon a host of lovely flowers
   From vales and woodland burst;
But in all that fair procession
   The crocuses were first.

[Algy is quoting most of the poem The Crocuses by the 19th century American poet Frances Ellen Watkins Harper.]

lovefromalgy:

capiolumen:

Happy Fifth Birthday Algeron:

It has been a real pleasure viewing your adventures over the last five years. Here is to five more years

Back in March 2017. Algy’s artist friend Michael @capiolumen​ in sunny south California posted this gorgeous original art work on the occasion of Algy’s 5th tumblr birthday - with the caption “Here is to five more years”…

And now it is March 2022 and it really has been five more years! And, despite absences of several months from time to time, Algy is still here, and continuing his adventures on tumblr. And he is truly delighted to find that so many of his old friends - including @capiolumen​ - are still here too. This is wonderful indeed

Rumours about the possible demise of tumblr have been rumbling around for years now, but the tumblrverse is like no other place in this world (real or virtual) and Algy hopes very much that it will survive and flourish and continue to bring joy and companionship and hope and motivation and comfort - not to mention insights into other lives, cultures and countries - to many, many people around the world who would otherwise never have “met”.

So Algy sends his fluffiest thanks to all the kind friends who have welcomed him back and sent him kind greetings and lovely images on the very special occasion of his 10th Tumblr birthday, and he says…

Here’s to five more years❣️

Thank you all - and Thank you tumblr!

Algy sends you all lots of his very fluffiest hugs xoxo

The next morning the friends went out into the garden together, in search of daffodils.

Most of Algy’s friends had seen these beautiful harbingers of spring many times before, but the little green dragon - who had lived a very sheltered life in the bleak and arid country of Patadragonia and then in the confines of a travelling circus - had not even heard of such flowers, let alone seen them.

The strange little creature was so excited and thrilled by the lovely yellow trumpets that he began to glow in the soft yellow and green colours of spring

p.s. Algy realises that his 10th Tumblr birthday - and his sudden reappearance on this unique occasion - will have taken most of his friends by surprise. So the celebrations of this very special birthday will continue on Algy’s sideblog @lovefromalgytoday.

Please join him on @lovefromalgy, and if you would like Algy to reblog a particular post, please mention @adventuresofalgy​ or @lovefromalgy​, or send Algy a link, or use the submission form.You are all most warmly invited

As the weather was a wee bit inclement, Algy’s friends decided that he should move indoors in order to enjoy his 10th Tumblr birthday party in greater comfort, and as darkness fell they presented him with a magnificent mound of chocolate brownies - one of his favourite treats - topped with 10 multicoloured candles, which he was thrilled to see had magical coloured flames.

Happy Birthday Algy!

All of a sudden there was a rustling and a shuffling and a whispering and a giggling, and the sensation of a wonderfully warm glow which seemed to wrap itself all around him, and Algy, who was just a tiny, wee bit awake already, sat bolt upright with a start of surprise.

“What?… Who?… When?… How?…” he exclaimed…

“Wake up, Algy!” cried his friends, “It’s your birthday! And it’s spring! It’s time to wake up again.”

The animals pressed against him and held out a pretty little bunch of spring flowers. “Happy Birthday, Algy!” they sang. “Happy Birthday!”

Algy was quite overcome. Even his special friend the little green dragon - who he had last seen flying off to join the circus in faraway Patadragonia - was there beside him, warming the assembled company with its magical glow, which was especially welcome on what seemed to be a typical early spring day in the wild west Highlands of Scotland.

“But how can this be?” spluttered Algy. “It was October… I was drifting off to sleep on a dark, damp, dreich autumn day. I couldn’t believe how many months it would be until the spring… I was almost in despair…”

“Feel behind your ear,” whispered the little green dragon.

Algy reached up and felt something strange tucked in among his fluffy feathers. It was the magical cherry blossom which he had brought back from Easter Island the year before.

“When the autumn became unbearable, the cherry blossom put you to sleep,” giggled Algy’s rat friend Twicklewick. “You have been hibernating. Huge storms raged, trees crashed down, the wind howled constantly, rain fell almost all the time, every day was dark and overcast, and you slept through it all, tucked up under the ivy - you lucky fluffy bird! And when the world turned again and it was nearly your birthday, the cherry blossom called us - even the little green dragon, who flew all the way across the ocean to be here today.”

Algy laughed a fluffy bird laugh of joy.

“I can hardly believe it,” he cried. “But it’s wonderful to see you all again. Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!”

“Thank the magical cherry blossom,” whispered the little green dragon.

And then all Algy’s friends started singing again.

“Happy Birthday to you,
Happy Birthday to you,
Happy Birthday you silly old fluffy bird friend,
Happy Birthday to you… Algy! Hooray!”

p.s. This is Algy’s 10th Tumblr birthday - quite an occasion, even though Algy has been absent for a while. So despite the short notice, Algy will be reblogging posts by his friends on his sideblog @lovefromalgy in a party celebration of this special birthday. You are all invited

If you would like Algy to reblog a particular post, please mention @adventuresofalgy​ or @lovefromalgy​, or send Algy a link, or use the submission form.