adventuresofalgy:

Algy was resting quietly in a sheltered spot out of the wind, on the comfortable rocky ledge he had discovered, when suddenly he became aware that he was not alone.

Now you or I might feel just a wee bit nonplussed if a small dragon breathing fire were to disturb our repose in such a place, but Algy was not the least bit surprised, for he knew that it was St. George’s Day, and he had always made a point of seeking out dragons on this day in order to befriend them.

For a moment, however, it looked as though this particular dragon might not be aware of Algy’s altruistic record, and Algy hesitated, wondering whether discretion would not be the better part of valour in this case: preparing to fly, he rapidly assessed the merits of a prompt retreat to another spot, from which he could assure the dragon of his best intentions at a safe distance. But fluffy birds are generally endowed with rather more valour than discretion - and Algy was mindful of the fact that most dragons can fly faster than birds - so he decided to hold his ground and greet the dragon with a Shakespearean sonnet, reminding it that it was not only St. George’s Day but also the great Bard’s birthday. Fortunately, this seemed to meet with the dragon’s approval, and it turned tail and left Algy safely on his ledge, chuckling with relief…

Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day?
Thou art more lovely and more temperate:
Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May,
And summer’s lease hath all too short a date;
Sometime too hot the eye of heaven shines,
And often is his gold complexion dimm’d;
And every fair from fair sometime declines,
By chance or nature’s changing course untrimm’d;
But thy eternal summer shall not fade,
Nor lose possession of that fair thou ow’st;
Nor shall death brag thou wander’st in his shade,
When in eternal lines to time thou grow’st:
   So long as men can breathe or eyes can see,
   So long lives this, and this gives life to thee.

[Algy hopes that it is not necessary to tell you what he is quoting today ]

It was St. George’s Day again - a day on which Algy has always made a point of seeking out dragons to befriend.

However, with his own special dragon friend visiting him at home in the wild west Highlands of Scotland, Algy was reluctant to go out in search of other dragons: he guessed that the little green dragon might very possibly take offence. So instead they reminisced about their very first encounter, exactly one year ago today in faraway Patadragonia, when Algy had endeavoured to placate the fire-breathing creature with Shakespeare’s famous sonnet.

Algy had spent an exceptionally long, cold and sleepless night before the dawning of the day of the solstice in the faraway land of Patadragonia, but he quickly forgot his weariness, and the anxieties which had troubled his mind during the hours of darkness, when the dawn finally broke over the snowy mountains.

It was truly a magical morning, for when the purple sky began to light up with the lovely pinks and blues of a Patadragonian dawn and ethereal mists started to shimmer up from the frosty plains, Algy heard a most extraordinary sound, and at the same time felt a strange vibration. Glancing around, he saw that the cherry blossom which he had brought so carefully from the strange Easter island had started to shimmer and sparkle on the rock behind him, and in a few moments more he understood why…

Although the little dragon had told him that despite its wish to join a circus it had never actually seen one in Patadragonia, the procession which was making its way along the migration route they had been seeking the day before could not possibly be mistaken for anything else. Algy guessed that the cherry blossom had worked its unique magic once again, and although he was sure that he would miss the funny wee creature, he was delighted that by bringing the cherry blossom to this land he had been able to help his little friend realise its lifelong dream at last.

For when the dragon saw the circus train proceeding along the track it was overcome with excitement, rushing about here and there and performing its special fire-breathing act in the air, even though it was unlikely that the creatures of the circus could be watching. Despite its exhilaration, the little dragon was at first reluctant to leave Algy’s side, but when it saw that the procession would soon be out of sight, and heard the circus music beginning to fade away, Algy did not have to exert much effort to persuade his unusual friend to seize the day…

Of course Algy felt sad to see his little friend go, but he was so happy for the funny wee dragon, and so certain that they would meet again in the future - as long as he kept the magical cherry blossom safe - that when the final calliope in the circus train vanished out of sight he thought only of the little dragon’s exciting and happy new life in the circus it had always longed to join, and of all the wonderful new adventures which undoubtedly lay ahead…

[The circus band is playing the “National Emblem March,” composed in 1902 by Edwin Eugene Bagley, in a version created by Algy’s assistants. Algy says be sure to turn on the sound!]

p.s. For the sake of his longstanding tumblr friends, Algy wanted to post his own version of this grand finale to his recent adventure with his little dragon friend - which waspremiered in a special Tumblr Tuesday feature on the Adventures of Algy on @staff yesterday. Algy apologises for the longer-than-usual gaps in his recent adventures, but it was owing to the amount of work required for this video and the special timing arranged with @staff for Tumblr Tuesday.

It had been an exceptionally long night in the remote land of Patadragonia, as it lay in the deep, deep south of the world and its shortest day was rapidly approaching… And Algy had spent many long, wakeful hours watching the full moon cross the sky and sink down again behind the mountains, while his little dragon friend slept peacefully by his side, apparently undisturbed by the dazzling moonlight.

For a while, when the moon had finally vanished, Algy managed to doze fitfully in the darkness, waking up from time to time to wonder how he would survive in this strange, cold land if the dragon were no longer there to keep him warm, for even in the depths of the night the fiery creature glowed with a modest green heat, which was sufficient to ward off the bitter cold of the Patadragonian plains.

But then finally, after what had seemed to Algy more like many days than many hours, the sky slowly began to change colour again, and in a matter of minutes the mountain tops had started to glow with the luminous pink and blue colours of the Patadragonian dawn.

As the light grew stronger, his little dragon friend stirred by his side and looked sleepily up at the colourful sky, and Algy murmured:

Still half asleep, I sought the hill and found
My vantage place, then stood a moment there
To probe the wind for some familiar sound;
But no vibration moved along the air,
And I learned nothing that I did not know
From the far east’s faint conglomerate glow.

I asked the stars, what destiny awaits
Beyond this dark incalculable night? …
And suddenly, incredibly, the gates
Of morning opened to approaching light;
Then, somewhere near, a bird began to sing —
And my heart heard the whole world listening.

[Algy is quoting the poem Dawn Vigil by the 20th century poet Carl John Bostelmann.]