#wearing of the green

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