Dragons!

Dragons appear in most ancient and modern cultures in some form or another and so must exist or have existed. We find that Dragons are fantastic storytelling tools as children and adults respond easily to their overgrown charms, and expect the unexpected as these are mythical magical beasts and therefore above behaving normally.

We are very fond of our puppet Fynn Dragon who get horribly bullied for being different and a bit scary-looking in our play for Primary schools “Fynn Dragon and the Ugly Bugs”. He is a good example of how you cannot judge anyone by appearances.

Sally Edwards, from WishWorks was born in the Chinese year of the fire Dragon. Here are a few things that she knows about Dragons, although of course, one cannot generalise about Dragons any more than one can generalise about humans and apologies are given to anyone who thinks differently .

Everything you need to know about Dragons

European Dragons are usually fierce fire breathing scaly beasts with two or four legs, wings and a long tail. They have massive teeth and long claws and fins or spines along the ridge of their backs.
They tend to live in lairs, generally caves full of stolen treasure which they guard ferociously.
Asian Dragons seem to be more of an amalgamation of creatures-feathered, horned, snakey, fishey beings. It seems important to Chinese heraldry how many toes they have, and this varies depending on their country of origin.
Dragons have magical powers which they can use for good or evil. Their blood also has magical properties and can heal or aid understanding (for example enable humans to understand the speech of animals), or cut through imprisoning steel.
Dragons can be associated with either fire or water, with firey dragons tending to be more malevolent and watery ones generally friendlier. Watery Dragons are rulers of water and can cause dramatic changes in weather, floods, monsoons etc. if displeased.
Number 9 is the dragons magic number. (3 x 3- which is the puppetry magic number)
Dragons can breathe fire and often demand young maidens as sacrifice in exchange for protecting crops or not savaging whole villages.
Beware if you try to steal treasure from a Dragon as the treasure is often cursed (especially any jewels embedded in the Dragon’s scales) and brings bad luck on those who take it… or it may just vanish when removed from the lair.
Dragons may smell bad enough to kill on odour alone. They don’t like the smell of sweet things and this can cause them to flee.
They have very good eyesight and the uncanny knack of looking like they are sleeping even when they are dangerously awake. They are patient keepers and watchers.
Dragons are carnal creatures and can get lonely. They are often impractically attracted to people or other creatures, they are not easy to disuade once they become amourous.
Killing a Dragon, mans greatest foe can lead to getting a Sainthood, and definitely helps boost you up the ranks if you are a knight.
If a Dragon has more than one head it is better not to chop them off as they can regenerate and often are replaced by a greater number than the Dragon originally had
This can be avoided by burning the stump immediately. Dragons’ teeth planted in the ground will immediately grow battle-ready soldiers.
They can grant you good luck, or turn you to stone.
Sightings of a Dragon can fortell major disasters.
Dragons are intelligent creatures who like to make a good bargain with interesting mortals, and they can be loyal friends with a human they respect and often give good advice.
Dragons are not so intelligent that they cannot be tricked. Many a brave knight has vanquished an evil Dragon this way, and likewise many an unwary good hearted Dragon has fallen prey to mankind’s mean lies.