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A young girl named Emma walks through the wood every day on her way to school. 

It’s a winding path, with many tall trees along the way. 

One Oak tree in particular is Emma’s favorite; she loves passing it.  

It’s just the right height for the sun to shine and twinkle through it’s leaves.  

It’s the first to show life in the Spring. The cutest bird’s nest in it’s branches. In the Autumn, the leaves turn the most beautiful yellow and red. Acorns bursting from it’s branches. And when the leaves drop, they are always the perfect crunch under her feet.  

Emma goes over to touch the tree every day, to say thank you for giving her such joy. Every time she does, she feels the tree respond. Warmth and calm travel through her fingers as her hand touches the coarse bark. It is Emma’s favorite part of the day.  

But today something is different, there was a storm in night, and on her way to school, she noticed that her great oak tree is on the ground. It must have fallen in the storm. It lays on it’s side, against the path. It’s trunk snapped from the ground. Emma is shocked. She once again goes over to touch her tree, as her fingers touch the bark she feels a shiver up her arm. A tingling hit her, like magic. She runs off to school but all day she thinks about her tree.  

On her way home, she sees a man standing over the tree, he is dressed a dark hoodie and work boots. He has a giant toolbox with him. She cannot see his face as he has a wide brimmed hat on his head. He is mumbling to himself and studying the tree. Emma doesn’t stop, she carries on home as she knows not to talk to strangers. 

The next morning, the man is there again, but this time he has his tools out and is doing something to the tree. He is carving it, using his big noisy tools and his small hand tools. Taking out big and little bits. Cutting off the branches, until he is left with just the trunk. 

He is there every day now, and every day the Oak tree is changing. Morphing into something new under his hands. First Emma sees a head appear, a long snout. Then scales, hand carved into the trunk, and what looks like they might be wings. 

Day by day the tree changes, the shape emerges and suddenly Emma realizes, it’s a Dragon. A great Tree Dragon. 

Sleek and gentle, it looks like it has been there the whole time. Sleeping peacefully inside the tree. Just waiting for the carver to help it emerge. 

Emma was amazed, had her tree been a dragon all along?  

Is that what she had felt, every time she touched the tree? 

It became more beautiful every day. Scales appearing along its back, black sparkly eyes painted. Nostrils carved into it’s snout. Strong and large, as if the Dragon could bellow smoke from them at any moment. 

Emma longed to touch it again, to reach out and feel the scales. Would they be smooth or rough? 

Would it still feel like a tree, or something more? 

On the last day of term, the man carving the Dragon was gone. All his tools were gone, and the Dragon was finished. Fully formed, it was magnificent. 

Emma itched to touch it again. But she was a little scared. She looked around and saw she was alone on the path. Telling herself to be brave, she slowly approached the Dragon. Gathering all her courage, she reached out.  

Her fingers brushed the snout of the Dragon and Emma waited....  

Nothing happened at first. But then slowly, bit by bit. Emma felt that old tingle... A warmth, spreading through her fingers and up her arm.  

Then suddenly a big WOOSH! 

The Tree Dragon took a big breath in. 

Emma jumped back at once.  

No, that didn’t just happen, did it? She had made it up; it was a trick....? 

She approached again, tentatively. And once again, as soon as her fingers touched the Dragon, Woosh, it took a huge breath. This time Emma kept very still. And the Dragons eyes blinked, it was looking at Emma. 

“Hello?” Emma Whispered 

“Are you alive, can you hear me? 

A deep grumble seemed to come from the Dragon. And a low voice said. 

“Hello Emma, I have been waiting for you to wake me” 

“I have been in the tree for so long, sleeping and waiting to come out, watching you pass every day. Thank you for waking me” 

The Dragon's voice was low and smooth, and as it talked, smoke would blow from its snout. 

Emma had so many thoughts and questions running through her head. She didn’t know what to ask first. Before she got the chance. The Dragon asked. 

“Would you like to go for a ride?” 

“A ride?” Emma exclaimed 

“Up in the air?” she asked 

“Yes” murmured the Dragon 

“I have been asleep for so long, I would like to explore. You woke me, as a Thank You, would you like to come?” 

“Climb on my back and we shall fly above the forest” 

Emma was scared, but oh how she wanted to. She had never seen all the wood before, just her path to and from School. She longed to see it all from above, and from the back of a Dragon.  

What an amazing adventure that would be. So she shuffled over to the Dragons back and examined how to climb on.  

She wasn’t sure how, until the Dragon unfolded one wooden wing, with a creek and a crack, it stretched out to the ground. Perfect for her to climb. So, she did.  

She could feel every carved scale as she climbed. The warm grain of the wood.  It was rough and smooth in places. The deep groves of the tree and the carved texture.  

There were ridges all along the spine of the Dragon. Perfect to sit against and hold onto.  

Emma positioned herself between two of the ridges, and hoped she wouldn’t fall. 

“Hold on tight and take a deep breath,” said the Dragon.  

And then, with one almighty creek and crack. Emma and the Dragon seemed to leap into the air. 

Emma was glad Dragon had told her to take a deep breath. As all the air left her lungs in shock, as she realised they were in the air, FLYING! 

No, SOARING! 

High above the trees, above the path, the whole wood.  

“Oh My God” Emma shouted.  

“I can see my school” 

Because yes, truly underneath them was Emma’s school. The playing fields and the low buildings. Her entire route, to and from school, spread out below her. 

And oh the trees, so many she couldn’t count. All different colours. 

The wood didn’t seem so big from the ground, but up in the sky, it goes on for miles and miles. 

Dragon swooped and soared above it all, diving a little to skim the tops of trees. Joining a group of birds that burst up from the branches. Surrounding Emma and Dragon, greeting them, coming along for the ride for a while. Until going on their way, back into the wood below.  

Below Emma spotted a clearing in the trees. A field of wildflowers bursting from the ground.  

Dragon must have seen them too, as they seemed to be slowing. Circling the clearing to land. 

With a great Thump! 

They landed on the outskirts of the clearing, surrounded by so many flowers. Close up Emma can see Red Poppy, Blue Cornflower, White Cow Parsley and Yellow Buttercups.  

Emma was amazed; she had never seen so many flowers together. 

She climbed down from Dragon and stood, stunned at the beauty around them. 

A low rumble, like a hum, came from Dragon. 

“I’ve always wanted to see this” they murmured.  

“I saw the many colours of the leaves of my tree, but I always wanted to see the flowers” 

“To be surrounded by them,” said Dragon. 

Dragon seemed just as amazed by the flowers as Emma did. Looking at them with awe and love.  

Emma didn’t want to disturb the flowers but she itched to touch them. To pick them. 

“My mum and I make flower crowns sometimes” she told the Dragon. 

Dragon looked at her confused. 

“What is a flower drown?” Dragon asked 

“I’ll show you” exclaimed Emma.  

She was excited to show Dragon and touch the beautiful flowers. 

So she set about carefully picking flowers. There were so many of them, that she didn’t feel too bad picking a few. And she tried to keep the ones that were already a bit squashed from their landing.  

When she had enough, she sat down and concentrated. Weaving one flower into the next. Braiding them together, round and around. 

Poppy with Cornflower, a spring of Cow Parsley with tall grass to hold everything in place. A few Buttercups here and there. And the odd daisy to bring it all together. Until she had the most beautiful crown. 

All the while, Dragon sat transfixed. Watching her work, while taking in the beauty of the clearing around them.  

When Emma was done, she looked down at her creation. She was quite proud of her work. It was the most wonderful crown she had ever made. 

She stood up, and tentatively approached Dragon. Slightly scared in case they didn’t like it. 

Emma reached out her hand and showed Dragon the crown.  

“You put it on your head” she explained, when Dragon hadn’t said anything. 

“A decoration and celebrating of the wood” 

Dragon puffed a lot of smoke all at once.  

Emma took a few steps back, scared Dragon was displeased.  

“It’s beautiful” whispered Dragon 

“It’s all the flowers comes together, the whole clearing in one” 

“Here” Emma said 

“Bend down, so I can place it on your head” 

Dragon did as Emma asked and she placed the crown atop Dragons head. 

Dragon beamed with delight.  

“Now I have the flowers with me always, Thank you” said Dragon.  

“But now we must be getting back. It is time to return to our part of the forest” 

Emma climbed onboard Dragon once again, sad to be leaving. But excited to fly once again. 

Another great creek came from Dragon and they leaped back into the sky. 

The sun was starting to set as they returned. All the birds were singing their goodnight calls to each other.  

The wood seemed to be changing beneath them, bathed in sunset light. The trees turning dark green and orange. Still and sleepy. 

Below them emerged Emma’s school again, her daily path through the wood. And the space where her oak tree once stood. 

Dragon dipped low, skimming along the path to land, on the same spot they taken off from, hours before. 

Emma didn’t want to land, she wanted to fly on into the evening and all night. But Dragon landed with a Thump. And they were one again home. In the space made from a fallen oak tree. 

She reluctantly climbed down from Dragons back. Feeling the groves and bumps of scales as she did. Letting her fingers explore the wood as she dismounted. 

“Thank you, Dragon, for a wonderful flight” Emma said. As she walked round to face Dragon.  

Reaching up she bumped Dragon on the snout.  

Dragon dipped their head to say Goodbye. 

“Thank you for seeing me, before I was here and showing me the wonders of flowers”  

Emma reached and adjusted Dragons flower crown. Then turned away and ran all the way home. She didn’t want to turn back. She was so sad to leave and didn’t want dragon to see it on her face.  

When she climbed into bed that night, she dreamed of soaring above trees. Flying among the birds, and a Tree Dragon in a field of flowers. 

The next morning Emma woke up with a bolt...  

Had she dreamed of that, or had it been real? 

Was there really a Tree Dragon that could fly??? 

She rushed to get dressed and shot out the door before even stopping for breakfast. She had to know, she had to see The Dragon again. 

Running down the path, she spotted the Dragon. Where it had been the day before. In a small hole by the path, surrounded by wood shaving, carved out of the tree. 

She hurried up to it and once again reached out to touch it’s snout. Expecting the warm tingle up her arm and Dragon breath to bellow..... 

But nothing happened. No tingle, no breath. Just cool wood beneath her hand. The grain rough against her fingers.  

The Dragon was just a piece of wood, carved by a man, from a fallen tree in the Wood. Beautiful in itself. But not magic. 

Emma felt sad, she had wanted her Tree Dragon to be real so very much. She wanted it not to have been a dream. 

She slowly turned to go home, back to her house and breakfast.  

But as she did, she saw a small flash of colour behind the Dragons ear. Looking back, she saw more. 

Poppy Red and Cornflower Blue. Sprigs of White Cow Parsley and Buttercup Yellow.  

Flower after flower, woven into each other, sitting proudly on the Dragons head. 

A Crown of Wildflowers. 

Emma smiled, walking back the Tree Dragon, she bent in close and whispered. 

“Thank you for a wonderful adventure” 

                   The End 

Artwork by Emma Green