Auld Lange Syne
Auld Lang Syne - By Ryu Darragh
The old dragon got out of bed that morning expecting nothing much to have changed on him. That happens when you reach 53,000 years. Things tend to be the same day in and day out.
All that day, and part of the night, he grumbled about this to everyone far and wide. Which is what he usually did every day while his wife was away visiting grand nieces and nephews.
However, on the way home he encountered a little man with a broken down tiny cart (although it was of a fairly large size to the man). He laid down his cane against a tree and lent a hand to the old man, lifting the cart up so the little man could reattach the wheel.
When the little man went to thank the old dragon, the old dragon waved his cane and told the little man his tale of old aged boredom.
The little man said to the old dragon, a twinkle in his eye, “Ach, ye are a kindly old soul, despite yer grumbles and groans.. may ye get what ye wish for. Good day to ye, old dragon.” And, with that, the little man drove away.
The next day dawned much the same as the last and the day before that.
Except that this day, when he went to make tea, his container of Yorkshire Gold Tea exploded in his face, leaving him lightly dusted with tea and only enough for one mug left in the tin. He grumbled a bit and cleaned it up and went to light the fire.
After refusing to light several times, he screwed up his muzzle in frustration and did what he had not been able to do in 5000 years and blew a flame at the cauldron and had near instant boiling water.
The old dragon smiled a bit and enjoyed his tea, taking delight in heating his scones in the manner he had been wont to do thousands of years ago.
When the old dragon had walked into the local town near Bay Haven to purchase more of his favorite tea, he noticed a number of people working on repairing the overhead walkways with old fashioned rope and scaffolding.
They may have had technology so advanced you would think it magic, but some things are done the old way for the sheer enjoyment of doing it by hand.
What happened next so astonished the old dragon he dropped his cane and started to rush forward to do what he could, but caught himself before he could make matters worse.
One of the workers was trapped between two slabs of concrete as one was being hauled aloft by a rope tied to another counterbalancing weight. If it continued, the worker would become a paste of griffinoid meat!
The old dragon then did something he had not done in many years. He opened his mouth, took a deep breath and breathed a spectacular shot of fire at the rope, nearly 100 meters away, and severed it before the worker could be harmed.
But, the tableau lasted only a moment as one of the other workers was launched by the now falling slab of concrete through the air and straight onto a mass of rebar that would spit him on their ends like a human shish kebab.
The old dragon unfolded his wings, ignored the many protests from muscles long unused and joints long ago frozen and launched himself after the man, catching him mere meters from death.
When they landed, the workers surrounded the old dragon and bowed deeply to him and thanked him for saving two of their fellows from certain death.
As that remarkable day wore on the old dragon was caught up in banana peel slipperiness requiring great agility, building lift failures requiring great magical effort and all manner of disasters, great and small.
All of which he mastered in ways he thought he would never again be able to schieve.
By the end of the day the old dragon was headed home, bone weary and tired.
On the way home he met the first little man again, sitting on the stone wall at the turn off to his home. Sitting there in green felt hat, green silk shirt and green pants and shoes, chewing on a stalk of wheat with a smile on his face.
“You!” the old dragon said angrily. “I've finally sussed it all out! You’re a leprechaun! You’re responsible for all that happened today! Why would you curse me with bad luck like that?” he asked, loudly.
“Why, old timer, you complained you were bored, old and infirm. You would not take the well wishes and thanks of one such as I, so I gave you what you asked for, unstated. I gave you bad luck in order to make you realize you are one of the truly blessed beings to walk this good earth.” The little man, the Leprechaun, said with a smile.
The old dragon paused for a minute and realized that the Leprechaun was right. All that had transpired that day had done wonders for his constitution and his outlook. After all, dragons are immortal, as are Leprechauns, and old age is all a point of view. A state of mind, and he was not really all that infirm after all.
The old dragon smiled broadly at the Leprechaun and asked “Would you care to retire to my place and share a cup or two of this Yorkshire Gold Tea I have just purchased.. and perhaps a dollop or two of the Auld Lang Syne to spice it up?”
To which the Leprechaun replied “Och, ye are a dragon after me own heart. Lead the way, lead the way!” And, together they went into the old dragons house to do just that.
~end
