Fairy Tale Spotlight: Dream Days and The Reluctant Dragon

Let's go back to Kenneth Grahame one more time. It has been a while since I read his book "Dream Days." So much of the story has slipped my memory. I do, however, remember the gist. It exclusively features an aspect of childhood that seems to be getting lost in our society--a playful imagination.

"Dream Days" is the sequel to "The Golden Age" and merely continues in the same way. It chronicles Kenneth and his siblings as they do nothing more than wander about outdoors and have adventures which entirely happen inside of their minds. Because the author goes out of his way to take them seriously, these adventures seem almost real to the reader. I say "almost" because you are still very much aware that they are simply pretending. The author does not in any way make it seem like they are doing anything less.

Kenneth makes sure you understand that these pretend games, although fake on the surface, are very important to the child. While they are going out into the outdoors and fighting off mythological beasts, bears, and Indians, the hope for success is still within their hearts. They work together and use the world around them as a stage to perform their play--a play that must end respectfully well. The imagination of these children are fueling these adventures.

Now as to the present, I have no problems with things like smart phones and video games in and of themselves, but I do think that much of that imaginative play that children need so much is taken away when parents allow them to indulge in them. Take Kenneth Grahame as a perfect example of a child who was allowed to explore the confines of his head out in the open. He grew up to express those wild imaginings on paper in one of the most eloquent ways ever. I wager that "The Wind in the Willows" would have never happened if his parents had given him a smart phone to thumb around with for all of his early years. (Of course, they did not have such things back then, but you should take my meaning.)

It seems to be that children are not allowed to play as they should. They are coddled mercilessly and kept away from as much adventure as possible. This cannot be good for them. Imagination is the prime fuel for what makes a human being do the amazing things they do in life. If you keep them locked away, they will live a locked away life. That is a tragedy in the making.

Now, one chapter before the end of "Dream Days," we find young Kenneth and his sister Charlotte chasing a lizard down a road. While wondering if it may just be a baby dragon, they run into a circus-man who seems willing to join with them in the speculation. This leads to a story which has commonly been separated from this book called "The Reluctant Dragon."

This is one of my favorite fairy tales and one of the big reasons I have recommended "Dream Days" as a good read. The story is about a town which is very upset about a dragon just moving into the area. They call upon St. George to slay him. A boy decides to go see this dragon and ask him what he thinks of it, but he finds that the dragon is entirely uninterested in doing battle. In fact, the personality of this dragon is such that he likes things like tea, poetry, and enjoying the peacefulness of nature. He refuses to do any fighting which, hilariously, upsets the boy. Why? Because he wanted to see a fight.

In fact, the entire townspeople, as frightened as they are, want to see a fight. There hasn't been a dragon there in a long time, and they all have grown bored. It all sort of turns into a PR nightmare when you have a knight who claims to be ready to slay a dragon and a dragon who will not even show up to be slain. But the boy, not to have his great fairy tale battle taken away from him, starts negotiations between the prissy dragon and St. George. They talk about various ways they might fake the battle, at the very least to please the crowds of bored civilians.

The whole things just disturbs the peace-loving dragon. He keeps trying to distract them with tea and poetry, but they won't have it. Finally, it is decided that the dragon will be stabbed in a place that will not kill him. They will put together a fake battle that will end in his death, or so it will seem. However, the dragon is so many years out of practice, he can barely choke up a flame! Nevertheless, when the time comes, he gets it right and the crowd ends up very pleased. Afterwards, the dragon is made an honorary citizen after St. George claims to have reformed him.

Did you know that the Disney movie for this book was surprisingly close to the original story?! I even consider it somewhat of an improvement, and I say that while noting that the original story was really perfect in itself. Disney capitalized on the personalities of all the characters and simply went all in with their portrayal. They were hilarious in cartoon motion! It is very difficult to not laugh hard while watching it. The dragon also finally gets to recite a poem. "Ode to an Upside-Down Cake" was hilarious!

Sweet little upside-down cake,

Cares and woes, you've got'em.

Poor little upside-down cake,

Your top is on your bottom.

Alas, little upside-down cake,

Your troubles never stop.

Because, little upside-down cake,

Your bottom's on your top!

Dear God. Even reading it, I just about lose it.

The point of the story was really that human beings do not enjoy existing in a state of boredom. We live for greater things than just the daily grind. The moment anything amazing or even terrible happens, it draws our attention like a fly to honey. And I gotta say, it's pretty pitiful that we are not all doing great things every day of our lives.

We all have talents and we want to use them. But the world pushes most people back by a class system. It is very hard to get noticed and placed in your desired career. But I don't want you to become cynical and empty of hope. Look at what the dragon was doing.

The dragon was doing exactly what he wanted despite what the world was trying to tell him to do. (Interestingly, they were telling him that he should be killed.) He did not care what anyone thought. He just came out into the open, made tea, wrote poetry, and perfectly enjoyed himself. He never put on airs. He was what he was and did not mind saying so. In a world that tried to tear him down, he stayed true to himself. The dragon in this story should be your role model--as silly as he is. And believe me when I say that there is nothing wrong with being silly. Being silly is strictly a human thing, and it makes us all the more worthwhile.

Thank you for reading my blog! Did you enjoy it? Did you hate it? Either way, you can comment below, or you can email me at tkwadeauthor@gmail.com. Roar!