“Well, if we can't ride a dragon's tail, let's all go find a dragon scale!”
The Trent little children – eleven-year-old Velma, eight-year-old Milton, and eight-year-old Gracie – and the seven Ludlow grandchildren – Robert, Grayson, Amanda, Edwina, George, Andrew, and Eleanor, ranging in age from 5 to 11 – were all around their homes, inside and out, on a quest started by Grayson.
Grayson was talking to his five-year-old cousin Robert: “Sure would be nice to get a ride on a dragon.”
“Yep, sure would be. Let's ask Gracie – hey, Gracie!”
Eight-year-old Gracie was on her porch, coloring.
“Hey, Robert and Grayson!”
“Do you know if there are any dragon rides around here?”
“Let me ask Milton – hey, Milton!”
She went inside and came back.
“Milton said that if there are, the problem is that they are probably trying to keep the dragons from catching Covid-19.”
Robert looked at Grayson, confused.
“But how is a dragon going to catch a big cold with all that fire coming out of his mouth – hey, George!”
Grayson's brother George came out onto the Ludlow front porch.
“How's a dragon going to catch a cold or something with fire coming out of his mouth all the time?”
“Beats me – hey, Andrew!”
The ten-year-old appeared at once, and George asked him the question.
“You know, I bet they haven't even thought about that yet,” Andrew said. “Dragons are probably immune to just about everything.”
“Maybe we're going about this the wrong way,” Milton said from his porch. “Maybe there's a cure people haven't thought about.”
“What?” Gracie his sister said. “Learning how to do fire-breathing?”
“No, Gracie, no, but you know, whatever it is in dragons that lets them do that may help people.”
“Okay, so how do we get what they have?”
Milton smiled.
“You know how birds leave feathers? I'm sure the local dragons have left some scales here and there.”
“Genius,” Andrew said. “Milton is a genius.”
Grayson looked at Robert, and then smiled.
“Well, if we can't ride a dragon's tail--.”
“Let's all go find a dragon scale!” Robert said, and all the children soon got involved.