Interview with the Dragon

INTERVIEW WITH A DRAGON is a different take on dragons, a look at life from their perspective.

A pregnant female dragon is in prison and not enjoying the experience very much. The food is boring with porridge for breakfast every morning and exercise in a yard with a wire mesh dome overhead; this dragon hates routine. She listens to the other prisoners’ gripes, knowing she’s safe as they are afraid of her. During the breaks she learns a lot about the human race, and feels dragons have been persecuted long enough.

When a journalist comes to interview her, she puts a plan in place to change her circumstances. Putting the journalist at ease is easy and she begins with, ‘dragons are homo-iothermic.’ When she adds we evolved like humans from the sea, the journalist is shocked, but ready to believe almost anything she says to get an exclusive. The dragon explains their love and need of the gold which humans mine with machinery, so they must steal it to survive.

The journalist is enthralled and isn’t ready for the unexpected surprise when the interview is over.

The dialogue is very funny as the dragon’s wry humor during the interview gives the reader an interesting insight into this talkative dragon’s point of view. This dragon is well spoken, has a slightly different aspect on human behavior, and admits she definitely came from an egg. In fact she’s so articulate the dialogue ranges from laying eggs to survival tactics.

As humans have feared fire breathing dragons with talons and wings from the beginning of time, this tale brings a new idea. The author has written a believable tale, about an extinct species, one that joined the Dodo after St George bravely did his knightly duty killing the last of the species. The conflict is about the way we see the world, and how humans are decimating other species sometimes for no real reason.

The word dragon will always inspire dread in humans, and if the stories are correct, for a very good reason. Dragons are in folklore around the world, locked into human superstition and yet we still try to say they never existed.

August 2007