When the dragon came to dinner

Childrens poem/story

When the Dragon came for dinner my Mother said “Take Care!”

As he flew in through the window and settled on a chair,

I said “I sent an invite; I never thought he’d show”

As I stared at his huge head and the claws upon each toe.

 The Dragon sat there regally, his nostrils flared with style

He watched us getting ready as though judging us for trial.

Mum put down lots of newspaper in case he made a mess.

I think the look he gave her made my Mother start to stress.

She put out plates and dishes but her hands shook as she worked.

And she hit the deck with gusto when the Dragon did a burp.

Dad came in with his paper and sat down in his seat

He didn’t notice the Dragon as he settled in to eat

Mum served up roast potatoes and a chicken full of stuffing

The dragon eyed it hungrily as his nostrils started puffing

The peas and bright red cabbage made him lick his lips with glee.

He sniffed at each dish carefully and gave a wink to me.

Then quick as a flash he ate the lot and swallowed it in one.

Mum almost dropped the pudding but the Dragon wasn’t done.

He lapped up all the drinks then smiled like a winner

Dad put down his paper and said “Hey, where’s my dinner?”

We all looked at the Dragon, who didn’t seem to care.

Until my Dad looked angry and walked over to his chair.

I watched in awed amazement as my Father eyed our guest

Mum slipped quietly under the table which she seemed to think was best

Dad said “You ate my dinner, that’s very rude you know”

The Dragon looked ashamed and then flapped his wings to go.

“No” Said Dad “First I feel, I must teach you to be polite”

And they sat together talking about what was wrong and right

They talked of how it’s rude to bite and how to ask for more

They talked of how to thank your host and not to flame or roar.

Mostly my Father explained at length that dinner must be shared.

To which the Dragon blushed deep red to show us that he cared.

I sat beside him happily and gently stroked his tail.

Finally they finished and Dad patted him on his scale.

The Dragon bowed before he left to show us he had learned

To be a good guest from now on and not act so absurd

My mother put her feet up and sipped wearily at her cuppa

My Father called out hungrily “What do we have for Supper!”

And as the Dragon flew away, I waved him off in the sky

And just like a good guest should his wing waved back ‘Goodbye’

Author's Note

I love writing for children but this is just a quick poem I thought up the other day. :)

Reviews

[Bob Goddard]

It's fun, kids will love it!

[emipoemi]

It's a great children's story that I can very well see being published as one some day. It has the charm and the absurdity, and even the educational moral. This may be a linguistic/dialectal difference, but we across the pond say "made a burp" (or simply "burped", which if you could find a way to use - probably by adding a disyllabic synonym for "suddenly" or something - it would better work with the rhyme with "worked"). Other than that, this is fantastic, and you should definitely consider sending this out to presses that publish children's books. I very well deserves it. Well done!

[Zahra]

very cool. Interesting story. Fun read

[magenta24uk]

Thank you :)

[Diane Lockard]

This is terrific, lots of description for illustrations, and teaches children about manners. It is a definite winner!! The poem flows very well and I love the dragon.

[Chandradhish Ghosh]

This is marvelous...I would love it if I were a kid...have you published any of your writings for children? If you haven't you should do it asap. Thumbs up!

[magenta24uk]

Thank you. I have only had my more adult poems published but I would love to do a kids book of funny poems. :)

[Vidya Bacchus]

This was very nice and children would love it.I loved it:)

[magenta24uk]

THANK YOU. I do love to write poetry for children.

[Vidya Bacchus]

You are welcome:)

[Frieda P]

Very cute, teaching a dragon to be polite, good lesson for the kiddies too. :-)

[magenta24uk]

Thank you for reading and reviewing. I might put on some more in the future.