The Dragon Book

Cassie is given her great-grandmother's diary on her 12th birthday. It contains a magical secret that will become hers and yours if you're ready to listen. This 27 minute sleep story about dragons reduces stress and worry, builds body confidence and aids settled sleep as it drifts off into relaxing music. Chrissy Ortner has a background in Educational Psychology and Clinical Hypnotherapy and loves dragons. Music: Native American Flute and Acoustic Guitar by Daniel Carlton from Pixabay with the addition of dragon chimes and the whispers of the wind.

Transcript

Have you ever wondered what it would feel like to fly,

Just like Yuri with the dragons,

Soaring on a magic rug,

Or perhaps feeling the beating of wings next to you as you ride on a dragon's back,

Or the back of a horse with wings?

This story is for curious adventurers and daydreamers who get lost in their thoughts of what it would be like if only.

Tonight's adventure is for those that can summon magical ideas,

The ones that come when you close your eyes and allow wonderful things to appear in your imagination when you're still and snuggled down warm,

Breathing out the busyness of the day,

And stretching away any frustrations.

And if you had your very own magical creature that could take you wherever you wanted to go,

I wonder where you would ask it to take you.

Would you travel to the moon,

The stars,

A beautiful beach,

Or the misty mountains to fly beneath the rainbow waterfalls,

Swooping and diving,

And feeling the wind in your hair?

So many places are waiting to be discovered just by you,

And with the next few deep breaths,

As you stretch and breathe out the biggest dragon breath that you can,

Snuggling down into the most comfortable position,

I wonder if you can close your eyes,

And as you do,

Noticing that comforting darkness,

Just like when you go to the movies and are ready to watch a wonderful film,

It might even feel like your eyelids are becoming heavier,

The more relaxed that you become,

And you might even allow yourself to dream your very own special dream,

As I tell you the story of Cassie,

And how she discovered her dragon,

And this is how our story begins.

Cassie was often grumpy going to bed.

She would moan and groan and stamp her feet all the way to the bathroom and into bed,

But she loved to hear the sound of her mother's voice reading to her each night,

And on the night of her 12th birthday,

Cassie's mum promised to read her a special story that she'd not heard before.

Cassie was eager to hear the story and hurried into the bedroom,

Climbed under the covers.

Her kitten followed and nuzzled her face as Cassie lay waiting,

With only her eyes peeking out,

Enjoying the softness of the pillow and its comforting smell,

Maybe just like you are now.

Cassie's mother opened the door slowly.

She sat down on the end of the bed and handed Cassie an old leather book,

The cover tattered and worn,

And held closed by a rusty metal clasp.

Cassie turned the heavy book over and saw that on the cover was a faded painting of a dragon with its wings stretched out.

Cassie looked at it with amazement.

Where did it come from,

She wondered,

As she gently stroked her fingers over the cover.

The kitten sniffed at it suspiciously and curled its tail around Cassie's arm.

She felt its warm,

Soft touch.

This book belonged to your great-great-grandmother.

It was her diary,

Said her mother,

Passed down through the women in your family.

Each of us were given it when we turned twelve,

She said,

And now it's yours.

But as Cassie opened the clasp and turned the dusty pages,

She felt somewhat disappointed.

The writing was scrawled in large loops and swirls,

And was so hard to read.

I don't understand any of this,

She said.

Can you read it?

I'll do my best,

Said her mother.

It's a long time since it was read to me.

Our language and writing has changed a lot since it was written.

With practice you'll begin to understand.

What was she like,

Asked Cassie.

Your great-great-grandmother's name was Yasmin.

It was said that she could make the thunder roar of a lightning flash.

That she could hear the whisper in the wind of what was to come.

But most of all,

She was known for her kindness,

And an adventurous spirit.

Yasmin had a secret,

A special gift that you are old enough to hear now.

It will become your secret and your special gift as you hear her words and dream her dreams,

As you will from now on.

So close your eyes and listen as best you can.

Cassie closed her eyes and smiled as the kitten settled onto her tummy.

Its purring was sending a soothing feeling all through her body.

The fragile pages of the diary smelt slightly of rose petals as her mother opened the book to the first page and read the first entry.

She read slowly at first,

Gradually becoming quicker as the letters formed pictures in her mind.

This is what she read.

My name is Yasmin,

And I am 12 years old.

This book was given to me by my mother,

And the pages are blank.

There are so many pages,

I don't know how I will fill them in this lifetime,

For my days are very boring.

I help my mother prepare the breakfast as the sun rises over the mountains.

I go to school with my sister,

And return in the afternoon to help mother milk the goats and prepare our supper.

I do not like school much,

My thoughts are always somewhere else other than where they should be.

When it is warm,

I love to swim in the lake and pretend I am a mermaid.

I have heard stories of them from travellers who pass by our village.

I wish I had a glimmering tail and could dive down deep to hunt for pearls.

I have not found one yet,

And I feel I will never be content until I am a real mermaid,

Swimming in a sparkling ocean,

Wearing my very own pearl necklace.

Cassie's mother turned the page and showed her the drawing at the end of the first diary entry.

It was a rough sketch of a young girl sat by a lake,

With mountains behind her,

And forest.

Cassie smiled.

It was funny to think that her great-great-grandmother was once her age and also disliked school.

Cassie yawned and settled down under the covers again.

She could see that every page was filled with writing.

She hoped her grandmother had found something more interesting to write.

And she thought about her own life.

She could think of a hundred things more interesting to say.

But Cassie closed her eyes,

Took a slow deep breath,

And settled back into the warmth of the covers,

Listening with half her attention.

As the kitten nuzzled her hand and played with her hair.

It was only when her mother read out the lines.

I heard it in the wind.

The roaring,

The beating of wings,

And it gave me goosebumps all over.

That Cassie's attention snapped back to the book.

With eyes still closed,

She heard her mother read.

I heard it quite clearly.

The wind said,

They're coming.

They're flying fast,

Flying low.

Blink and you'll miss them.

And then it said,

The dragons are near.

I looked all around me,

But first I felt them.

All around me the leaves were swirling.

As if caught up in the excitement of what was to come.

The goats scattered.

They were skipping and jumping and hid themselves deep in the forest.

I could hear them bleating.

Then everything became still.

Not a bird.

Not an insect.

Just complete silence.

I held my breath for a moment,

Not knowing whether to follow the goats.

And then I saw them,

Flying across the plains.

Hundreds of dragons filled the sky,

So many that the sky grew dark with the beating of their wings.

The dragons flew so low I could see their scales shimmering.

I could hear their breath,

And see their tails steering them towards the misty mountains.

And then,

With a roar that rumbled like thunder,

And a flash that lit up the sky,

They were gone.

I ran to the goats,

And gathered them as quickly as I could.

And with my heart beating fast,

I hurried home.

Mother noticed I was breathless.

She gathered me up in her arms,

Wanting to know what was wrong.

I snuggled into her warmth and shivered.

It took me a few minutes to whisper the words that I had seen many,

Many dragons.

Mother just smiled.

She told me she believed dragons were just fairy tales from long,

Long ago.

She said she thought I must have imagined it.

Later I told my sister,

But she laughed.

You have a great imagination,

She said.

I didn't see any dragons.

I felt confused.

How could they not have seen them?

How did they not feel the beating of their wings in the wind?

That night I heard them returning,

Flying low overhead.

And as I peeked out of my window,

I saw the sky flash with fire as they flew past.

Cassie took a deep breath.

Beneath her closed eyelids,

She could see the dragons flying high in the night sky.

Silhouetted against the moonlight,

Just as Yasmin had done.

Is it true?

I didn't know dragons were real,

She whispered to her mother.

Cassie's mother turned the page and read on.

Today is Midsummer's Day.

Today I painted a picture of a dragon on the cover of this book.

And because no one believes me,

I have decided to hide it in the barn,

Wrapped in a blanket and buried in some straw.

Today I went back to the lake,

Hoping the dragons would return.

But the wind was still,

And no matter how many times I asked it when the dragons would return,

It didn't answer.

I worked hard in the garden today,

Helping mother pick berries for supper and pulling out weeds till my fingers ached.

I went to bed early so I could dream of dragons.

The next entry in the diary said,

Today is my birthday.

I got up early and ran to the lake to see the sunrise.

Father always told me on this day it rose especially for me.

I didn't want to miss a moment of my special day.

I stared at my reflection by the water's edge.

I noticed I had grown a little taller,

But maybe not tall enough.

I shouted at the sun to make me grow taller as I jumped up and down,

Stretching as tall as I could.

And that was when I heard it.

That strange whisper on the wind again.

You're perfect just the way you are,

Said the breeze that fluttered my hair and sent shivers down my spine.

Your body was designed to be perfect for you.

You're perfect just the way you are.

And when you see your reflection,

You will know it.

I was surprised.

This time when I looked down at my reflection,

The sun sent rays of light glistening all around me.

My whole body was shimmering.

And then the wind said,

You're a blank book.

It's up to you how your story will be told.

You get to choose how you feel about each new day and who you would like to share it with.

You can create beautiful memories right now if you're ready to trust in your own magic.

Yes,

Please,

I whispered back.

I wasn't sure how wind magic worked,

So I listened very carefully.

The wind told me it was simple.

I just had to remember the things I love and let my heart fill with that happy feeling.

I thought about my special day and how excited I was it was my birthday.

The things we would eat,

The games my sister and I would play.

I thought about climbing my favorite tree,

Climbing up into its thick branches and watching the baby goats that made me laugh each morning.

And each thought made my heart feel lighter.

My body felt stronger and a big smile crept across my face.

And then the wind said,

Many things will happen in life that are difficult or frightening,

But you can choose how you want to feel and react.

The magic words are,

Even though this is hard right now,

I choose to feel better.

I carried the wind's words with me to school today and even though some things felt hard to learn,

To do,

I decided to remember what made me happy and find a way to make the boring things fun.

I imagined I had a dragon by my side,

Helping me all day.

My dragon gave me a special symbol,

A flame surrounded by a circle and I imagined it hidden in the pages of a book.

I imagined it on the teacher's blackboard,

In the playground and even on my desk.

I even imagined I carried it in my heart.

After supper I went outside to thank the stars for a wonderful day.

I drew my magic dragon symbol into the dirt with my foot and as I stood back to look at it,

I heard the sound of beating wings,

Flying fast and low.

I felt my heart fill with excitement.

It was the largest dragon,

Flying alone,

Sparkling emerald scales.

He circled above me and then he landed gently in the circle I had drawn.

I saw the glimmer of starshine on his scales,

Deep greens and purples and the air around him shimmered.

I was so surprised I found it hard to breathe and then I saw the dragon's eyes flash with a beautiful golden spark and I remembered the voice of the wind.

Even though this is hard,

I choose to feel better.

And suddenly the dragon bowed down low and said in a husky voice,

Thank you for calling me here.

It's wonderful to meet you.

My name is Elysian and if you are willing,

I would love to take you to your special star.

Cassie's mother closed the book.

It's time to sleep now,

Cassie.

But tomorrow we will read more.

Sleep tight,

My darling.

And suddenly she was gone with the book and the room was all dark.

Cassie felt too excited to sleep.

But she could only imagine the dragons clearly when her eyes were closed and she wondered what it would be like to understand the wind.

It was only when she lay really still that she heard the sound of the wind outside rustling in the trees,

Rattling the window.

At first it said nothing and then when her mind wandered back to thinking about dragons,

She heard it whisper.

You are like your great-great-grandmother.

Inquisitive and kind.

It's time for you to step into your power.

Let go of all your worries.

Let go of all your fears.

Know that you are surrounded by love.

So breathe them away and fill your heart with love.

Remembering what makes you happy.

Everything that you appreciate.

The dragons know you're here and soon you will be able to call them.

Each night that you do this,

The quicker they will come.

They're waiting for you in your dreams.

Cassie began to notice strange shapes and colors.

She breathed deeply.

She painted the dragon symbol.

Flames surrounded by a circle in her mind.

Sometimes she saw it floating in clouds.

Sometimes she imagined it glowing above her bed.

And as she snuggled down even deeper,

Her thoughts drifted to dragons,

Forests,

Mountains and valleys.

The pictures in her mind became stranger and stranger.

As if a magician has painted over the scenes with a magic brush.

There were dancing dogs,

Lollipop trees,

Fairy floss clouds.

The magic is beginning,

Whispered the wind.

Are you ready to explore?

Cassie felt herself nodding gently and with the next few slow deep breaths,

She found herself drifting down,

Down,

And down a beautiful staircase into a new world where the plants and trees were so much more colorful and beautiful than she'd ever seen before.

All around her were the sounds of bird calls and high in the trees she saw parrots with rainbow feathers that shimmered in the light.

And there,

In a clearing of trees,

Cassie found an old book.

Rusty with a metal clasp just like the one her great-great-grandmother had.

And on its cover she spied instead her very own name.

Cassie turned the pages and saw that they were empty apart from one sentence.

This is your dragon dreaming book.

Each night after you have summoned your dragon,

You can write about your adventures here.

Cassie took a deep breath and the sound of beating wings grew closer.

And just like you,

She settled down deep knowing that an open heart and an inquisitive mind settles all nerves.

The magic happens when we relax into the flow.

You are perfect,

Whispered the wind,

Just the way you are.

Kind.

Caring.

And with each slow breath,

Your dragon draws closer as you breathe away worries and welcome in love.

And with each slow breath,

Your book lies waiting,

Ready for the night's new adventures as you walk down those stairs,

Drifting and dreaming.

Dreaming in a beautiful new world that only dragon riders know.

Drifting and dreaming the voice of the wind that guides you to dragons and guides you to love.

And that love is what sparkles on the tales of mermaids and dragons.

That love is the sunshine that sparkles in your eyes when you're full of adventure and full of fun.

And that love is the light of wonderful ideas and the many small kindnesses that you give to others and the ones that you receive.

So let your dreams sparkle with love tonight your dragon book is ready to begin.

With eyes closed and breath slow,

Inviting in all the stories that you long to know.

And those dragon dreams begin with sparkles,

The colours that shift and merge beneath heavy closed eyes.

And the stories are woven with magic and rainbows carrying you to that special place where dragons love to fly high.

Drifting and dreaming you are safe and you are loved.

It's safe to sleep now,

Dreaming of dragons.

Reviews

What a lovely story. Your voice was very soothing. I must admit that I did fall asleep. Bookmarked and ready for the next time. Thank you.