Liz Tames a Dragon
April 1st, 2009 by Stephanie Painter
Liz used to think Saturday was the best day of the whole week. She would pick an arcade or museum to visit, and Mom would take her for a special adventure.
Her baby sister, Meg, tagged along too, but that was fine. While Meg napped in the stroller, Liz remained Queen of Saturday Adventures.
But lately, Liz had begun to wonder why she wasn’t queen anymore. Meg hated napping now and wanted her say about their outings.
One Saturday morning, Liz grabbed her roller skates from the closet. “I’m going to practice for hours at the rink,” she said.
“Not today!” replied Meg. “Mom promised to take ME to the park.”
“I don’t want to go to the park, I want to skate!” Liz moaned. “You’ve ruined my Saturday.
Liz stomped upstairs to her room. There she found another awful surprise. The pony picture she had painted so carefully was covered in ugly crayon squiggles. Now Dad would never see the masterpiece she’d made for him.
“Meg, you drew on my painting, didn’t you?” she shouted, her cheeks bright red.
When Meg saw her sister’s angry face, she shrank back. “I was just trying to make your picture prettier,” she replied in a trembling voice.
Liz’s feelings mixed together like a sour milkshake. She felt hurt and disappointed, but mostly she felt mad. Then, something strange began to happen. Green scales covered her legs, silver wings sprouted from her sides, and a dragon’s heart thumped in her chest.
She grabbed the ruined picture, crumpled it, and threw it at her sister.
“Look at what you’ve done to me!” Liz roared. “You make me scream and stomp!”
Meg had the power to turn her sister into a fire-breathing dragon. But how did she do it?
Liz was determined to uncover Meg’s secret. She charged into her sister’s bedroom and dumped out all of Meg’s toys. She was certain she’d find a secret potion or ancient dragon spell. Instead, there were only dirty socks and an old teddy bear.
“Tell me where you’re hiding those potions!” Liz hissed.“I don’t have a magic potion,” Meg said.
No potion, no spells? Liz was surprised. She felt certain Meg had the power to change her into a dragon. She peeked into the mirror — no dragon. Instead she saw a reflection of herself.
Liz sat down to sort things out. No one can make me act like a furious dragon, she thought. Stomping around makes me feel strong, but my hot temper is scary. And it makes others sad. What if I found a not-so-scary way to let Meg know how I felt?
“I’m sorry I yelled and dumped out your toys,” Liz said softly.
“And I’m sorry I colored on your picture,” Meg replied, wiping away tears.
Liz put the toys away, then took a long walk at the park. As she climbed into bed that night, Liz knew one thing was certain. She wouldn’t act like a dragon again.
But making change was hard at first. The next day, Meg dragged Liz’s favorite doll by the hair.
“Hey, that’s my doll!” Liz cried.
She almost added, “You dummy!” but remembered how sad she felt when her best friend called her a name. Instead, she tried something new.
“Don’t carry Melissa Mischief like that,” said Liz. “Carry her this way instead.
She showed her sister how to hold the doll.
Maybe Meg didn’t mean to be such trouble, thought Liz. She is only five. But Liz still had to talk to Meg about the squiggles.
“I work hard on my paintings. I don’t like it when you draw on them.”
Meg nodded. “I’d be sad, too, if you drew on my pictures.”
It wasn’t so hard after all. When Liz calmly told Meg how she felt, Meg tried her best to understand. A smart kid can fix problems better than a mean, fire-breathing dragon, thought Liz. Dragons have only one way to solve problems. Smart kids have lots of ways.
Now when she gets mad, Liz takes a deep breath and waits to talk until she feels cool and calm. She might go to her room for some quiet time or run outside to burn off her anger.
Liz tells herself, “No one can make me act like a dragon. I can control my feelings and actions.” Dragons breathe fire. Liz breathes fair, calm words. Dragons grow scales, Liz grows patience.
Now, Saturdays are fun again for the sisters.
“You’re a real dragon-tamer,” Meg said with a giggle.
“It takes smarts,” Liz replied with a grin. “Let’s go play kickball.”
Learn Some Dragon Taming Secrets
When you feel mad as a fire-breathing dragon, here’s how to cool down.
Breathe in deeply while counting: 1-2-3-4-5. Then breathe out slowly while counting 5-4-3-2-1.
When you finish, you’ll feel calmer and ready to start taming the dragon.
Give yourself a “butterfly hug.” Cross your arms and put your hands above your elbows. Gently pat your arms.
Sometimes it helps to throw your anger away with an “anger dance.” Or make an “anger picture” and scribble hard on paper. Another idea is to make two fists, then throw open your hands and toss your angry feelings away.
Don’t blame another person by saying, “You make me mad.” Change the “you” to an “I” statement. “I feel upset when you don’t share the computer with me.”
Work with your sister, brother or friend to help solve problems. “Why don’t we share the video game? You can play for 30 minutes, and then I’ll take a turn for 30 minutes.”