Bronze Bowl: The Tail of Two Dragons

“One day, when I was 10 years old, dad emerged from his studio carrying a piece of looseleaf paper. His wry grin indicated he had something fun to share. He’d begun a new piece, and he had written down it’s story so he could share it with all of us. We gathered around and he began to read in a quietly dramatic voice. . .

‘In the sacred valley, shone a big smiling sun who watched over everything.

All around the sacred valley was the sacred forest filled with sacred trees.

The smiling sun told the sacred twin dragons “never go into the sacred, forbidden forest. . . you will never be happy together again if you do.”

The dragons laughed and laughed and said “poo poo” as they went toward the forest, puffing smoke along the way. . . never, never to come out.

Inside the sacred forest. . . they went in different directions but began fighting with each other because these two dragons shared one tail and could not agree which way to go.

They twisted their one tail around and around one sacred tree, then another, until they were so tangled, they never could come out to eat sacred flowers in the sacred valley again.

Lesson: Always listen to smart sun/son, if you have one.’

. . . Entranced and delighted, I remember begging him to read it again. My father was magical.” Kathi Bogucki