It was towards the end of their adventure of the day. Dragon Father and Dragon Little had been separated and now Dragon Father was in a rocky maze in the middle of the desert and Mole Men that had sprung from the rock itself began to surround him.
Dragon Little swooped in from above. She was almost five years old, a small child, but experienced in adventure and pretty good at helming Bonny’s Revenge, their flying pirate ship.
Dragon Father held up his hand and grabbed the rope ladder she had swung over the railing.
“Hold on to your butt, Dad!” She yelled at him.
He grabbed the rope, the ship swept him up, and he was saved.
Later, once he was on the deck again, he looked at her and said, “I thought ‘hold on to your butt’ meant going like this,” he grabbed his behind.
She looked at him, eyes crinkling in confusion. “No, it doesn’t. It means ‘get ready for action’.”
“Are you sure?” he said, half smiling, “because I was sure it meant this,” he grabbed his behind again.
“That’s stupid,” she said.
“Really?” he was amused, no doubt remembering their first argument on the subject.
“Really.”
He shrugged. “Okay.”
“Okay.”
“Ready for a good night story?”
She nodded and began to walk towards her cabin.
“Good thing I didn’t hold on to my butt,” he said softly.
“Good thing,” she said and disappeared into her cabin.
—Told by The Red Dragon