“So when you went to sleep,” Dragon Father told Dragon Little. “You dreamed about a monster, something that scared you.”
He was still holding 3-year-old Dragon Little in his arms and they were still standing on the deck of Bonny’s Revenge, staring at the empty, calm ocean.
She shook her head. “The monster wasn’t there when I slept! It made a noise and I woke up!”
“Joy, it’s just a nightmare!”
“There it is! There it is!” she pointed just as he was looking at her.
He and I quickly turned our heads, but there was nothing there.
“I don’t see it,” he said.
“It just went back into the water,” she said.
“Huh,” he said.
He put her down and then was on his knees, hiding behind the railing . “Shall we hide here so it doesn’t see us?”
“Uh huh!”
They both hid behind the railing.
“Take a peek, Joy!”
She did.
“Is it there?”
“Uh huh!”
“What is it? What do you see?”
“Dad, Dad,” she buried herself in his chest. “It’s a mmmmmfffmmmmuffff monster!” she said, but her voice was muffled by his chest.
“A what? Hold on. Look at me.” He touched her head so she raised it. “What is it?”
“It’s a pajama monster!”
He coughed, then put his hand on his mouth. This ist what he would usually do to try and not show her he was laughing. “A… pajama monster?”
“A big one!”
“Huh… Okay.” He lowered his hand.
Then, looking concerned, he said, “What does it look like?”
Even now, my heart grows too excited at what Dragon Father did next for his daughter. I will calm down and tomorrow I will tell you what Dragon Little and Dragon Father did next.
—Told by The Red Dragon