“Joy, I have something special planned for today!”
Dragon Father was quite excited as he told this to Dragon Little while she was eating her breakfast of pizza and carrot juice.
I have noticed the number of days that have passed and I knew the date. I knew that tomorrow would be Dragon Little’s sixth birthday. I became excited myself, since I believed that Dragon Father for once would not forget Dragon Little’s birthday.
But that was not the case. He had thought of something else. “Today is Tweedle-Weedle-Dee Day!”
Dragon Little looked at him as if he had said something quite boring. ‘Tweedle-Weedle-Dee Day’ was a day that the both of them finished anything they said with ‘tweedle-weedle-dee’. It was not about the birthday after all.
Dragon Little looked at Dragon Father and sighed in exasperation. “Okaaaaayyyyyyyy…” she said.
And so Tweedle-Weedle-Dee Day began.
They fought robot pirates. “Ahoy! Robot Pirates! Tweedle-weedle-dee!” Dragon Little called from the crow’s nest.
“You’ll never get the gold! Tweedle-weedle-dee!” shouted Dragon Father as the pirates tried to steal golden treasure chests.
“Dad, it’s a trap! Tweedle-weedle-dee!” Dragon Little shouted as the gravel underneath her legs proved to be like quicksand and she began to sink into it.
Dragon Father was standing just outside the gravel and did not sink. “Hold on, Joy, no problem, I’ll find something you can grab! Tweedle-weedle-dee!”
He disappeared into the surrounding bushes, searching.
“Dad, hurry!” she shouted a minute later. “ Tweedle-weedle-dee!” Dragon Little had sunk to her knees in the gravel by the the time Dragon Father returned.
Dragon Father returned with a branch twice as long as he ist. “Found it! Tweedle-weedle-dee!”
Dragon Little’s legs were now entirely within the gravel.
“Give it!”
He was about to offer her one side of the branch, when he stopped. “You forgot to say Tweedle-weedle-dee! Tweedle-weedle-dee!”
Dragon Little’s face turned to anger.
“Give it!”
Dragon Father smiled. “Say Tweedle-weedle-dee! Tweedle-weedle-dee!”
Dragon Little seemed to consider her response for a split second, then answered with determination. “It’s a stupid game. I’m too old for it.”
“Joy… we had so much fun over the years! Tweedle-weedle-dee!”
“I’m too old for it! It’s a stupid game!”
Dragon Father’s face changed, now. He seemed wounded.
Dragon Little meanwhile had sunk down to her bellybutton.
Dragon Father snapped out of it. “Grab the branch! Tweedle-weedle-dee!”
She grabbed it and he pulled her out.
“Agh! All my clothes and my shoes are full of pebbles!”
She sat down and took off her shoes.
“Joy, come on. One last time. Let’s play Tweedle-weedle-dee! Tweedle-weedle-dee!”
But she would not budge. After she got most of the gravel out of her clothes and shoes they continued in their adventure. He allowed her to lead.
Left behind, he whispered to himself, “Too old?” and, after a few seconds, added “Tweedle-weedle-dee!”
—Told by The Red Dragon