Age: 3 — Blog — The Lost In Dreams Universe

‘The Squashbuckler Diaries’ are the daily tales of Joy Shelley’s Life in the Dream. The ‘Lost in Dreams’ books will tell the story of what happens to her at ages 6, 9, 12, 15, and so on. The diaries tell us what happens before, after, and between the books.

All in Age: 3

Jan 16
Jan 16 #385: The Strange Incident of the Pajama Monster, Part 5

Age: 3, Told by The Red Dragon

“What’s it doing, Dad?” Dragon Little had been originally frightened by the idea of a Pajama Monster. But then, as her father created it for her and made it harmless, he had taught her to accept her fears. It had worked, because now there was no fear in her voice.

“I don’t know, that’s very str--” he began, but then the Pajama Monster’s face became one of pain. “Oh, no. No, no,” he grabbed Dragon Little’s arm and together they took a few steps back.

[Click on the title to read the entire diary entry!]

Jan 15
Jan 15 #384: The Strange Incident of the Pajama Monster, Part 4

Age: 3, Told by The Red Dragon

“What does it want? What does it want?” the tiny 3-year-old asked, head buried deep in her father’s chest.

“I don’t know,” her father said calmly. “What do you think it wants?”

“It wants to eat my pajamas!”

“Really?”

She nodded.

[Click on the title to read the entire diary entry!]

Jan 11
Jan 11 #383: The Strange Incident of the Pajama Monster, Part 3

Age: 3, Told by The Red Dragon

Dragon Little and Dragon Father were still hiding behind the railing of Bonny’s Revenge from the monster Dragon Little was imagining.

“It’s big! Like a flying elephant!” Dragon Little said.

“Oh, yeah?”

“And it has a tall neck like a flying giraffe!”

“Ooh, that doesn’t sound good.”

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Jan 10
Jan 10 #382: The Strange Incident of the Pajama Monster, Part 2

Age: 3, Told by The Red Dragon

“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.

[Click on the title to read the entire post!]

Jan 9
Jan 9 #381: The Strange Incident of the Pajama Monster, Part 1

Age: 3, Told by The Red Dragon

Dec 2
Dec 2 #366: Heroes Never Cry, Part 5

Age: 3, Told by The Red Dragon

Suddenly a spark in the circuits on Captain Widget’s face made him jump backwards.

Another spark appeared on his face.

“What’s happening?” he hit his face, trying to put the small fire out. “Oh! My tears! My tears are shorting out my tech! There’s no time! I have only a few seconds before the tech is wasted!”

[Click on the title to read the entire post!]

Dec 1
Dec 1 #365: Heroes Never Cry, Part 4

Age: 3, Told by The Red Dragon

“Waaaah!” she mimicked his crying insultingly. “Waaaaah!”

The soldier, Colonel Doug Widget, looked up, shocked.

“Waaaah!” she repeated. She had given the task of lifting his spirits so he can save the world, all as part of Dragon Father’s lesson to teach her that heroes do cry.

So far it was not working.

“Waaaah!” she repeated, louder and in a more insulting tone.

The soldier laughed.

[Click on the title to read the entire post!]

Nov 26
Nov 26 #364: Heroes Never Cry, Part 3

Age: 3, Told by The Red Dragon

Dragon Little stood in front of the crying soldier, hugging his legs in the corner of the roof.

She was only three years old and her father left her on the roof of a planet that’s about to be terrorized and destroyed by an evil machine. In front of her was the only man who could save the world, a man implanted with the virus that can save the world.

I thought it was perhaps too much of a task for her to help a crying soldier. But I did not know enough about humans: Not how and when they cry, not how and when they’re brave. I have seen so few brave humans in my centuries of life. I have seen so few brave… any brave creature, in fact, that ist not someone’s dream.

[Click on the title to read the entire post!]

Nov 24
Nov 24 #363: Heroes Never Cry, Part 2

Age: 3, Told by The Red Dragon

A man appeared there, a split second before he pointed to him. The man was roughly Dragon Father’s size, but he was wearing a soldier’s uniform half made of circuits. His face was filled with circuits.

But the man was cowering in the corner, hugging his knees.

“Colonel Widget,” Dragon Father said, “was injected with a serum that allows him to put a virus in the system. The virus can destroy the evil machine. You got it?”

She nodded, but it didn’t seem she completely understood.

“So we need him to win. But look at him…” he pointed at Colonel Widget. “He’s crying. He’s afraid.”

—Told by The Red Dragon

Nov 19
Nov 19 #362: Heroes Never Cry, Part 1

Age: 3, Told by The Red Dragon

Dragon Little was standing beside Dragon Father as he helmed the wheel.

“When I grow up,” she told him casually, “I want to be just like you.”

“Oh, yeah? In what way?”

“I’m never going to cry!” She had cried quite a bit when her Dollies had been taken from her and then she had been devastated when they fell into the volcano.

Dragon Father stopped looking ahead and looked down at her, suddenly serious. “You’re never going to cry?”

[Click on the title to read the entire post!]

Nov 16
Nov 16 #359: The Pirate Ninjas Raid, Part 6: The Gift

Age: 3, Told by The Red Dragon

“What’s going on? Don’t we have normal toys for a little girl? Oh, here’s something,” he pulled out a big fuzzy bear. “A teddy bear!”

Dragon Little was trying to hold all of her new toys in both hands, and things kept falling out. She looked at the teddy bear and said, “Pfah!” in disgust.

“It’s cute!”

“It’s not cute! It’s pfah!”

Dragon Father stood up. “Well, it’s the last of the toys. We’re taking everything and we’re taking the teddy bear, too!”

“I’ll just throw it overboard!”

[Click on the title to read the entire post!]

Nov 15
Nov 15 #358: The Pirate Ninjas Raid, Part 5: Reunion

Age: 3, Told by The Red Dragon

“Go into the ship of the Pirate Ninjas,” the lava creature said. “The Dollies say that the pirates have stolen many toys from many children, hoping they could sacrifice them to me. All the toys that are on the ship are now yours.”

“Really?!” Dragon Little’s eyes opened in excitement.

”Go,” the lava creature said, and slowly descended back into the lava, disappearing into it.

[Click on the title to read the entire post!]

Nov 12
Nov 12 #357: The Pirate Ninjas Raid, Part 4: Wild Joy

Age: 3, Told by The Red Dragon

Dragon Little, hands bound behind her back, leapt at the pirate ninja closest to her and bit his hand.

She was mad and angry and venomous and the fact they had stolen her only toys, which she called the Dollies, and now they had fallen down the volcano and were destroyed.

The bitten ninja shouted in pain.

Dragon used the fact that he was off balance to slam her head into his stomach and run forward, causing him to lose balance and fall into the volcano.

[Click on the title to read the entire post!]

Nov 9
Nov 9 #356: The Pirate Ninjas Raid, Part 3: Crushing the Bad Guys

Age: 3, Told by The Red Dragon

“I’m going to crush you!” Dragon Little whispered at the ninja leading her down the ramp.

She had taken it quite personally that they had stolen the only toys she had, which she called the Dollies.

They were led to the edge of the ‘mouth’. “I’m going to crush all of you!” she raised her voice.

The Pirate Ninjas ignored her and began to bring down her Dollies from the ship as if they were a revered ancient relic.

“Those are my Dollies! You can’t have them! They’re mine! I’m going to destroy you!” she shouted at them.

[Click on the title to read the entire post!]

Nov 7
Nov 7 #355: The Pirate Ninjas Raid, Part 2: Feeling Bad

Age: 3, Told by The Red Dragon

Dragon Little was crying the entire time.

When she could speak, she said, “They took my Dollies, Dad! They took my Dollies!”

These were the handful of small dolls that were Dragon Little’s only playthings in her cabin since the time I had met her.

“I know. We’ll get them back,” Dragon Father said.

“I want you to kill them!” she said. “I want you to kill them and get my Dollies.”

[Click on the title to read the entire post!]

Nov 5
Nov 5 #354: The Pirate Ninjas Raid

Age: 3, Told by The Red Dragon

One day, there was an unexpected raid.

Dragon Father had just appeared and walked into Dragon Little’s cabin to wake her up.

But before he could, ninja pirates climbed aboard Bonny’s Revenge from all sides. Four of them ran into the cabin and immediately came out with Dragon Father whose mouth was gagged and his feet and hands tied.

[Click on the title to read the entire post!]

Sep 29
Sep 29 #338: The Villain’s Emergency

Age: 3, Told by The Red Dragon

After Dragon Little and Dragon Father fought the gorillas, as I have relayed to you yesterday, they had by the skin of their teeth.

But that was a feint.

Dragon Father and Dragon Little hid atop the closest trees and observed the killer gorillas.

As the killer gorillas left for their base, Dragon Father and Dragon Little swung from tree to tree on tree vines above the gorillas’ heads and followed them.

Once within the palace of the Gorilla King, they confronted the giant gorilla.

“Let’s do thiiiiiiis!” 3-year-old Dragon Little shouted at him excitedly, her small sword in one hand, her laser pistol in the other.

[Click on the title to read the entire post!]

Sep 26
Sep 26 #337: The Emergency

Age: 3, Told by The Red Dragon

Dragon Little was only a three years old girl when she and Dragon Father were surrounded by killer gorillas in the middle of the jungle.

The gorillas had proven themselves stronger than any human or robot they had met so far. They were smart and could talk, and now they had cornered Dragon Father and Dragon Little in a small clearing.

Gorillas that were not there just a second ago, climbed down from the trees and surrounded them.

Dragon Little took out her small sword in one hand and the small laser pistol in the other.

Dragon Father held a long sword, one in each hand.

The two stood with their backs to each other, so they could see all the gorillas that surrounded them.

“Ready!” Dragon Father whispered to her.

Dragon Little nodded. “Attaaaaaack!” she shouted.

[Click on the title to read the entire post!]

—Told by The Red Dragon

Aug 27
Aug 27 #318: Joy’s Third Birthday

Age: 3, Told by The Red Dragon

Dragon Little, my Dragon Little, was all alone on her third birthday.

Dragon Father did not appear as usual. He was gone. He must have stayed up the entire night in his waking world and from the time he disappeared in the middle of an adventure to the time he reappeared on Bonny’s Revenge, almost two days have passed.

In the year I have been in his dream, in the year since he and Dragon Little rescued me from slavery, he had never mentioned her birthday. Nor did he mention it in the next year.

[Click on the title to read the entire post!]

Jul 26
Jul 26 #304: Dragon Little

Age: 3, Told by The Red Dragon

“Look, Dad, I’m a dragon!”

He looked at her and smiled.

She leapt on the railing and jumped into the air towards the deck, flapping her wings, “I’m Dragon Little! I’m Dragon Little!”

Dragon Father laughed. “You’re almost flying, Joy! Try again!”

She did. “I’m a dragon! I’m a dragon!”

He laughed again.

“You almost had it. One more time! I think this time you will fly!”

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