Ever lost your temper? Has your child ever lost her temper? This story illustrates how emotions can get out of control. More importantly, the characters also find ways to forgive and move on...

I blew it. Really. I blew it this time. I blew so hard my curtains caught fire. Yep, Mom was upset.
She breathed in and out as slowly as the wind in spring. She took a  walk around the cave until Dad got home. He's a firefighter. Dragons make great firefighters because they know how to contain flames. I am still learning.
Just last week, Dad knocked out an extra window in my bedcave. Mom tied up the curtains I picked out. They're blue with little human boys jumping around. Boys are very popular with dragons my age. We know all the names of the different “guys”, as we sometimes call them. They're great. Some are big. Some are small. Some have blond fur on their heads. Some have brown. I got a floor puzzle of boys for my birthday last year.
It was that floor puzzle that got me so heated up. My cousin was visiting. He's bigger than I am. He says that human boys are for baby dragons. If he didn't want to help me with my puzzle, he could have just said so. I was just about finished with it but couldn't find the final piece. I asked him where it was. He said he didn't know, but walked quickly out of the living cave. I saw a corner of cardboard sticking out of his front pocket. I ran after him and reached around his waist for it. He shoved me off and right into Mom's vase of dragon lilies. They had just bloomed and she had already walked by them several times this morning sniffing their scent and snacking on the flies swarming around.
The glass had hardly stopped shattering before she ran into the room.
“He did it!” Cousin shouted.
“Did you?” she said to me with a look that meant she already knew the answer.
“I did, but...”
“Go to your room!”
My scales started to quiver. My skin started to shrivel. My nostrils flared. RAAAAARHH!
It wasn't the first time I breathed fire too far.

On the first day of school, Dad had carved me three new pencils. I scratched my name and the name of a class into each one. Math. Language. Science. I was so excited to meet my new teacher and any new dragons in my class.
When I walked into the school cave, Ms. Terosaur, directed me to my seat next to a friend I've known since before we had any fire to breathe. The teacher's other head pointed to the desk on my other side. A new dragon sat down. He fidgeted in his chair.
At recess, he sat under a tree with his sports cards. They were human sports cards! So, I introduced myself. We started to talk about what our favorite sports were. When the teacher rang the gong, we walked back to class together. I was happy to have a new friend.
Then, during the math lesson, I couldn't find my pencil. I could only see Language and Science in my pencil tray. I looked around the cave as if the writing stick must be floating somewhere. Ms. Terosaur asked me why I wasn't working. Before I could answer, I saw the new dragon holding a pencil marked “Math” and with a big scratch where my name had been.
My scales started to quiver. My skin started to shrivel. My nostrils flared. RAAAAARHH!
He fell to the floor in the pile of ashes.  Ms. Terosaur sent me home.
Mom asked why I didn't tell the teacher my pencil was missing. I said there was no time. Mom asked me why I didn't tell my cavemate to give it back. I didn't think he would. Mom said to tell Dad when he got home. I was still coughing up a few flames. He always knew how to put out my fire.
On the second day of school, Dad asked me what the new dragon's name was. I thought he was going to yell for his parents and settle the matter. But, he handed me two new pencils.  The first one had my name and “Math” carved in it. The second one had “Math” and the other dragon's name carved in it.
“Maybe, no one thought of giving him a special pencil for school,” Dad whispered in my ear.
I gave my cavemate the pencil. He said, “Thank you.” We are still friends.

The sun was shining its final light through the hole in my wall – I mean my window without a curtain – when Dad marched in.
His eyes drooped. He forced a smile. “Buddy, what happened with your cousin?” I told him about the puzzle and the flower vase. “Did you forget to count to ten?” I nodded.  “Did you forget to use your words?” I nodded. “Did you forget to go outside when you started feeling hot?” I nodded.
Dad handed me the bent puzzle piece and said that my cousin was going to make me a new puzzle. Then, he said I had to help Ms. Tissue at the fabric cave this weekend to earn back my curtains.
He put his wing around me. He said that it' s ok to be angry. He said that it's not ok to blow out my anger.
I looked up at him and said, “But if no one ever breathed their fire too hard, you wouldn't have a job.”  

What do you think?
*Everyone loses their temper sometimes. How do you feel when you let out your anger too quickly? How do you think people around you feel?
*Think of someone who loses their temper easily. How could you suggest the person calm down?
*Think of someone who is almost always calm. How do you think the person does that?

For another "Dragon Dilemma" story and many others, visit Good Night, Sleep Tight at www.gn-st.com. Thank you and have a good read