The Adventures of

Comenius, the Scottish

Dragon

Chapter 1

On the top of a tall, tall mountain among the clouds there was a

cave. In the cave there was a dragon and this dragon was very

lonely. In fact, he had no friends in the world. He sat slumping,

his tail sagging yet still somehow holding its C shape. This dragon

was called Comenius. Comenius was tired of sitting around feeling

sorry for himself and he knew nothing good would happen if he sat

around. Eventually he told himself he was going to go out and find

himself a friend.

To Comenius the big, wide-world was blood curdling scary and

intimidating. He showed great courage as well as determination.

You see, Comenius was not faint hearted.

Comenius flew over the Falkirk Wheel rapturously, amazed

that life outside the cave was not as scary as he imagined. He flew

on seedily despite the distance still to travel. Suddenly he landed

in Princes Street Gardens. He stood silhouetted on the wall of the

Edinburgh castle.

This caused a great hullabaloo! Comenius found this

splendiferous however it made him low-hearted. His scales were

raven black which meant he was upset. A tear fell on to his cheek.

It was agonizing to watch this commotion.

Cautiously Comenius crept carefully and quietly into the castle,

desperately trying to hide his terribly terrifying talons as well as

trying to forget his sorrow. What Comenius didn’t know was that

he had gone off in a dream consequently about one hundred guards

had followed and cornered him.

In a sudden rush Comenius began flailing his wings about and

sending a tumultuous sound thundering through the castle. Before

Comenius could blink he was tied up and thrown into the dungeons.

He returned to his natural colour was as blue as the sea. Hoping

that the fact that it was animal cruelty to keep him locked up

would override the fact that he was a dragon, Comenius went to

sleep.

The next day, having not been freed, Comenius sobbed so

vociferously that two girls playing near the dungeons heard him.

One was called Clara and was thin and fetching with extensive hair

while her friend, Alice, had short, compressed hair like a blanket

of ebony, soft as silk. Both were exquisite, both had worried

expressions on their faces. Speedily they sped to the dangerous

dungeon. Hurriedly, they began to hit the locked door until at last

the door gave way.

Comenius stood up hopefully when the girls opened the door.

He expected these miniscule girls to let out a bellowing scream

yet, to Comenius’s surprise, the children entered and asked if they

could get a lift to Loch Ness.

That night the moon was full, its ivory beams casting dancing

shadows onto the ground. Only one noise could be heard: the tap,

tap, tap of rain. Comenius sauntered out into the night. On his

broad back sat Clara but where was Alice……..? Eventually Alice

came out of the castle.

“Sorry, went to the loo!”

Finally they set off. There was a blanket of mist ahead.

Suddenly they flew up into the mist and were visible no more.

Regardless of the distance still to travel, Comenius flew on

showing no signs of giving up. The mist began to fall like a shawl.

The darkness gradually got darker and darker. Comenius started

to descend then he landed on a hill top. To his surprise, there was

a sign that said, ‘NO WILD ANIMALS!’

Danger permeated the air as Comenius let out a burst of flames

which erupted into a wild fire. Despite the deathly danger, Clara

and Alice slipped off his back and disintegrated into the night.

Comenius was alone, not only that but he had lost his only chance

of having considerate friends.

At the first light Comenius flew off to Loch Ness, his

gargantuan wings flapping frantically because he had heard of a

monster living there which really excited him.

When Comenius eventually touched down he had just realised

that he had become more and more exasperated with people

during his time in Scotland. As he approached the Loch, his head

held high, Comenius’s hopes dropped. How could he have been so

stupid? There was a slope in front of him…..

The dragon slid down the slope like he was on a rollercoaster.

To Comenius’s delight a slimy, speckled monster emerged from

the gloom, its face as thunderous as Thor. “My name is Nessie. I

think you have a problem.” Then Nessie disappeared.

Comenius turned around and, to his horror, men with rifles were

advancing on him. Comenius closed his eyes incredulously.

Unfortunately, when he opened his eyes, the grim men were still

there. Quickly Comenius decided to leave for Spain. He looked

back melancholy. A tear emerged from his eyes and hit the

meanest, most horrid man on the head…….

In the newspapers the headlines were all about a sighting of

Nessie. This made many people forget about the dragon that was

as big as Ben Nevis. Not one person in the whole of Scotland knew

that the dragon who played the biggest part in Nessie’s

reappearance had had to migrate to Cyprus.

CHAPTER 2

When Comenius left Scotland, he flew for three days and three

nights over the Europe and the Mediterranean sea. On the morning

of the fourth day, he saw an island on the horizon which resembled

a golden, green leaf thrown into the sea. This was Cyprus, the

country in which he had decided to migrate.

Thus he began descending towards this island until he landed on a

magical beach. The scenery was so beautiful! The sea had a deep

blue colour which was the same as his own. Comenius thought that in

a place like this which was so serene and calm, he could live forever.

The only thing that was left to do now was to find a good friend. So

he landed in the town of Paphos. But his thoughts were interrupted

by the sobbing of a woman who was so beautiful, like he had never

seen before. She was sitting at a corner and crying. Her tears were

dropping on the earth and wherever each one dropped, a yellow

anemone grew. In her hands, she held a bundle of red flowers.

Surely this woman was a witch or a fairy, Comenius thought. He

approached her as quietly as he could because he didn’t want to

scare her. He touched her shoulder and covered his ears as he was

certain that she would start screaming as soon as she saw him. To

his surprise, the beautiful woman turned her eyes which were

bright red from crying to Comenius without a hint of fear.

- Aren’t you afraid of me? Comenius asked.

- No, why should I be

afraid of you? I'm a

goddess. I am Aphrodite

the goddess. I am one of

the 12 chosen gods of

Olympus.

- And what are you doing

here? Comenius asked.

- This is the place where

I was born, right here on

this beach. My mother is the Sea and my father is Uranus.

- And why are you so sad? he asked.

- Close your eyes and you will see what’s in my mind, Aphrodite said

and she touched Comenius.

Comenius closed his eyes and then as if he was watching a movie, he

saw a wild boar attacking a handsome man, injuring him and

abandoning him while the man was left alone to leave his last

breath. For every drop of blood that dropped from this man’s body,

a rose or a poppy would

grow. Right beside him,

Aphrodite was crying in

desperation. For every

tear that fell from

Aphrodite’s eyes, a yellow

anemone would grow.

Then Comenius opened his

eyes and Aphrodite told him that this man was Adonis, the man she

had loved and lost forever. Comenius gave Aphrodite a big hug, full

of comfort. As a gesture of gratitude, Aphrodite offered him her

precious flowers. Both of them immediately became good friends.

Comenius then had a terrific idea and asked goddess Aphrodite to

show him around the entire island of Cyprus so she could forget her

sorrow.

As they were ready to head off on their journey, they heard

loud voices, screams and blows from swords. They turned their

heads around and what they saw was unbelievable. A huge man in

armour, a real giant was chasing a bunch of people. The gigantic

warrior decided to take a shortcut and placed his palm on the top

of a mountain which rose near

the coast of Kyrenia, in order

to jump over it. The mountain,

as if it was made out of

dough, was transformed into

five new hills between the

fingers of his hand. With his

other hand, he flung a huge

rock which flew like a comet

above Comenius and

Aphrodite’s heads and landed

on a pirate ship which had

just arrived at the beach and shattered it to pieces. The water

which was raised by the rock, got both Comenius and Aphrodite

soaking wet.

Aphrodite told Comenius that this gigantic warrior was

Digenes Akritas who guarded the borders of Cyprus by enemies and

that those people he was pursuing were Saracen pirates who used

to loot and destroy the island of Cyprus. They had to hurry and help

him and that’s what they did. Comenius tried to use the fire which

came out of his mouth, but the fire wouldn’t come out because he

was wet and he had to dry first in order to be able to use his

power. So he decided to use his huge tail and hit another pirate

ship thus shattering it into thousands of pieces. Then he turned his

tail to the left and sent ten Saracen pirates up to the sky.

Both of them defeated the pirates and chased them away.

Digenes shook Comenius’ hand and thanked him for his help and told

him that they would be friends forever. Tired from the battle, but

very happy that they had won, they headed off for Aphrodite’s

palace. They passed by evergreen forests, full of carob trees, olive

trees, shrubs, herbs and rare wildflowers. They arrived at the

palace which was made out of precious gems and gold. In front of

the palace, there was a beautiful lake, while water was flowing out

of the slots of a vertical rock and gently falling into the lake like

tender rain. Aphrodite explained to him that these were her private

baths, but for them she would make an exception and allow them to

take a bath, so they could clean themselves and relax. They had a

splendid dinner which included roast venison, mutton and wild boar

which Digenes had killed as well as plenty of wine.

Digenes asked Comenius to stay with him and help him with

guarding the boarders. Comenius explained however that he didn’t

like confrontations, wars, and the sense of feeling in danger. After

this conversation, they fell asleep.

During the morning of the following day, before the sun had

even risen, Aphrodite announced to Comenius that they were going

to go to a wedding. Comenius got so excited that his usual colour

turned from blue to red. They wore their best attire, Aphrodite

hopped on his back and they flew away to get to the royal wedding.

-Where are we off to now, Aphrodite? the dragon asked.

-We are going to Limassol, to a beautiful castle. That’s where

I’m invited. In that castle, king Richard will marry his beloved

Berengaria, Aphrodite replied.

Having flown for quite some time, they finally arrived in

Limassol. The sun was slowly beginning to emerge from the East and

nature was gradually being overflowed by a beautiful golden colour.

The castle was bigger and more beautiful than Comenius the

dragon had ever imagined. A large iron door was in place, which

couldn’t be easily opened by a single man. It was made out of stone

and turrets were placed right at the top. Around the castle, there

were green trees and beautiful flowers.

Everything was quiet but suddenly, a loud noise was heard, like

someone hammering a piece of metal. The dragon and Aphrodite

flew around the castle to find out where the strange noise was

coming from. They looked through an iron window and what they saw

was unbelievable! There were so many cooks preparing delicious

food for the king and queen’s wedding. On top of the huge, wooden

table, there were all sorts of food which are fit for a royal

wedding: Wild boar, deer and pheasants, anything you could imagine.

The dragon turned red from joy, and could feel his stomach

growling!

- I'm so hungry Aphrodite, I’m going to dive right in, the

dragon said.

- Wait! Aphrodite replied. Nobody knows you are here and

people will be frightened. You will hide behind that tree outside in

the yard and when the wedding is over, I will bring you some food.

The sun was now set in the middle of the sky, shining bright

and beautiful. At last, the time for the wedding ceremony had

arrived. Comenius the dragon hid behind the tree and patiently

waited to watch the beautiful ceremony.

Queen Berengaria wore a white

wedding dress. So many colourful

flowers decorated her long, blond

hair. She looked beautiful all dressed

in white. King Richard was wearing

his golden armour and holding a

sharp, silver sword. A golden crown

with precious gems was placed on his

head!

The wedding was out of this world! Aphrodite also looked

astonishing with her white dress which looked like the foam of the

sea!

The dragon was well-hidden behind a tree and watching the

magnificent ceremony! His colour had turned white because he was

deeply moved by the entire spectacle! A tear dropped down from

his big, dragon eyes.

Suddenly he smelled something really nice! He turned around

and noticed that he was standing

right next to a red rosebush. The

smell was so beautiful that he

bent down to smell the beautiful

flowers. Unfortunately, Comenius

didn’t know he was allergic to

roses! So he let out a loud and

powerful "AH-CHOOOOOOO."

Even the trunk of the tree shook

from the loud noise and a few

leaves dropped from its

branches!

King Richard, without wasting any time and with a loud voice

commanded his guards: "Quickly! Arrest this dragon! He might be

dangerous."

Then, the kind-hearted queen Berengaria hastily told the

guards with her sweet voice "Wait, he seems to be a friendly

dragon" and without wasting any time, she approached him.

- Hello dragon. Where do you come from? You look like a nice

dragon.

- I am the friendly dragon Comenius, wandering from country

to country. I came to your wedding with Aphrodite. I hope you

don’t mind, beautiful princess.

- Not at all! You will come with me now and you will sit next to

me at our wedding table.

The dragon was so happy that he blushed from joy! He sat

beside the queen and tasted all the delicious food. The guests were

offering him cups of Commandaria, a sweet wine, and without

realizing it, Comenius got very drunk!

Feeling dizzy from the wine, he thought he saw a flock of

dragon flying up in the sky and he followed them. After a few

minutes, the dragon couldn’t see the flock anymore so he flew down

and landed on the ground. He found himself at the village of

Prodromos. He decided to walk through the narrow streets of the

village. A few yards away, three children were playing. Comenius

the dragon thought that if he approached them in a friendly

manner, he could ask them how to find his way back to Limassol and

meet up with the goddess Aphrodite again.

So the dragon took the chance to approach the children.

- Hello kids!

So the dragon took the chance to approach the children.

- Hello kids!

- Aahh! A dragon! Ruuuun! one of the kids shouted.

- Don’t be scared, kids. I’m friendly.

Then one of the kids, Katerina, timidly approached the dragon and

then told the rest of the children:

- Don’t be scared, this dragon is friendly! Hello dragon. What’s

your name?

- My name is Comenius the dragon. I am from Scotland. What

are your names?

- A pleasure to meet you dragon! I am Katerina. This is

Konstantinos and this is Eleni.

- Can I ask you something? asked the dragon.

- Yes, of course.

- How can I get back to Limassol?

- But why do you want to go back to Limassol?

- Because my friend Aphrodite is there.

- Don’t you want to go to Troodos for a walk first? Eleni said.

- What’s Troodos.

- It’s the largest mountain range in Cyprus.

- OK! Let’s go!

During their walk however, the dragon lost the kids.

- Kids where are you? Kids? Oh my! Now I’m all alone again.

Might as well walk for a bit more and see where I’ll get to.

After a few hours, the dragon saw an animal and approached it.

- Hello strange animal with the curved horns!

- Hello dragon. What’s your name?

- I’m Comenius the dragon. What’s yours?

- My name is mouflon. I’m the national animal of Cyprus. You

won’t meet me anywhere else in the world except in Cyprus.

- That’s great! Can you show me around Troodos for a while?

Some kids I met earlier told me that there are a lot of rare

and endemic plants here.

- Yes you are right. Shall we?

- Yea!

So Comenius the dragon and the mouflon headed off on their walk

through Troodos. The dragon got the chance to see many of the

rare, endemic flowers of Cyprus during this walk.

- Here! This is the cyclamen which grows on rocks. And that's

the antirrhinum or bunny as we call it. We’ve named it like that

because its petals look like the ears of a rabbit.

- Wow! Cyprus has so many rare plants.

- And now, do you want to go to Olympus?

- What is Olympus?

- It is the highest peak of the Troodos Mountains.

- Perfect! Let’s go!

- Hey! Wait! You should take a coat with you or you might catch

a cold.

After finishing their walk at the top of Troodos, the dragon asked

the mouflon:

- And which is the capital of your country?

- Nicosia. Haven’t you been there?

- No. Would you like to go together?

- Unfortunately I cannot. But if you’d like, I can give you

directions and show you the way for you to go on your own. It

is very easy.

The mouflon explained to his new friend how to get to Nicosia and

after exchanging their goodbyes, Comenius set off on his journey.

The dragon, still enchanted by the beauty and smells of Troodos,

arrived in Nicosia. There he saw wide streets, a multitude of cars,

crowds and much to his surprise, Aphrodite. Comenius was looking

around enchanted.

- Aphrodite, this city seems larger than Paphos and Limassol.

- You're right. It is the largest city in Cyprus. Besides, it’s the

capital. Aphrodite and Comenius continued to move forward.

Comenius was looking at everything with huge interest. Suddenly, he

stopped again and asked the goddess Aphrodite.

- But where’s the sea?

- Comenius, Nicosia is right at the center of Cyprus. That’s why

although Cyprus is an island, this town isn’t next to the sea.

Without realizing it, they were following the other pedestrians.

Then, they got to a street with a lot of shops. Comenius read the

sign: "LEDRA STREET".

- What a wonderful place, Comenius said and the goddess Aphrodite

immediately agreed with him.

Comenius and the goddess Aphrodite got carried away and also

started looking through the shop windows. But as they kept moving

forward, there were less and less people until finally the road

looked deserted. There was no one in sight. Comenius and the

goddess Aphrodite started feeling afraid.

Suddenly, an outpost appeared in front of them. A soldier was

standing inside. He was dressed in military uniform and on his head,

he wore a helmet. He was holding a gun. The expression on his face

looked both serious and strict.

- Halt! He shouted. You are not allowed to move forward. From here

onwards, it’s Northern Cyprus. You have to show me your identity

cards in order to go on.

- How is it possible? Comenius asked. It’s still Cyprus. You only show

an identity card and a passport when you are travelling to another

country.

- You are wrong. Northern Cyprus belongs to the Turks, the soldier

aggressively replied.

Aphrodite was watching the entire conversation in silence and

with eyes full of tears. Comenius then begged the soldier to let him

pass without showing an identity card. He told the soldier:

- I came to Cyprus to find friends, not to make enemies or hurt

anyone. Can I pass without showing an identity card? I will be back

in an hour, I promise.

- No entry without an identity card. The instructions are clear and

simple. Anyone who tries to go through without an identity card, will

be shot, the soldier replied with an angry voice and without wasting

any time, he turned his weapon against them.

The goddess Aphrodite immediately nodded to Comenius that they

should leave. So, they raised their hands up and slowly began to

walk away from the outpost. Comenius had so many questions and so

the goddess Aphrodite began to explain and patiently answered all

of his questions.

- Comenius I’m so sorry that you had to witness this. Unfortunately

this only happens in our small island of Cyprus. Nicosia, the capital

of Cyprus is the only European capital which is divided. Since the

Turkish invasion in 1974, half of the island has been occupied. So

many Cypriots were forced to abandon their homes, their

possessions and become refugees in their own homeland. Forty

years have passed since then and the only thing that Cypriots can

do is show their ID to visit THEIR homes. Comenius was listening to

all of this with a sense of confusion. He couldn’t believe that

something like this could happen. For someone to be so close to his

home and yet so far away... Not to be able to live in the houses that

they had built, to be refugees in their own country.

- I'd like to see what’s on the other side, Comenius said. I'd like to

have the opportunity of admiring Nicosia from above and to be able

to see what's beyond those outposts.

The goddess Aphrodite remained silent for a minute and then

suddenly, her face lit up.

- I’ve got it! We will go to a very tall building in Ledra Street and

from there, we will have the entire city of Nicosia on our feet.

They quickly headed to the Ledra Street Observatory. They went

up to the eleventh floor. The sight was breathtaking.

You know what I feel Aphrodite? Comenius said spellbound. I feel

as if I am in a hot-air balloon. Aphrodite agreed with his point. But

suddenly Aphrodite’s face darkened. After a few minutes of silence

she said:

- It is not difficult, however, to notice the contrast. The free part

of Nicosia is full of life while occupied Nicosia looks completely

motionless. It has stopped progressing since 1974, when the

Turkish invasion occurred in Cyprus. Please Comenius, let's go. I

can’t stand to watch this any longer.

Comenius took Aphrodite’s hand and they descended the Ledra

Street Observatory. They found themselves back on the street.

They found a bench and sat down to rest. They were both very

tired. Aphrodite was still very sad.

- You know Comenius, I’ve never felt so frightened in my life. I was

so scared when I saw that soldier point his gun towards us ...

Aphrodite and Comenius’ discussion was interrupted by the tender

voice of a small child.

- Do you want to play hide and seek?

Comenius and Aphrodite turned in surprise towards the voice. A

small, seven-year old girl was looking at them and waiting for an

answer.

- I have never played with a dragon before and I'd like to know how

dragons behave during a game. I'm Anna. Who are you?

Comenius and Aphrodite immediately introduced themselves to

little Anna and started playing with her. They couldn’t say no to her

request.

When they got tired, they sat down to rest. Anna told them

that her mother was Spanish and her father Cypriot. She had come

to Cyprus to spend a few days with her grandmother. She also

explained to them that the next day she was going back to Spain.

Their discussion was interrupted by Anna’s grandmother who was

looking for her so they would leave. Anna said goodbye to her

friends and left. But before leaving, she gave Comenius and

Aphrodite her address in Spain so they could visit her if they ever

came to Spain.

Aphrodite and Comenius were left alone again. They sat in

silence and watched the people as they passed by in front of them.

- I know which country I will visit next! Comenius cried with

joy and without waiting for a response he added, Spain! I had such a

nice time with Anna. Who knows? Maybe I will make even more

friends if I visit her.

Aphrodite agreed with him and said goodbye to her good

friend. Comenius thanked her for everything she had taught him

and promised her that he would reveal the Cyprus problem to every

country he will visit. Comenius then spread his wings and flew away.

He never turned back to look at Aphrodite because he didn’t want

his good friend to notice the tears in his eyes...

Chapter 3

The dragon, a little more excited, began the long journey to Spain:

he had to fly across the Mediterranean sea from end to end. It

would take him a few days, but that was not important as he was

hoping to meet again his friend Anna, whose address had written

on a paper and kept under one of his scales. Comenius needed her

direction as he knew that many people lived in Spain and without

the address details it would be impossible to find her.

During the first two days of travel across the sea, he enjoyed a

sunny and calm weather, but soon afterward on the third day,

while flying over the

island of Sardinia, a

violent storm began,

with strong wind,

lightnings and heavy

rain. Comenius the

Dragon knew how to fly

very well, but after a strong gust of wind he lost the control for a

moment and one of its wings brushed against a giant rock. The

dragon had to stop and rest for a while and when he checked that

he was not injured, and that the weather had improved, he

continued his journey.

On the next morning he

landed in a quiet beach next

to a river estuary. There

were birds, both resting and

making their nests,

everywhere. Comenius was very tired but, really willing to meet

Anna. He looked under the scale where he had placed her address

and to his surprise the paper was not there anymore. At first we

thought he was looking at the wrong

scale, but soon he recalled the

storm… and realised he had lost it!!!!

Comenius felt sad again, he was

desesperate, he could never find

her friend without knowing where

she lived, Barcelona area was far

too big.

Comenius was exhausted and needed to rest. He flew off and

looked for a place to sleep. At that moment he could see a bigger

city, and between the high buildings he observed an ancient tower,

with battlements and small windows. He thought it was a good

place to rest and landed on his roof. He fell asleep deeply. After a

while, he felt like someone was hitting gently with his cane. It was

an old man in a blue robe and a pointed hat. He had a long beard

and looked surprised.

- What are you doing on my roof? - the old man asked Comenius.

- My name is Comenius the Dragon. I’ve been flying for several

days. I come from Cyprus… I was so tired that I’ve fallen asleep…

- Aha!!, I thought so. There have been many years since I saw a

dragon in Cornellà. I am Mag Maginet, the wise wizard of Cornellà,

and this is my home. But… How did you end up in this city and on

my roof?

- I came from far away to find me friend Anna, but I lost her

address details and now I don’t know what I can do….. do you know

her?

- No, I don’t. But maybe I can help you - said the wizard winking an

eye on Comenius.

Comenius was very happy and excited, then the wizard said...we’ll

have to think … Mag Maginet invited the dragon to enter in the

tower and pulled out from a wooden chest a crystal ball. Mag

Maginet and the dragon sat together with the magic ball.

- Let’s see - said Mag Maginet - How does your friend look like?

- I just know she is only seven years and lives in Spain, her father

ir Cypriot and her mum

Spanish.

- Ufff!! - replied the

wizard - This is a

magical ball but I don’t

know if that information

will be enough.

Then the magic ball began to light up and show blurred images. It

looked like a big city by the sea, with many buildings, cars and

people going from one place to another. On one its small mountains

it could be seen a park with slender columns and…. the figure of a

little colourful dragon.

-I think I know where we need to start looking - Mag Maginet said.

We have to go to Park Güell.

Without wasting any more time Mag Maginet mounted on Comenius

the Dragon and they two flew to Park Güell. The wizard was not

used to fly on a dragon and was about to fall twice. They soon

arrived at the park, which was full of tourists who saw them

arrive, they were all very impressed. Some began to take photos

and others ran terrified. The first thing they did was to look at

the stone dragon that appeared in the magic crystal ball. Thay

found the statue next to a fountain, on beautiful stairs. It was

very pretty, full of small coloured stones.

They approached the dragon, which stood motionless. Then, slowly,

Mag Maginet drew from his tunic a magic wand and cast a spell on

the stone dragon. Suddenly, it began to glow and his eyes and legs

began to move. It had gone from being a stone statue to a living

thing!!

The coloured dragon stared at the two visitors surprised, like

frightened.

-Hello! Do not panic please! We are Mag Maginet and Comenius the

Dragon. We are looking for our friend Anna. You appeared in my

crystal ball…. Do you know her?

Comenius was also stunned when the colourful dragon, which was a

stone statue just moments ago, started to speak:

- Many children come here to look at me… but… -the colourful

dragon was silent for a moment- Yes! I can remember a girl called

Anna. She usually comes here to take pictures. She was here with

her grandmother yesterday.

Comenius the dragon was glad to hear that, and Mag Maginet

reassured him:

- We will stay here to see if she returns - Mag Maginet said.

They looked around and saw a huge hall column, up on the ceiling

suns, clouds and flowers of many colours were drawn.

-This is a good place to sleep. We can stay here until she turns up

- Comenius said.

When both of them turned around to thank the ‘stone’ dragon for

the information they looked amazed at discovering that it had

returned to its original state.

Next morning, they woke up very early and hidden behind the

columns they waited for the first visitors. After a while, a group

of children showed up. They were very noisy and all of them were

talking at once. It was a school group visiting Park Güell.

The teacher was struggling to set some order and to place

children next to the colourful dragon in order to take a photo.

Among the students Comenius could recognise Anna. The Scottish

dragon wanted to run and say ‘hello’ to Anna, but Mag Maginet

warned him that students could get mad and run when seeing a

real dragon. They just need to wait for the right moment which

didn’t take too long to arrive, as at one point Anna asked her

teacher to go to the bathroom. That was the perfect moment to

greet Anna.

-Anna!!!! At last I’ve found you!! - Comenius said.

- Wow!!! Comenius!! What are you doing here?? So good to see you

again!!

-This is my friend Mag Maginet, who has helped me to find you as

I lost your address.

They played and chatted for a while. They were having such a good

time that when they realised what time was it, the school group

had already gone. They tried to find them, but it was just too late.

They started to think and the best idea was to look for them from

the sky, so Mag Maginet and Anna got on Comenius and began to

fly over the city.

The first thing that struck Comenius was that it was a very large

city with many people and many buildings. It would be very

difficult to find her school mates. Flying south, at the sea, they

spotted a large port with

many boats. Anna was very

excited, she had never had

the chance to see her city

from so high. Near the port,

there was the city Zoo,

where they spent some time

playing with most of the

animals living there. Anna

thought that it was so

different to visit that place with a dragon and a wizard!!!

After a few hours, they noticed it was getting too late and that

Anna’s family could be waiting at home wondering where she may

be. Comenius offered to take her back home. It took them just

minutes to get there. The dragon and the wizard said goodbye to

her, promising that they would visit her again soon.

When they arrived at Mag Maginet’s home exhausted and after

having dinner, the wizard realised that Comenius was a bit sad…

-Aren’t you glad you found Anna? - Mag Maginet asked.

-Yes, I am. I had a great time…. but meeting the other dragon at

the Park Güell has made me think… - replied Comenius - I have met

many children, kings, goddesses… but I would like to meet and

have dragon friends.

Mag Maginet smiled and said:

- I think I have a solution for you.

He opened again the wooden chest that held the magic crystal ball

and pulled out a thick old book with golden caps. Comenius’ face lit

up when he saw that it was a book of dragons. In it there were

fantastic stories about all sorts of dragons, dragons of all sizes

and colours…

- I would like to travel again

and meet some of the dragons

from these stories - said

Comenius.

-According to these legends, in

Poland you may find the most

fabulous dragons. - replied Mag

Maginet.

Comenius said goodbye to Mag Maginet and started his trip to

Poland. Several days of travelling were ahead of him, but the

illusion of meeting other dragons was stronger than any danger,

distance and unknown surprises which were waiting for him.

Chapter 4

Comenius left Spain and headed to Poland. In the middle of the

journey, a storm broke out and Comenius lost control. When he

woke up, he found himself on the Eiffel Tower. He set off it

flying. He saw an arched structure which was called: Arc de

Triomphe. He then saw a long, vast road by the name of “Champs

Elysées”.

Comenius later heard voices. He looked at

his surroundings. He noticed some youths

getting on a bus directed to the city of

Amiens. Thus, he decided to follow them.

Comenius landed on Amiens, behind a

school where he then met two children. He

introduced himself. The children were not

afraid.

- Hello children, my name is Comenius. I am looking to make new

friends.

- I’m Jack. Here’s my friend Arielle.

- Do you know if there are dragons around here?

- No, Jack replied. But there are the gargoyles of the cathedral.

There is a legend about them. I will tell you the story: In 1914, the

gargoyles have woken up to protect the cathedral. But a malefic

wizard has put a spell on them making them fall asleep for a

hundred years so rendering them evil upon their awakening.

- Where can these gargoyles be found? Asked Comenius.

- On the cathedral in Amiens, replied Arielle.

Comenius flew there with

the two children. He posed

them in front of the

cathedral and up he went to

look at the sleeping

gargoyles. In that moment,

the gargoyles woke up… evil!

Comenius descended back down to the kids and asked Jack: -

What can be done to break the spell?

Jack had an idea: - We need to go to the library.

They went there and Comenius hid himself on top of the library.

Arielle and Jack were looking through ancient books. There, they

found an old book covered by dust. But it was not the one they

searched for. They thus searched for hours and hours. Then they

went to the entrance desk. The lady told them:

- There is a cave, but no one has entered it in a hundred years.

They went. The cave was full of spider webs and rats. At the end

of the cave, there was a safe with a lock and a rusty key in it. In

turning they key, the safe opened. There were many old books.

Some of which were ruined. One of them was more than a hundred

years old. Jack opened the book of spells. In it, the tip read that

they had to go to the House of Imagination, the one of the most

renowned French writer across the globe who lived and died in

Amiens. It also read that there could be found an imprisoned

wizard.

- Let’s go to the House of Jules Verne, then! said Arielle.

So the three directed themselves to the House of Jules Verne

and went in.

Jack looked at himself in a mirror which was placed on a chest of

drawers. It was dusty and dirty, big and rectangular.

Jack was won by fear when he failed to see his image being

reflected on the glass. Instead, he saw an old bearded wizard with

moustaches on his face. He was in black and white. Jack had truly

gotten scared of this wizard unlike the others.

The wizard said:

- Go call for Comenius and Arielle. They’ll help you look for the

stone.

Comenius and Arielle came before the mirror.

- Ah! There you are, said the wizard. I knew you’d come to free me

as I can break the spell of the gargoyles. For that to happen, you

need to find a stone of which scent starts with the letter ‘V’ and

place it on top of the Perret Tower.

- I’ll go! Replied Comenius.

He entered in a very small room with three, not very solid, wooden

doors. There was one to his right, one in front of him and one to

his left. Comenius approached the door situated in front of him.

He opened it a saw three bamboo mannequins decorated with

golden, argental and coppered jewelleries or bits of precious

stones… He smelled each stone. Each stone had smelt differently:

strawberry scent, raspberry scent… and then came across a stone

which smelt like… vanilla!

He re-joined Jack and Arielle.

After, they headed to the Perret Tower. But no luck: a grey fog

made them lose their way. They landed on some sort of park

surrounded by water filled with plants and vegetables.

- Where are we? Asked Comenius.

- We are at the ‘hortillonnages’, an ensemble of ornamental

gardens and market gardens dating back to the Roman époque,

answered Arielle.

-How do we get out of here? Asked Jack.

They then heard plants and vegetables speaking. A magic tulip

disappeared the fog.

- Wow! Shouted Jack. The fog has risen!

They flew towards the Perret Tower, a building of 104 m in height,

built in reinforced concrete between 1949 and 1952 and was, for a

long time, the highest European skyscraper.

Comenius flew towards the top

of the tower. But around ten

gargoyles impeded him to reach

it. The children were scared.

Comenius protected them. They

threws hits right and left. They

were able to place the stone

and Comenius and the kids were

very proud of themselves.

Freed from his spell, the wizard could finally pronounce the magic

formula: - By the power of goodwill! Gargouillus, délivrus,

cornéillus, machinus! I command you to become kind again.

In no time, the gargoyles were back to being kind again. The

gargoyles told him:

- Thank you wizard for having freed us from this spell.

- Don’t mention it. But it is not me you should be thanking, it is the

children and Comenius, told them the wizard.

And it was like this that Comenius and the gargoyles became

friends. Jack and Arielle wanted to stay with Comenius but they

couldn’t as he had to leave for Poland. Comenius asked the

gargoyles if they wanted join him and leave with him but the

gargoyles replied:

-No, thank you. We need to protect the cathedral.

Comenius thus left alone for Poland, in search of new friends.

Chapter 5

Comenius flew too high into clouds and he could not see anything.

Two flock of birds flying off passed him and he felt really lost.

After a few minutes he was lower and he found out that he was

just above Cracow so he decided to land there.

- Hello! Wawel's Dragon!

but nobody answered and instead of the answer Comenius heard

loud snoring.

- Hello! Is anybody here?!

- Is it you Comenius? - the voice asked

- Yes, it is. Where are

you? - Comenius asked.

- Switch on the light!

Suddenly the light

flashed and was on.

- Oh! Here you are! -

Comenius said and shook his cousin paw.

- It's graet to be so close to Zakopane. Maybe we will go there

and have some oscypki.

- Os? What?- Comenius asked.

- Oscypki – Wawel's Dragon said

And suddenly they heard rumbling.

- Sorry, it's me actually it's my stomach.

- Let's go! - Wawel's Dragon said

They put the highland outfits and the hats with feathers on, took

hatchets and went for warm oscypki with cranberry.

- Mmmm...delicious – Comenius said when he tasted the Polish

smoked cheese.

While eating they decided to have a trip around Poland. In

particular they wanted to see the monument of Copernicus.

Comenius heard a lot of interesting things about Copernicus. The

most interesing was that he stopped the Sun.

- I'm wondering how he did it – Comenius said – And how could he

move the Earth as it is so heavy? He must be unusual.Actually,

Comenius came to Poland to meet Copernicus.

They packed up and set off. They flew over Bochnia, Tychy,

Rybnik and when they flew over Katowice they were hungry again.

Somewhere above Częstochowa Comenius felt so hungry that he

could not fly any more so he asked his cousin from Cracow to land

and eat something.

- Ok. We will only fly over... - Wawel's Dragon started but

Comenius interrupted him and said:

- I'm landing.

He flew lower and caught on the tower of the church in Jasna

Gora. He got stuck there. In a few minutes Wawel's Dragon flew

and hit the tower with his tail to release Comenius. Happily the

tower was untouched. The church has been there since 14th

century and it is a very important historic place for Polish people.

The dragons landed and rushed to the restaurant. All people

started shouting and running away. Comenius tried to keep them

from doing it. He called:

- Wait! We are not going to eat you! We want to eat some dumpling

and noodles, especially silesian dumplings. We have not eaten

people for ages.

But the only people who stayed there were the owner of the

restaurant and a little boy who had a dinner with them.

- Where are you going?- little Adam asked.

- We want to see Copernicus in Torun.

- Who is he?

- He is a great strongman who moved so huge Earth.- Comenius

answered.

- Can I go with you?- the boy asked.

- Yes, of course you can.

And they flew. They flew over beautiful places like meadows,

fields, woods, towns and villages. They flew along the Vistula all

the time as it showed them the way. Finally, tired but happy they

reached Torun. Wawel's Dragon had already been to Torun so he

knew where the monument was. Comenius liked the monument very

much. However, little Adam was very sad when he found out that

Copernicus was a monument and he could not talk to him.

Suddenly, Wawel's Dragon shouted out:

- Abracadabra! Let's the monument be alive!

And Copernicus became alive

as he was in 15th century.

- Tell us something about

yourself, please. - Little boy

said.

- Come and sit down on this

beautiful marketplace, help

yourselves to ginger biscuits

and listen to my story. -

Copernicus said. - I lived in

Torun long time ago. I was

interested in astronomy and stars. I learnt about it during my

studies in Cracow. After that I visited Italy where I also studied

and tasted Italian food which is as good as Polish. Then I came

back and lived in Warmia.

- How did it happen that you moved the Earth and stopped the

Sun?- curious Comenius asked and without letting Copernicus

answer he added – Were you such a strongman?

- No, I wasn't. I was a polymath and astronomer. - Copernicus said.

- What is more, I didn't move and stop anything.

- Oh! Yes. This saying: „The Pole stopped the Sun and moved the

Earth” appeared later.- Wawel's Dragon said.- And it means that

he discovered that the Earth goes around the Sun not the other

way round.

- Now I know everything that I wanted and I may go further. -

Comenius said.

He packed some gingers biscuits and oscypki. He also promised to

send some Bolognese sauce from Italy and some brie cheese from

France.

Wawel's Dragon hugged his cousin and promised to bring little

Adam back home. Then all of them flew their ways.

Chapter 6

It was very cloudy so Comenius couldn‘t see much. He asked

himself: “Maybe I do have arrived Germany yet?” So he flew

deeper, but be still couldn’t see something. Suddenly he hit

something hard. The dragon flew a little deeper and the clouds

thinned. Comenius saw a silver shiny bowl on a high mast. “What a

beautiful view”, he thought and he sat down on the ball and looked

at many houses around. He

realized, just in that moment

that he landed on the giant

tower. He saw this tower in a

book a long time ago. He

remembered that the tower

was the TV-tower in Berlin.

“That means that I’m in Berlin

right now. It’s so cool,

because I wished to get here

so many times before”,

thought Comenius.

He remembered that the TV-tower of Berlin is 368 meters high

and it’s situated in the middle of the German capital. Comenius

didn’t want to stay on the TV-tower the whole day, so he started

to get to the Brandenburg Gate. He landed on one of the four

horses on the top. The people on the square in front of the gate

were very scared and ran screaming apart. Only a boy stopped and

called out to Comenius that he should come down to him. The

dragon started to fly and stopped right in front of the little boy.

"My name is Ben and I’m visiting my grandma here in Berlin.

Normally I live in Hagenow, nearby Schwerin in Mecklenburg-

Vorpommern.", introduced the boy himself. The two chatted quite

excited. They also mentioned the history of Germany. They have

noticed that the Brandenburg Gate still stood in the border area

between the former East and West Germany 25 years ago. People

weren’t allowed to approach the gate even as it is possible today.

Ben and Comenius could not imagine what it was like. But all people

are glad and happy that this wall isn’t there anymore.

As Ben did not know much about Berlin, he suggested Comenius to

travel with him to Schwerin, the state capital of Mecklenburg -

Vorpommern. Comenius liked Ben and had a great desire to fly in

the north of Germany. In the afternoon, Ben went with his

grandmother by train to Schwerin and Comenius had made himself

comfortable on the train. “At last I can travel relaxed again”, he

thought.

It only took them 2 hours to get to Schwerin. Comenius had to pay

attention, because he didn’t knew where Ben and his grandma

wanted to leave the train. He couldn‘t miss them. His new friend

wanted to show him a lot. Because it was already late, they went to

Hagenow by car. Ben took Comenius home. As his mother opened

the front door, she was terrified when she saw the dragon. But

Ben was able to reassure quickly. After having dinner they found

a nice place for Comenius to sleep.

On the next day, Ben and Comenius flew to Schwerin. They landed

on a large square. There were beautiful large homes that Comenius

was interested in. One of the houses they visited was the theatre.

Ben quickly bought two tickets and they went into the auditorium

to take their seats. When they entered the hall, Comenius was

overwhelmed. The hall was very magnificently. The visitors,

specially the children, laughed at Comenius. They thought, that he

took part in the theatre play and he was a dressed up actor.

Comenius found the idea funny, but he explained to everybody who

he was and why he was here. Then everyone calmed down and the

play "The Snow Queen" began. Comenius and Ben were

enthusiastic. They absolutely loved the play.

When they were back on the court - it's called "Alter Garten" -

Comenius could only marvel again. He looked at the Castle. He

already knew some castles, but this was the most beautiful he

ever saw. The gold on the top was shining in the sun. Ben reassured

him. He said: „First we are going to eat something and then we will

return here.”

They walked through the city. The people they encountered were

unsure. They went out of their way. Comenius was a little sad

because all thought that he is an evil dragon. Just a few realized

that he was very nice and kind.

“Did that also happen to you in the other countries like Spain,

Poland, France, Cyprus and Great Britain?”, Ben asked. "Yes,

sometimes", answered Comenius.

"This is just difficult, because there are fairytales where dragons

are very frightened to the readers.” Ben said: „But you are a

wonderful example for a lovely, wonderful and very kind dragon.

Don’t be sad, I do like you. You are a wonderful friend.”

These words made Comenius very happy and he went -still hungry-

together with Ben to a restaurant.They ordered a sausage with

potatoes and sauerkraut

for Comenius, because

he didn’t had the menu

before. Ben ate a pea

stew with sausages.

After finishing their

meal, Comenius wanted to get back to the castle as soon as

possible. He flew with Ben on his back around. From above

everything looked beautiful. From above they could see whole

Schwerin and realised that Schwerin has many lakes and the

castle is surrounded by water.

Ben explained Comenius that there is no king or prince living in the

castle.

“It is partly a museum and a church is also in the castle. But the

main part of the castle is occupied by the parliament of

Mecklenburg - Vorpommern. Here all the members of the

parliament advise and make decisions about everything that

happens in our region.” Comenius listened interested. They visited

the museum and had a look to the parliament. Comenius was very

impressed.

Later in the afternoon Ben invited to the Schwerin Zoo. That was

very funny. They could see all animals. They had to wait a long

time at the prairie dogs until they crawled out of their burrows.

In the hall of South America they watched the sloth with his

children climbing very slowly. Later on Ben and his new friend

Comenius had some ice-cream and talked about the experiences

they had made. Both forgot the time.

Suddenly Ben's mobil phone rang. His mother asked him where he

was. As Ben looked at the clock and was shocked. “It is already

late! I have to go home, because tomorrow I have to go to school.

Do you want to come with me tomorrow?" Comenius answered: „If

everybody is okay with the idea, I will?" “Do not care! They are

very nice and curious to meet you”, Ben replied. "Okay, than let’s

go home.” Comenius said.

They started to return to Ben’s house. Ben took a seat on

Comenius back and so they arrived in Hagenow very quick. After

they had dinner, they were so tired that they fell asleep very

soon. The next morning the friends had to get up very early.

At 7:55am Ben and Comenius landed on the school ground. All

children ran up to them and greeted Comenius. He was so glad that

the children were not afraid of him. They stroked and tickled him.

All the children presented Comenius their school building. They

showed him everything and he felt very comfortable. When they

arrived at the school office, they were greeted by the head

teacher. She asked Ben and his girlfriend Jasmine to show

Hagenow to Comenius.

Full of joy, they showed him the Town Hall, Town Hall Square with

the market women, the Synagogue, the museum, the church and

the pretty little houses. Comenius was thrilled, but he was also

sad. He looked at the clock and said: “You lovely friends,

unfortunately I have to leave you now. I have traveled through

many countries. There was so much to see. I think I need to write

a travel diary. Perhaps everybody I have met can help me to with

it. I'll get back to you again, I promise you.” The children were

glad because that was not a goodbye forever. "We will also write!”

And so Comenius flew back towards home with lots of impressions

and beautiful memories of great people.

And if he is not dead, he still lives today…