The Dragon of Gordes

Wow mummy look at the castle!
Who lives in there?

Well. Who do you think lives in the castle Astrid?

Well. Perhaps a Princess, and a Prince.

Yes! A Prince and a Princess.
Who else lives in the castle mummy?
Do you think they have a doggie?
Yes, I think they do have a dog.

And a pussy cat too mummy?
Yes, there is definitely a castle cat.

Who else lives in the castle mummy?
Well, did you know, a Dragon lives in the castle as well.

A Dragon?
Yes, there’s a Dragon that lives in the castle.

Where is he now?
Well. He’s hiding now. He’s down in the deepest darkest depths of the castle because he doesn’t like tourists that much.

And what about the pussy cat?
Well. The cat is also having a little snooze down with the Dragon where it’s cooler. Down in the Dragon’s little bed. The Dragon’s lair.

And will the cat come back up?
Yes, the cat will come back up soon. Once it’s had its little sleep the cat will come back up and lie in the sunshine. Because you know cats like to lie in the sunshine.

Yes. Cats do like to lie in the sunshine.
Don’t they.

Yes. Cats do like to lie in the sunshine Little Chops.

But what about the Dragon? What’s he doing now?
Well. The Dragon is still asleep. The Dragon goes to sleep during the day in Summer because it’s a grumpy old Dragon and really doesn’t like tourists who now come to his town all the time. You know the Dragon is very very old, and there never used to be tourists in Gordes back in the olden days.

Once it was the Dragon’s village, but now it’s full of tourists so he goes down into the dungeons, down, down, down, all the way to the bottom of the mountain. That’s where he goes to sleep during the day. He’s a bit of a crochety old Dragon. And he might get into trouble if he saw any tourists. Because he doesn’t like them much.

Mummy.

Yes Astrid?

The Dragon is 843 years old.

Why?
I wonder…

What’s the Dragon doing now?
What’s the cat doing now?

The Dragon is still asleep and I think the cat is curled up by the Dragon’s tummy. Fast asleep too.

When will the cat come up?
The cat will probably come up around four o’clock when the sun is lovely and warm but not too hot.

I wonder..

What about the Dragon?
When does he come up?
Well. The Dragon comes up at sunset. When the tourists all start to go away, the Dragon makes his way up to the castle.

Down in the dungeons – right down the bottom of the mountain. At least six time the height of the castle. Do you see the castle? Do you know what that means? Six times the height of the castle. That is very high.

When does he come up to the Castle?
Well, once the sun has set the Dragon goes up to the top of the Castle and lies on the warm stone turret. And he lies up there and he curls his tail all the way around the turret.

Can you see the turret up there?

Well. The Dragon climbs up there and he curls his tail around the turret. And then he surveys his Kingdom.

How does the Dragon get up there?
Well. Dragons can climb up walls. They just walk up walls.

So yes, the Dragon climbs up the wall and he lies on the warm stone.

Does the King know about the Dragon?
Yes. The King does know about the Dragon. So does the Queen, and the Prince and the Princess. They love the Dragon. The Dragon is their friend.

Why is the Dragon their friend?
Well. The Dragon has lived in the Castle for a very very long time. And so, the King has always known about the Dragon. Since he was a little boy. And so has the Queen. And so have the Princess and the Prince.

Why?
I wonder…

Because the King’s mummy and daddy were friends with the Dragon?
Yes.

What is the Dragon doing now?
I wonder….

What is the cat doing now?
The cat is curled up asleep with the Dragon.

Why is the Dragon asleep?