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So, here I am, reigns clashing, hooves clattering thunderously, hair flying out wildly in different directions. My blood throbbed and pumped ferociously to the calm beat of Penny’s strong, heavy hooves. We were galloping across the dusty plain, sand and lint swirling around us and blowing into our faces. Despite the fact that Penny’s head was moving up and down quickly; snorting loudly and wheezing, her elegant feet moved faster than ever, but the path to the tall, towering, leaning mountains was just too far. It felt as if we were on a running exercise machine, me and Penny. We were thundering as fast as we could, but still getting nowhere.

     At long, long last we came to a sharp, slow halt. Fortunately, I had just enough time to prepare and get ready and so had grabbed some snacks and at least a dozen water bottles. We were at the base of the huge mountain, which I would explore beyond its dark and mysterious surroundings. After our seemingly never-ending journey, I decided that we should finally have a precious rest. It was only mid-spring, but my tongue was cracking and my throat was dry because of the dehydrating heat. So I pulled out my huge, specialised-only-for-journeys, sling bag and fumbled around for an apple. I had about ten in there, so I generously presented it to Penny and gifted it to her. With delight, she crunched up the whole apple, not minding one bit about the pips or the core.

     After I also had a mouth-wateringly delicious apple, I took out a bottle of water from a cold part of the sling bag, where freezing ice packs were stored, so that; in case of an emergency, I would be able to refresh myself. Subsequent to taking many long, relieving gulps of fresh, cold water, I spilled the rest of the bottle down Penny’s steaming back to cool her down. Then I grabbed a bucket I had brought along with me (you’d be surprised how much space you can find on a Clydesdale horse!) and poured another two bottles into it, after tying up Penny near a strong tree trunk. Mollified to have water again after a long time, she slurped happily.

     So while she lay down in the shade of the mountain, neighing softly to herself and snoozing, I set off again, this time by myself. I started off walking through the calm silence of the woods, except from the faint tweeting, chirping, and humming of the birds and the sweet rustle of the leaves brushing against each other like gossiping kids.

     And then I stumbled upon the crooked cliffs of the gigantic crag. I had to hop and leap and jump from rock to slope to hill. Along the way I didn’t see any sign of caves or holes drilled into the mountain at all. 

But when I came to the very, very tip of it, I swivelled around to look on the other side, looked down nervously (you see, I was very afraid of heights) and eyed a magnificent, looming waterfall, splashing and gurgling downwards into a beautiful, simply stunning, lake. It was a dream island on the other side. And, to think, I had been living here for years and years and I didn’t even have a hint or clue about this!

     Just when it caught my eye, a light bulb flashed in my head, blinking. In stories, mythical creatures or such hid under waterfalls and in caves, concocting evil plans of some sort. I simply had to investigate. Cautiously and carefully, I s-l-o-w-l-y made my way downwards, when my foot slipped and I ended up dangling down, fingers holding on to the edge of the stone! But I felt reassured by the waterfall gushing behind me and... by the fact that there was a large, rounded cave in front of me! At least I had found what I had been looking for all this time! But now I had bigger problems, if I didn’t think of a way to pull myself up soon, I would not be able to explore the cave at all!

     Suddenly, without a moment’s thought, a pair of large, fluorescent yellow eyes blinked wide open in front of me. Right there and then, I nearly let go. The beastly dragon had a long neck and a thrashing tail. He was all purple, except his chest, toes, face and the edges of his wings, which were all yellow. He was swift and elegant.

     Afterwards, he slowly came striding out of his cave towards me, then he gently placed one foot on my fingers. I screwed my eyes shut tight and lowered my head, praying that he wouldn’t gnaw my fingers off. But, instead, I felt that I was rising. He was carrying me on his back! And then a miracle happened. He swooped up and up and up, and then down. The wind whistled around my ears sharply and it blew back my hair, but I felt safe. And, suddenly, we were ascending again. Penny! We were flying without her. But, it seemed that the dragon had read my mind (or just saw my anxious face and that I was biting my lip) and gave a soft grunt. I leaned down. And there was Penny! Magically, the dragon somehow knew where we lived, and, just in time, escalated downwards to the back of my house, where we could not be seen. He dropped us off. He nodded kindly, and then I patted him on his silky, scaly forehead. That was the first time I ever touched a real dragon.

     The drawing on the other page, that was him. I showed it to my class and talked about him, but they just laughed and peppered me with insults. But I was the only one who knew that he was real. He was my friend.