Firelizards of Sylvan

[Cypress]

Melody walked along gathering shells one late afternoon as was one of her favorite pastimes. She would string them together and make jewelry or just hang them around her room. She also gathered clams for the meal tonight. It wasn't exactly her favorite meal, but it was the one her mother had chosen and sent her out to gather. She didn't mind so much since it gave her a chance to gather her other shells. The place she chose to venture for her shells and clams might have been considered by some to be dangerous, but she knew where not to go so as to stay safe. She liked it here because so few ever came. It was peaceful and beautiful.

As she walked casually along, time seemed to pass slowly as the sun gradually lowered in the sky nearing evening, and she unknowingly ventured farther than she intended. In fact, she had never been this far out. As she looked up and realized the unfamiliar surroundings, she also noticed a small cave in the cliff side. Her curiosity was stirred, as she drew closer to look inside. It was a small cave and the rays of the sun shown into it just right filling it enough so that she could see. She ducked her head and stepped inside to sit down. What a wonderful little place! She could make this her own secret hide away and decorate it with all her shells. As she sat thinking to herself, listening to the sounds of nature outside, feeling the breeze as it passed into the cave, and smelling the fresh sea aroma it brought with it, the peaceful bliss of it all overflowed her. She took out her tiny flute which her father had made for her when she was only seven, closed her eyes and began to play. She had practiced her flute and become quite good since those years ago when she had received it, and as she played a soft and flowing melody, she suddenly heard a humming sound almost like a purr and then a whistling noise too somewhat like a bird but not the same. She opened her eyes and to her surprise saw a tiny sapphire blue dragon-like creature!

At first she was afraid, but it seemed harmless enough and seemed to have actually been enjoying her playing! She watched it carefully as she put the flute to her lips and began to play again. It hummed blissfully and whistled as if trying to sing along. It wasn't at all in tune with her, but it was still so cute! As it sang along others curiously crept out to join it. They were all different colors, magnificent blues and greens, reds and yellows, browns and bronze, golden and silver, and some multi-colored or even pearlescent. Before very long she had a small audience of them! "I wonder what they eat?" she thought to herself. Well, she didn't have much to offer except clams, so she took one out, broke it open, and tossed it over to them. At first they scattered all back to their hiding places. She waited a bit, but they didn't seem to want to come back out. "Perhaps some music may lure them out," she thought and began to play again. Just as she had thought, the tiny dragons crept back out to enjoy the music. As they did, they also noticed the clam she had thrown out, and they seemed to enjoy that as well! "Well, at least one of us likes the slimy things!" she laughed quietly to herself. Now what would she call them? She'd never heard of such tiny dragon-like creatures before, and perhaps no-one else had either! After all, they did seem very shy, and how many people play flutes in caves? "Too small to be dragons," she thought, "more the size of a big lizard, but they look like dragons... fire lizards!" that's what she'd call them!

She visited the cave and her tiny, musical pets for many years to come and kept it as her own secret.