Hop Dad

Jewely the Dragon

September 14, 2012 at 2:00 pm 2 comments

Every Dad needs a homespun story to tell their little princess at bedtime. My story is called Jewely the Dragon. I improvised this story one night and it has remained my daughter’s favorite for a couple of years now. It has a simple plot and the details can be modified on the fly.

What makes it an effective tool for bedtime is it has a pace that can lull my daughter to sleep in a few minutes. Even I have fallen asleep telling this story.

The Formula

Jewely the Dragon is about a dragon who flies all across the land giving jewels to her friends. What changes with each telling are the names of the friends, the part of the land they live in, and the color of the jewels Jewely gives them. For example, Jewely has a friend named Carl the Cow who lives on the farm. Jewely gives him three green jewels, as green as the grass on the farm. Or, Larry the Lizard who lives under a rock in the desert. Jewely gives him three yellow jewels, as yellow as Larry the Lizard’s eyes.

You can even add some of your child’s favorite companions in the story. My daughter has a stuffed antelope named Montana. Jewely the Dragon likes to fly to the grasslands and give Montana the Antelope three black jewels, as black as Montana the Antelope’s nose.

When I tell the story Jewely visits five friends at the most. It can be less depending on how tired my daughter is. Sometimes she only lasts through two visits. As each visit occurs, my voice gets quieter until the last visit has me speaking in a whisper. When the story ends, Jewely says goodnight to every friend she visited and also says goodnight to my child.

Here is how it goes:

The Story of Jewely the Dragon

Once upon a time, in a land very far away, there lived a beautiful blue dragon named Jewely. Jewely lived at the top of the tallest mountain in all the land. Jewely the Dragon loved to collect jewels. She collected blue ones, and green ones, and red ones, and yellow ones, and pink ones, and purple ones, and even black ones and white ones. Her favorite thing to do was to fill her backpack full of jewels and fly all across the land giving jewels to her friends.

So, one morning Jewely the Dragon got up very early and had a breakfast of [insert your child’s favorite breakfast here]. When she was all done she filled her pack full of jewels, put it on her back, and stepped out into the morning sun. Then she stretched her big, blue wings and jumped high into the air. Up, up and up she flew! She flew out over the magic forest, over the rivers and streams, she flew over the valleys and the grasslands, she flew over the deserts, and she flew over the lakes and the oceans.

Then she flew in a circle, around and around, and she said, “Which one of my friends am I going to visit this morning?” She thought and she though and she thought some more. Then she said, “I know – I’m going to visit Carl the Cow.”

Now, Carl the Cow was a beautiful black and white cow who lived on the farm down in the Valley. So Jewlely turned and she flew as fast as she could. She flew over the deserts and the swamps, she flew over the grasslands, she flew over the Magic Forest, she flew over the rivers and streams, and flew over the Valley. Then she looked down and saw her friend Carl the Cow eating grass and playing with his friends on the farm. So, Jewely flew down, down, down, down, down and landed in the grass next to Carl the Cow.

Carl the Cow saw Jewely the Dragon and said, “Good Morning, Jewely the Dragon! It’s so good to see you! What brings you to the farm today?”

Jewely the Dragon said, “Good morning, Carl the Cow! I’ve come to give you a present.”

Then she took off her backpack, she reached in and she pulled out three beautiful green jewels, as green as the grass on the farm. Jewely the Dragon gave Carl the Cow the jewels and Carl the Cow said “Oh, thank you, Jewely the Dragon! They are beautiful! I’m going to share them with my family!”

Carl the Cow gave Jewely the Dragon a big hug and Jewely the Dragon said, “You’re very welcome, Carl the Cow. They are a present to you because you’re my friend. You have a great day!”

And with that Jewly the Dargon put on her backpack, she turned and stretched her big blue wings and she jumped high into the air. Up, up, and up she flew over the Valley. Then she flew out over the magic forest, over the rivers and streams, she flew over the valleys and the grasslands, she flew over the deserts, and she flew over the lakes and the oceans.

Then she flew in a circle, around and around, and she said, “Which one of my friends am I going to visit this morning…”

[Insert up to four more visits to friends]

Finally it was getting dark and Jewely the Dragon knew it was time for bed. So, she flew back over the lands toward her home. She flew over the magic forest, over the rivers and streams, she flew over the valleys and the grasslands, she flew over the deserts, and she flew over the lakes and the oceans. Then she flew up, up, up to her home at the top of the tallest mountain. There she put away her backpack, brushed her teeth, and put on her pajamas. Then she got into bed and looked out at the stars in the night sky.

Jewely the Dragon said, “Goodnight, Carl the Cow. Goodnight, [insert all of the animals she visited]. And Good Night, [insert your child’s name].”

Then Jewely snuggled down into bed, and she closed her eyes, and she fell asleep.

Making Memories

Jewely the Dragon has become a standard for my daughter. She is sometimes so excited to hear it that she now asks to name the particular friends Jewely will visit as the story is told. This can get in the way of our main objective, which is a sleeping child. Fortunately this story, when told properly, is delightfully boring enough to lull anyone to sleep.

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