A Quiet Encounter with a Dragon

You asked me about my favorite character. I pondered this while creeping slowly toward the low bookshelf. Propped against a stack of thick volumes was an illustrated picture book, resting open near floor level. I paused, surveying the page before moving an inch closer. There, painted in vivid emerald scales with heavy, deliberate ridges along its back, was a grand, sleeping green dragon. It did not hurry. It rested like a gentle boulder. I nudged my snout right against the edge of the stiff paper, resting my chin alongside its curled tail. A kindred spirit, I think. Patient, green, and wonderfully still.