Please Don't Wake the Dragon

8 pages · 5 min · ages 4+

▶ Watch the read-aloud on YouTube

Shh! Hello. I'm Crumb. Please whisper. This is Ember. Ember is a dragon, and Ember is asleep. When Ember wakes up too early, she is grumpy for a whole week. She sits on the castle bridge, and nobody can get in or out. So we need Ember to stay asleep. Whatever you do, don't turn the page.

You turned the page! Oh dear. Look. Ember's ear twitched. Twitch. Okay. Okay. It's fine. She's still asleep. But now you have to be extra quiet. And there is one more rule. Whatever you do, don't say banana. Bananas are Ember's favourite thing in the whole world.

Did you just say banana? You did! I heard you! Look at her nose. Sniff, sniff. Ember smiled in her sleep. “Bananas,” mumbled Ember. A big smoke ring floated out of her nose, round and round, and landed right on me. Now I look like a mouse in a hula hoop. Whatever you do, don't say banana!

I know what to do. A lullaby. Dragons love lullabies. Listen. Rock-a-bye, drag-on, on the tree top… Oops. My voice is a bit squeaky. Ember did not like my lullaby. She put her paws over her ears. She rolled over. Her tail went swish, and a whole pile of gold coins went clink, clank, clonk.

Phew. Still asleep. Now, whatever you do, don't laugh. Don't giggle. Don't even smile. Wait. Is that a smile? I can see you smiling! Oh no. Look! Ember is opening one eye. Just a tiny bit. Everybody freeze! Be a statue. Ember looked around. And she closed it again.

I have one last idea. I'll make her bed extra soft. I fetched the fluffiest blanket in the castle. I tiptoed. Tiptoe, tiptoe. Over the gold coins. Tiptoe, tiptoe. And I tripped. Clink, clank, CLONK, CRASH! Ember opened both eyes. Ember lifted her big head. Oh no. She's awake. She's going to be grumpy for a whole week.

Wait. I know! You have to help me. Everybody hold your arms like this, like you are rocking a baby. Rock, rock, rock. Now sing it with me, very softly. Bananas, bananas, sleepy bananas. Bananas, bananas, sleepy bananas. Look! Ember is smiling. Her eyes are closing. Her head is going down, down, down onto her banana cushion. Keep singing. Bananas, bananas, sleepy bananas.

She's asleep. We did it! Thank you. Now tiptoe away, very quietly, and close the book. Shh. Tiptoe, tiptoe. Wait. What was that? Ember is talking in her sleep. “Again,” mumbled Ember.