Please Dress Up the Dragon

9 pages · 5 min · ages 4+

Thump, bump, thump! Oh, hello! It's me, Crumb. That noise is Ember, bouncing down the stairs with her bucket. It's her very first Halloween. I want her to have the best costume in the whole castle. I've made a list. Costume. Bucket. Coat. But listen, before she gets here. There's one word Ember must never hear. Whenever a dragon hears it, every costume goes itchy. Every single one. Even socks. So whatever you do, don't say itchy. Shh! Here she comes. Wave hello to Ember! Ember waved back. With her tail.

Costume number one. When I was little, I went as a cat. Cats chase mice. I was very brave. Here are my old cat ears. Practically new. I only wore them once. Ember popped them on top of one horn. Look, Ember's a cat! “Meow,” said Ember. Eek! I jumped. Sorry. Old habit. Now, put your hand over your mouth, so the word can't get out. Good. Whatever you do, don't say it.

You said it! I heard you, right through your hand! “Itchy,” said Ember. She shook her head. Ping! The cat ears flew off and landed on her banana cushion. Now the cushion's a cat. Uh-oh. My ear feels itch— I mean, tingly. That word is catching. Quick, rub your nose! Not my nose, please. Your own!

Costume number two. A tiger! Tigers are orange, like Ember. And tigers have black stripes. We didn't have anything black. We had toilet roll. Spin your finger to help me wrap! Round and round goes the toilet roll. Round and round goes me. There. A tiger. Close enough. That was all the toilet roll in the castle. That's a problem for tomorrow. Look, Ember loves it! Whatever you do… You said it! I wasn't finished! “Itchy,” said Ember.

She scratched with her paws. She wriggled. She scratched with her tail. The toilet roll came loose, and I was still holding the end. Round and round and round she went. It all landed in a big white heap, right on her cushion. Now the cushion's a tiger. It's even got ears. Close enough. The cushion is having a better Halloween than me. No more costumes. No more toilet roll. You can't roll it back up. I tried. I sat down on the bottom step. Maybe dragons don't do Halloween.

Costume number three was Ember's idea. She looked at my helmet. Then she tipped her bucket upside down and put it on her head. Clang. She found the biggest wooden spoon in the kitchen. She held it up, like a sword. Point to Ember's helmet. Clang! Now point to mine. Ding! She's a knight, like me. Now, whatever you do, don't say it. You said it! Ember didn't even scratch. Knights don't itch. “Crumb,” said Ember, and pointed at herself. My ears went extra pink. Nobody's ever dressed up as me before.

Last thing on my list. Coat! It's cold outside. Ember's coat is a bit big. She'll grow into it. Everybody, arms up! Ember's arms went up. Then down. Then up again. Then her tail went up. Arms, Ember. In they went. Button, button, button. But where are her paws? Wiggle your fingers so Ember can find her paws. There they are! Nobody can tell she's dressed as me now. Only the bucket shows. Never mind. She's warm.

Right. Off we go, trick-or-treating! Costume? Yes. Bucket? Yes. It's on her head. Coat? Yes. I shouldn't say it out loud. But it's the best costume in the whole castle. And it isn't even itchy. Oh. Oh no. Did I just say it? I did. Ember looked down at her big red coat. She wriggled. She wriggled again. She scratched. “Itchy,” said Ember.

Off came the coat, right onto her cushion. Ember did up the buttons. Button, button, button. She'll be fine. She'll be running around. Now the cushion's warm.