Listen and read-along with this story by, Jacob Lockett.

Long ago in the old town of Cobbleshire, there lived a dragon who couldn’t breathe fire. Trixie was huge and green. She could flap her wings and fly. But she couldn’t shoot flames from her mouth.

“Who wants to breathe fire, anyway?” Trixie asked. “Dragonfire is very rude.”

Trixie was a kind dragon. She helped the villagers of Cobbleshire with all sorts of jobs.

Trixie used her spiky tail to rake her friend, Mr. Spade’s, garden. She used her strong muscles to help her friend, Mrs. Melon, set up her vegetable stand in the village square. She used her long, sharp claws to help Mr. Pin, the tailor, cut cloth in his shop.

One afternoon, while Trixie worked in Mr. Spade’s garden, thunder cracked the air. Cold rain poured down.

“What a mess,” Trixie said, wiping thick mud off her paw. She wanted to go home to her warm cave. Her body ached. Her nose was runny.

When the rain let up, Mr. Spade came to check on her.

“Trixie, my dear! I hope you haven’t been working in this rain! You’ll catch a cold! My boy, Colin, woke up with one just this morning, as a matter of fact.”  

Right then, Trixie felt a tickle in her throat. Before she could stop herself, she coughed and when she did, flames shot from her mouth!

“Oops!” Trixie gasped.

Mr. Spade fell to the ground. “Don’t hurt me!” he cried.

“I’m not trying to hurt you! I didn’t mean to spit fire. I think I must have a Dragon Cold!” said Trixie.

Trixie had never caught a Dragon Cold before. But she knew about them from stories Mama Dragon had told her long ago. Dragon Colds made dragons, even ones who couldn’t breathe fire like Trixie, cough up flames.

“I’m sorry,” Trixie said in a raspy voice. “It was an accident.”

Suddenly, Trixie felt an awful tickle in her throat. The tickle grew and grew inside her. She tried to hold it back, but she couldn’t.

She coughed. Wild blue flames burst from her mouth.

Mr. Spade jumped up and ran away. He shouted a warning to the other villagers. “Everyone, look out! Trixie’s breathing fire!”

Trixie’s body ached. Her throat hurt. Still, she ran after her friend. “Wait, Mr. Spade!” she rasped. “Let me explain!”

Mrs. Melon, the vegetable seller, saw Trixie coming. “Get back, Trixie!” she shouted, cowering behind her cabbages.

“Everything’s fine!” Trixie said, “I just have a Dragon Cold!”

Trixie felt another tickle grow inside her throat. She tried to hold it back. But she couldn’t. Flames shot from her mouth. Mrs. Melon ran away, knocking over a basket of ripe tomatoes as she went.

“Wait!” said Trixie.

When Mr. Pin, the tailor, saw Trixie coming, he locked the door to his shop. He stuck his head out the window. “Stay back, Trixie! Stay back or I’ll poke you with a pin!”

“I won’t hurt you!” said Trixie.

But just then she felt a little tickle in her throat.

From an upstairs window at Mr. Spade’s house, young Colin spied on the town below. He had been sick all day. He ate hot chicken soup in his pajamas and watched Mr. Pin shout at Trixie. Then Trixie coughed fire, staining Mr. Pin’s windows with black ash.

What was wrong with Trixie? Colin wondered. Colin wiped his nose with his handkerchief. Then, as he watched, Trixie plucked a sheet from Mrs. Linen’s clothesline. Trixie wiped her nose with the sheet and that gave Colin an idea.

Colin opened his window. He leaned out. “Hey, Trixie!” he shouted.

Trixie turned her big, soft eyes on Colin. She flapped her wings and shot into the air. Her huge body hovered outside Colin’s window.

“Try this soup,” Colin said. He held the steaming bowl with both hands.

Trixie felt a little tickle in her throat. She gulped the hot soup. The tickle eased. Trixie turned away from Colin. She gave a little cough. Nothing. Not a single flame shot out. Not even a puff of smoke.

“Feeling better?” said Colin.

“Yes,” said Trixie. “That soup did the trick. But will anyone want to be my friend again?”

“Hold still,” said Colin. He put his arms around Trixie’s green neck. He climbed onto her back. “We’ll show them,” he said.

Trixie and Colin flew through the town. They circled Mrs. Melon’s garden and brought her fresh tomatoes for her stand. Trixie dipped her wings in water and used them to wash Mr. Pin’s windows. When Mr. Spade returned to his house to see if Trixie was gone, he saw Colin glide over his head on her back.

Mr. Spade gasped. “Son! Come back! Trixie’s dangerous!”

“She’s not dangerous,” said Colin, “she just had a cold. Like me.”

“It’s called a Dragon Cold,” said Trixie. “It’s like a human cold. Except it made me cough fire.”

“But she had chicken soup,” said Colin, “and that fixes everything.”

“That’s right. Chicken soup does fix everything,” said Mrs. Melon, who was very happy with her tomatoes.

“Very true,” agreed Mr. Pin, who had come out to admire his clean windows.

“I’m so sorry, Trixie,” said Mr. Spade. “I should’ve listened to you. Won’t you come in and have some more soup?”

Trixie settled to the ground. She folded up her wings. She ducked her huge head and squeezed into the kitchen with her friends. As night fell and the room grew dark, Trixie felt glad.

The day the Dragon Cold came was over!

THE END

About the Author

Jacob lives in the highlands of central Pennsylvania. He is surrounded by heavy, dense forests filled with all kinds of wild animals, like deer and bears (but no dragons, unfortunately). In his spare time, Jacob loves to read and watch movies – anything he can do to broaden his understanding of storytelling. He’s currently working on a Middle-grade novel, as well as more stories aimed at younger readers. Check out Jacob’s twitter link; @jacobwlockett24