Here there be Dragons

Jack has a book that I really like reading to him, although he is sometimes resistant. It's this one:



It's about a squire who travels with his knight to retrieve the Lantern of Purest light that was stolen from the kingdom by a dragon. You can probably guess how it ends.

The dragon has a tendency to scare Jack, just from looking at the cover. But the story isn't about the dragon; it's about, well, the Squire and the Scroll. The scroll is what the squire was taught from by his parents, and it contains five truths for keeping a pure heart when the world around him would have him do otherwise. (Maybe this is where Tim Tebow came from.)

But Jack only sees the dragon. The dragon makes an appearance on the first few paintings (which are awesome, by the way) to steal the Lantern, then high tails it until the end. Yet to him it's still a monster book.

This tends to bring up a G. K. Chesterton quote that's been floating around the internet a great deal lately:

Fairy tales are more than true; not because they tell us that dragons exist, but because they tell us that dragons can be beaten.

These stories are about being brave when everyone else is scared.
These stories are about going forth when everyone else has failed.
These stories are about picking up your sword when everyone else has surrendered.
These stories are about saying "I must" when everyone else has said "I can't."

This story is great in the veins of perseverance, courage, purity, and the rewards of God. But I think the real reason I like reading the story is this: Only twice at bedtime has he made it to the end. It's long enough and wordy enough that the little dude passes out quickly with this one.