This little dragon tale grew out of a completely different idea I had for the letter D. I wanted to paint a dragon on my front door, which I had recently painted a very bright canary yellow. The door's shape is unusual, not rectangular but more square, with a pointed top. One day, I innocently wrote down the words, "This is the golden dragon door." After that, the story began to unravel and, quite honestly, it wrote itself.

When I had completed the entire story to my satisfaction, I started searching for images to accompany it. A few drawings from my old children's books were incorporated, but I had trouble finding things like doors (they all had people peering out of them), wizards and dragons (many were much too cartoonish), young men playing instruments or standing alone, and a simple apple pie. Clip art on the Internet proved just as frustrating, but I continued to look... and look... and look.

Although I ultimately found suitable images for every page - utilizing rubber stamps, clip art and old books - there is, unfortunately, no continuity as regards to artistic style. However, the story pleased me and I persevered. So I offer here my dragon ditty in the style of "This Is the House that Jack Built," also known as "little stories that grow."

SOURCES & ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS:
Lord Kyl's Clip Art web page
The Home University Bookshelf - Fun and Thought for Little Folk; The University Society, Copyright 1938
Lettering Art in Modern Use by Raymond A. Ballinger; Reinhold Publishing Corp., New York, N.Y., Copyright 1952