Katie and the Greedy Dragon

For Caitlin Rose
PUBLISHED BY MAGIC BLANKET TALES ©
CAMWOOD COURT, EAST MORTON, WEST YORKSHIRE, BD20 5QQ
ENGLAND
Text and illustrations © 2013 by Magic Blanket Tales
All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever
without the express written permission of the publisher except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
First Printing, 2013
ISBN 13: 978 0 9571110 28
To learn more about other products from Magic Blanket Tales © , visit us at: www.magicblankettales.co.uk

A MAGIC BLANKET TALES © BOOK
Katie Greedy Dragon
and the
This book belongs to:
..............................................................................................
written by Richard Parr illustrated by Monika Suska directed by Caitlin Rose Parr (age 9)

Katie could not wait for her next adventure. She quickly got into her favourite pyjamas,
washed her face and began brushing her teeth. A few moments later, Katie’s parents were startled by a
cry from the bathroom. “Mummy, Daddy,” shouted Katie. “Come quickly.”
They ran up the stairs as quick as they could and threw open the bathroom door. “What is it?
What is it?” they cried. Katie just smiled, but it was not her usual smile. Something was missing.
Katie held out her hand and there it was: her first wobbly tooth had finally come out.
“Hurray!” her father shouted. Katie was so excited. “Will the tooth fairy come tonight?” she asked
her mother. “I’m sure she will, but not until you are fast asleep.”

“Are tooth fairies girls or boys?” Katie asked
as she climbed into bed.
“I’m not sure,” replied her mother.
Katie decided to write a note and ask the
Tooth Fairy, who would visit her that night.
She signed it ‘Love Katie,’ then carefully placed
it, along with her tooth, under her pillow.
Katie’s mother and father kissed her goodnight
and whispered, “Sweet dreams.”
“Sweet dreams yourself,” Katie replied.
Then they left, closing her door behind
them, but not all the way. Katie always
liked it open, just a bit to let some light in.

In all the excitement about her tooth, Katie had nearly
forgotten about her next adventure. Ever so quietly,
she crept back out of bed and reached up to grab the
shiny blue torch from her bookshelf.
Then, from the bottom of the bed, she pulled up the
magic blanket her Nana had given her.
Under the blanket lay Penny, Katie’s well worn but well loved toy dog. “Phew, I mustn’t forget you, Penny,”
said Katie. Penny was Katie’s fearless sidekick and a very good friend to have when adventure or danger
called. Katie wound up the torch as far as it would go and pulled the blanket up over her and Penny.
They were ready. Katie closed her eyes and began to count. “One… Two… Three… Four…” She held
her breath just like before… “FIVE”

Woooooosssshhhh! Katie and Penny began flying through the air. Holding tightly to Penny,
Katie kept her eyes wide open this time. She did not want to miss a thing as they swirled and twirled
through the night sky.
Penny let out a loud yelp! “Hurray,” shouted Katie. “You’re real again.” Penny looked over Katie’s
shoulder and began to growl, louder and louder. “What is it, Penny?” Katie turned to see a giant
swirling whirlpool of bright white light in the sky, and they were heading right for the middle of it.

“Hold on Penny!” shouted Katie, as they felt themselves being pulled faster and faster, spinning towards the light. “Here we gooooo!”

Just like before, everything came to a sudden stop, only this time Katie could feel the blanket getting
hotter and hotter. She threw off the blanket and there above them stood a brave Knight, covered
from head to toe in shining, glimmering silver armour. The brave Knight was using a giant shield to
protect them. Protect us from what? thought Katie.
Katie tilted her head to one side of the shield and Penny tilted her head to the other. Suddenly they both
came face to face with a giant, fire-belching, smoke-snorting, DRAGON!
He had bright purple scales, with green spots
and a giant tusk on the end of his nose. Worst of all
was his breath, as he snarled and snorted. It was
by far the worst thing that Katie had ever smelt.
Penny did not like it either, as she snarled and growled
back at the Dragon.

“You can’t be here,” came a muffled shout from under the
Knight’s helmet. “I’ll take you to the safety of the castle.”
The Knight swiftly placed Katie and Penny onto his horse.
He was a handsome horse, with a coat of pure white, like snow.
The Knight grabbed the reins and with a loud “Hurrargh,” they
raced down the steep and winding track, leaving the ferocious
Dragon far behind.

As they raced away, the terrible smell of the Dragon’s breath was replaced by the sweet smell of chocolate.
“Where are we?” asked Katie.
“Sugar Mountain,” replied the Knight. “You see that pipe?” Katie looked to see a long higgledy
pipe twisting down the side of the mountain. “That takes all the hot melting chocolate from the volcano
at the top of the mountain.”
“Takes it where?” asked Katie.
“All the way to the King’s sweet maker, Mr. Treats,” replied the
Knight, as they galloped faster and faster down the mountain.

They followed the long, twisting pipe until they reached the giant castle. The Knight signalled the
guards to lower the drawbridge. The giant timbers creaked and groaned, and the chains
clattered and rattled.
Slowly the huge wooden door became a bridge, allowing them to safely cross the water that guarded
the Castle. Once inside the giant walls of the castle, Katie could not believe her eyes.

Inside was a small town with buildings and shops of every shape and colour. Everyone was very busy
getting ready for a very special party. Banners were being hung, balloons were being tied into
huge bunches and there in the middle was the biggest bonfire Katie had ever seen.
Katie noticed the long twisting pipe from the mountain going through the castle wall and into
Mr. Treats’ Sweet Shop, just as the Knight had said.
A strangely dressed gentleman nervously approached them. He wore a red
and white striped jacket with matching trousers and a hat that looked just like
an upside down strawberry. This could only be Mr. Treats, thought Katie.

Several other nervous villagers followed behind him. Among them were a blacksmith and a dentist
Katie thought looked just like her Grandpa, with his whispery silver hair and grand mustache.
“Did you slay the Dragon?” asked Mr. Treats.
“I’m afraid not,” replied the Knight, removing his helmet. Katie’s eyes widened with surprise, for the
brave Knight was a beautiful woman with long dark red hair.
“Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Sacha.
I am the King’s daughter and this is my loyal steed,
Storm.”
Katie stroked Storm on his soft white nose and
replied, “Don’t you mean Princess Sacha?”
The Princess smiled. “Just call me Sacha. I mean, do I look like
a Princess to you?” “Not really,” replied Katie, smiling back.

Penny began to bark loudly. “Ruff! Ruff!”
“Of course,” Katie replied. “The Dragon must be the problem we’re here to solve.”
“Problem!” exclaimed Mr. Treats. “Today is the King’s birthday and the Dragon has blocked the pipe,
keeping all the chocolate for himself. If I can’t finish the King’s birthday cake in time for his party tonight,
then it’s off with my head. That’s more than a problem!” His voice trembled.
“How can you help us defeat the Dragon?” asked Sacha.
“Perhaps you don’t need to defeat him,” replied Katie. “If you can
take me back up the mountain, I will try talking to him.”
“You will need a suit of armour if you are coming with me to face
the Dragon again,” said Sacha.

The blacksmith stepped forward and offered to make the suits of armour for Katie and Penny. He took
their measurements and soon had their suits ready for them to try on.
Katie and Penny both looked in the mirror and smiled. “Ready, Penny?” asked Katie.
“Ruff! Ruff!” replied Penny. She was ready. The blacksmith handed Katie a shield and sword, then
wished them good luck.
With the villagers cheering them on, the
three brave Knights in shining armour
climbed onto Storm’s back and galloped
back towards the mountain.

As they climbed the steep and winding path, the sky began to darken. Giant black clouds appeared,
quickly followed by a flash of lightning and a terrible rumble of thunder. Raindrops the size
of golf balls began to pour down.
Kla-Klink! Kla-Klunk! Rang out the sound as the raindrops
clattered against their metal armour!
Despite his name, Storm was actually quite scared of the thunder and lightning. Katie stroked his mane and
whispered in his ear, “Be brave; you can do it.” Storm lifted his head high into the air and bravely
galloped onwards. Soon they reached the deep, dark cave at the top of the mountain. Katie noticed her
blanket still lying on the ground outside.

All around was the smell of bubbling, melting chocolate.
But as they went deeper into the cave, Katie noticed it
began to smell more like her father’s sweaty socks.
Penny also sniffed the air with disapproval. Katie could
see Storm did not want to go any farther, so looking at
him, she asked, “Would you mind waiting here, to
make sure the Dragon doesn’t slip past us?”
Storm nodded with relief. Katie, Penny and Sacha slowly continued, moving deeper and deeper into the dark,
gloomy cave. Katie, using her touch to light the way, began to giggle as she felt the squelch of warm chocolate
between her toes, but she quickly stopped when there in the torchlight were two huge eyes staring right
back at her.

Lunging forward, the Dragon took a deep
breath and blew out a giant ball of
orange flames. Katie quickly used her
shield to protect her and Penny.
The Dragon snarled and puffed smoke from
his nostrils into the air. He began to take
another deep breath, but let out a painful
squeal instead.
“Oowwwwwcccchhh!”
In the torchlight, Katie could now see the whole Dragon. He was not as fierce looking as she remembered.
The biggest thing about him was his head. His belly was also rather large and bright orange,
matching his wings.

The Dragon snarled and tried to scare Katie by showing all of his giant teeth. Penny snarled back,
showing all of her teeth. At least Katie knew where the terrible smell was coming from. Holding her hand
over her nose, Katie looked closely at the Dragon’s giant row of teeth. “You have a rotten tooth,” she
said. “Does it hurt?”
The Dragon nodded and squealed again. “Oowwwwwcccchhh!”
“Oowwwwwcccchhh!”
“It’s no surprise, keeping all the chocolate to yourself, and you certainly
haven’t been brushing your teeth. What’s your name?” asked Katie.
“Maximus,” replied the Dragon.
“What a great name,” said Katie. Maximus smiled, holding his hand to his cheek.

“I know someone who can fix your tooth,”
said Katie. “But you must promise to share
the chocolate with everyone in the Kingdom.”
Maximus gave a big humpf! He turned
his back on Katie, closed his eyes and stuck
his nose high into the air.
“It must get awfully lonely up here,” said Katie. Maximus opened one eye. “The King is having a big party,”
she explained. “There will be games, music and a giant bonfire. You can come, if you promise to
share the mountain and its delicious chocolate.”

Maximus looked back at Katie with eyes wide open.
“A party?” he said. Katie nodded. “I have never been
to a party.” Maximus thought for a moment.
“OK, I promise.”
Maximus hurried over to the giant rock that was
blocking the pipe. With one great swish of his long
spiky tail, he sent the giant rock hurtling over
the side of the mountain.
With a loud slurp! Then a slosh! The hot
lava of melting chocolate was soon flowing down
the pipe once more.
“Right,” said Katie. “Let’s fix that tooth.”

“How about Storm and I race you back to the
Castle,” challenged Sacha.
“That’s a great idea,” said Katie. She looked
up at Maximus and asked, “Can you fly?”
Maximus flapped his wings and
rubbed his big round orange belly.
“Hmmm!” he sighed.
“I’m a bit heavier than the last
time I flew, but I think so.”

Maximus lifted Katie and Penny onto his back. “Ready, steady, go,” shouted Katie.
Sacha and Storm galloped off down the side of the mountain,
while Maximus sized his run up.
“UH! OH!”
Taking several large, thundering
footsteps, Maximus flapped his wings and leapt off the top of the mountain.
For a moment, they just hung in the air, before Maximus yelped, “UH-OH!”

Down they went with a bump and a thud.
Bouncing off a giant rock, they flew back
into the air.
Maximus grabbed Katie and Penny, tucking them into his arms. He curled himself into a giant ball as they rolled and bounced down the side of the mountain.
Meanwhile Sacha could see the drawbridge ahead. “We’re going to win,” she shouted.
Just then, Storm looked up to see a giant ball of purple, orange and green, spinning through the air. The giant ball
bounced right over Sacha and Storm and right over the drawbridge before crashing down with a terribly loud THUMP!

Sacha and Storm raced across the drawbridge to find the three of them sprawled out in a dusty heap and
giggling away to themselves. “I guess I am a bit heavier than I thought,” said Maximus. Everyone
just stared in amazement to see Katie and Penny laughing with the Dragon.
Then came a loud gurgling, spluttering sound from the giant pipe. Mr. Treats ran
out of his sweet shop and began to dance around. “Hooray!” he shouted.
“Hip! Hip! Hooray! They did it, the chocolate is flowing again.”
Then everyone cheered and began to dance around.
“The King will have his birthday party after all,” cried Mr. Treats.

Katie asked the dentist if he would take a look at the Dragon’s tooth. The dentist rather nervously agreed
and stepped forward. Maximus lowered his head and opened wide. “I can’t look,” cried the blacksmith.
“He’s going to swallow him whole.” But Maximus kept his promise and allowed the Dentist to examine
his sore tooth.
“It’s got to come out I’m afraid,” explained the Dentist. Katie could
see that Maximus looked scared, so with her biggest smile she showed
him the gap where her tooth had come out. “See, there’s nothing to
be afraid of,” said Katie.

So Maximus followed the dentist,
but no matter how hard they all
tried, he was just too big to fit
through the dentist’s door.
They brought the dentist’s chair
outside, but the chair was too
small for the Dragon to sit on.
“The problem is we need to numb the gum,”
explained the dentist.
Katie remembered reading about dentists in the
Old Wild West. She asked the dentist to find
the biggest needle he had and fill it with the
strongest whiskey he could find.

“Ruff! Ruff!” barked Penny. Wagging her tail, she ran over to the blacksmith’s shop. There on the wall
was an old crossbow. “Of course,” said Katie. “We can use the crossbow to fire the needle into the gum.”
Katie loaded the needle onto the crossbow. Taking aim, she shouted to Maximus, “Open wide and don’t
move.” Maximus took a big gulp, closed his eyes and opened wide.
With a sudden woooooosssshhhh! Katie was thrown backwards as the needle shot towards
Maximus. Everyone watched as the needle soared through the air.

“Great shot,” cried the dentist.
Katie looked up to see the needle
sticking into the Dragon’s gum, just
above his rotten tooth.
“How do you feel?” Katie asked Maximus. He just smiled, then let out an enormous burp,
“Buuurrrrpppp... Hick!” A burst of flames shot out of his mouth and he spun around three times before
rolling back his eyes, sticking out his bright pink tongue and falling backwards with a crashing thump!

The dentist quickly got to work removing the rotten tooth, while Katie and Penny rounded up volunteers
to clean the rest of the Dragon’s teeth. Each grabbed a bucket of toothpaste and a sweeping brush. They
scrubbed and scrubbed until the giant teeth were sparkling white.
The dentist gave the rotten tooth one last pull and with a loud snap! out flew the giant tooth, with
the dentist still holding onto it. “Hooray!” cheered the crowd.

The blacksmith noticed the big gap where the rotten tooth had been. “I can make him a new tooth,”
he offered. “Great idea,” said Katie. “What do you need?”
“Gold would be best,” he replied. Sacha turned to the Blacksmith. “You get a cast of the tooth
ready and I’ll get you the gold.” With that, she and Storm raced off towards the King’s Castle.

Just as the blacksmith had finished, Sacha returned with two large brown sacks. She emptied a giant pile
of golden crowns covered with precious jewels onto the ground.
“Will these do?” she asked.
“Perfect,” the blacksmith replied. He melted the crowns and
poured the hot golden liquid into the cast before cooling it
with water. “It’s ready,” he said.

Using a giant wooden crane, they
lifted the magnificent golden tooth
and fixed it into position just in time,
as Maximus began to open his eyes.
Katie and Penny quickly slid down the Dragon’s tongue
to join the rest of the crowd, as they looked on.

Still a little dizzy, Maximus sat up. Katie ran to the dress shop and came back with a mirror that was
bigger than her. She held it up so Maximus could see his brand new tooth.
Slowly he smiled at his reflection in the mirror.
He could now see his brand new, bright gold shiny
tooth. It was covered with white diamonds, blue
sapphires and red rubies. It was the finest tooth
anyone had ever seen.
A small tear of happiness rolled off his cheek as
Maximus saw the rest of his sparking white smile.
He thanked the dentist and everyone for their help.

Suddenly, trumpets began to blow, Ba! Ba! Ba! Bar!
“It’s the King,” cried the villagers. Katie turned to see
a shining golden carriage driven by four beautiful horses
racing towards them.
“Oh no,” cried Sacha. “The bonfire! It was meant to be
a surprise but it’s too damp from the thunderstorm, and now
we don’t have time to light it.”
Katie quickly went over to Maximus and whispered in his ear.
He smiled and taking a deep breath, he blew a giant ball of flames
right into the middle of the bonfire and wooooooosh!
The giant bonfire was soon ablaze with giant orange and
yellow flames that danced into the air.

The King stepped from his carriage, but he was not wearing his usual golden crown with white diamonds,
blue sapphires and red rubies. Instead he wore a blue crown made of tissue paper.
“Do you know anything about my missing
crown?” the King asked. Sacha just smiled
and kissed him on the cheek and said,
“Happy birthday, Daddy.”
The King smiled and declared, “From this
day forth, everyone’s birthday will be
celebrated by wearing crowns of tissue
paper, just like mine.”
The King’s butler reached into
the carriage and pulled out a pile
of coloured paper crowns.
“Hooray!!” everyone shouted, as the children ran to get their party hats.

Soon the party was in full swing. Music played and everyone
danced around the bonfire, singing songs.
Mr. Treats had finally been able to finish the King’s
birthday cake. It was a giant chocolate sponge cake
covered with dark chocolate icing and white chocolate
sprinkles. It took four men to carry it out.
Suddenly, Penny noticed they had forgotten to light
the candles. Ruff! Ruff! barked Penny.
Katie looked over at Maximus and winked. He winked
back and with a small burst of flames from the corner
of his mouth, he set the candles alight.
The King made his wish and blew out the candles.
He thanked Mr. Treats and all the villagers for
making this his best birthday ever.

Sacha introduced Katie and Penny to her father and
explained why there was a Dragon at his party.
The King thanked them both for all their help. He also
thanked Maximus for sharing the chocolate with his
kingdom and asked if there was anything he could give
him in return. Maximus just smiled, showing off his
dazzling new tooth.
“I see,” said the King. “It seems I have already
given you a gift.”
There was a moment of silence. Then both the King and Maximus began
to laugh. They laughed so hard they both fell over.

Katie quickly grabbed a GIANT bag of
marshmallows and chocolate chip cookies.
“Come on, Penny, I’ve got a great idea.”
Katie called to all the children to grab
a stick and follow her.

They followed Katie along the Dragon’s spiky tail, climbed up and over
his squidgy, bouncy, orange belly and slid down his long neck,
right up to his huge mouth.
Katie held out a marshmallow on a stick. “Would you mind?”
Katie asked politely, holding out her stick with a fluffy pink
marshmallow on the end.

Maximus smiled and blew just the right amount of flames to roast the marshmallow to perfection.
Then Katie took two chocolate chip cookies
and squashed the marshmallow between them.
The children’s eyes lit up and they all took turns roasting
their marshmallows. Even Penny joined the end of the line.

Just then Katie noticed her torch begin to flash on and off. She turned to Sacha and the King and said
she was sorry to leave such a great party, but she must be on her way.
“I’ll miss you all,” said Katie. “You most of all, Maximus.
Now be good and brush your teeth twice a day.”
“I promise,” said Maximus with his glittering, sparkling smile.
Sacha handed Katie her blanket and asked, “How will you get home?” Katie smiled and asked if the
princess liked magic. Sacha nodded. “Then stand back and watch this for a disappearing act.”

Katie and Penny both removed their armour and waved goodbye to everyone
before climbing under the blanket and pulling it over their heads.
“Ready Penny?” Asked Katie.
“Ruff! Ruff!” barked Penny,
wagging her tail. She was ready.
Katie began to count.
“One… two… three… four…”
They both held their breath for a moment… “FIVE.”

Woooooosssshhhh! Katie and Penny soared into the air. Looking down, they could
see everyone staring in disbelief. Just as before, a giant swirling whirlpool of bright white
light appeared in the sky.

Katie held on tightly to Penny and shouted, “GOODBYE EVERYONE.
Thank you for a wonderful adventure.”
Then Katie, Penny and the blanket swirled into the light, vanishing, to the amazement of the
stunned crowd below.

When all was quiet, Katie pulled back
the blanket.
“Hooray!” she cried. Katie was
back in her own cosy bed.
Just then, Katie’s bedroom door opened. Her father slowly leaned in. “Are you all right?” he asked,
wiping his forehead. “It’s hot enough to roast marshmallows in here.” Katie just smiled while
her father went over to the radiator and turned it down.

Katie watched as he closed the door, but not all the way. Lying there, Katie smiled as she thought about
Maximus and his new… “TOOTH!” Katie said out loud.
She quickly slid her hand under her pillow, but what she felt was not her
tooth. Lifting the pillow, Katie’s eyes widened with delight.
Her tooth was gone, but there in its place was a beautiful gold coin, glistening
in the light from her torch.

Under the coin was the note Katie had left. Using her
torch, she could see there was tick in the box marked girl.
The Tooth Fairy who had visited Katie that night had also
left a reply on the back of her note, which read,
Dear Katie,
Thank you for your question. I can tell
you that there are both boy and girl Tooth
Fairies. Your tooth was lovely and clean.
Keep up the good brushing.
Samantha 0704

Katie smiled and placed the note back under her pillow. She hugged Penny, who was once again her
old self, a well-worn, but well-loved toy dog.
Katie turned over and whispered, “I wonder where our next adventure
will take us.” Then she closed her eyes and fell fast asleep.
The End... until the next time...