A long time ago on a late fall day in early December when the days were cooler and the nights longer, a large dragon was traveling through the canyons in an area that is now called California.
Thousands of years of rain had created these particular canyons, annually washing dirt, rocks and debris from the hillsides down to a flat area where it spread out like a new carpet.
Above the flat area, in the upper canyons, a river had formed a small lake that grew larger with the winter rains and smaller during the hot summer days.
The dragon stopped by the lake to take big gulps from the refreshing lake water before resting along the shore from its journey.
There had been stories passed down from generation to generation about a dragon, told by elders of the tribes that frequented the area, but no one in recent years had seen one.
On this late fall day, what was unknown to the people living near the lake was the presence of a dragon sleeping on the lakeshore. And yet, it was hard to miss. From tail to nose it was longer than 11 grown men stretched out on the ground.
This dragon was very smart, always staying in the shadows to avoid the irritation of people that might try to bother it.
But on this particular day, as the dragon had laid down to rest on the lakeshore before continuing its journey, it quickly fell fast asleep. The large reptile woke up many hours later to the sound of loud birds and was surprised to see there was a large egg on the ground wrapped in a coil of its tail. Curious, the dragon got up, sniffed the egg, and decided that it could not be a problem because whatever this object was it actually smelled like the dragon itself.
And then the creature stopped and pondered, “Why does this thing smell so familiar?” but never having seen an egg before it simply gave up thinking about it and went about gathering food. The dragon was unusually hungry on this day.
After resting for a few days, the dragon resumed its journey, leaving the egg, the lake and in truth, the whole area on its annual trip to its winter home in the south.
One week later, cracks started appearing on the egg, each getting wider by the hour until a large part of the shell cracked open and a small creature with a long tail, long neck and a long body crawled out and onto the land. The first thing it saw was a small pile of leftover food from the big dragon, which it quickly started eating, stopping only to see the lakeshore, and occasionally walking to the water, lapping it up with its long, forked tongue.
As days and weeks passed, the small creature grew bigger and stronger and now was able to roam over much of the area looking for food. But the baby dragon was lonely. There were no other creatures around like it. Just the land, the water, food, and sleep.
Curious, the little creature which now looked like a small version of the big dragon that left it, began to explore the lakeshore and finally, to slowly walk out into the water.
To its delight, the dragon was able to float, and with its small legs paddling it could move across the water and around the lake.
But, like many dragons, it had its seasons and after a few months it finally fell fast asleep in a small cave along the river, only waking after the seasons changed to cooler weather and the nights grew longer nights, just like when it was born.
It was a happy life, but it was also lonely one.
When the young dragon woke up from its first deep slumber, it prowled the lake looking for another like itself. After several unsuccessful months, it was clear that it had seen no other creatures that looked like it.
Yet one day, as it was walking along the shore a band of coyotes approached it slowly and with shifty looks. One brave coyote ran up quickly to the dragon and tried to bite one of its feet. Surprised and with quick reflexes, the dragon reared back its head and blasted a 6-foot flame from its nose. The coyote was singed and went yelping away with the rest of the pack right behind it.
The dragon was shocked. What it had just been able to do was amazing. It practiced a few times with smoke and flames flaring out accompanied with a loud “whoosh.”
This was the end of its learning for this year and soon after, the dragon went back to its cave, curled in with its tail touching its nose, and fell fast asleep.
The next year when it woke up from its long slumber the dragon remembered what it had learned about its amazing skill and practiced a few blasts of smoke and fire.
Everything worked just as it had previously. For a week, the dragon went out on the lake at night, blasting smoke and fire, hoping to attract one of its kind. Surely there must be other dragons that traveled through this area, it thought, and the lonely young dragon very much wanted to see a creature like itself, perhaps even its own mother.
But year after year no other dragons visited the area and so, lonely and sad, each year the dragon retreated to its cave for a year-long sleep, thinking that next year might be better.
Over many, many years, more people came to the area. Eventually, people built a dam at one end of the canyon and the lake got deeper and deeper. Next, big machines came in and started moving earth from another section until finally, it was opened to the lake. Water quickly flowed into the new section creating lots of tiny canyons, called coves, and the now much larger lake came to be known as Canyon Lake.
Every year, the dragon would crawl out of its cave, look around in amazement at all that had grown up around the area, and at night it would prowl the lake, eating fish, blasting fire and smoke.
One day, some men spotted the dragon, and began to help it. They cleaned it and fed it and one of them, a man named Pete, gave it a new home in a secret cave under a house in one of the coves. Pete soon discovered that the dragon slept all year long only to come out just before winter to roam the lake and eat and enjoy its brief time of being awake.
He would check on the dragon during the months when it was asleep, and every year when the days grew shorter and the weather got colder, Pete would wake the dragon to get its annual exercise and fun.
Soon, Pete was able to climb aboard the dragon and by pulling on one of the small fins on its back, he could get the dragon to blow fire and smoke. What a discovery that was.
The next day after this amazing discovery, Pete told his friends and neighbors what had happened, and they came out along the lake to watch. As Pete sat on his dragon, the creature slithered through the water, sides shimmering a bright green, smoke coming from his snout and an occasional burst of flame extending out a good six feet. The people cheered with every burst.
What happened this day would soon become an annual ritual as people began to string colored lights on their boats, playing music and floating behind the dragon as they celebrated its annual appearance.
Every year for several decades afterwards, Pete’s Dragon appeared just as fall was ending and winter was about to descend on the community. And each year Pete happily climbed aboard his dragon and, leading a parade of brightly decorated boats, they circled the lake together to the enjoyment and cheers of the people watching from the shoreline.
After many happy years and parade cruises, one day Pete was no longer there. He didn’t come to visit and when it came time for the annual celebration, he was not part of it. The dragon was sad, and big tears spilled from his bright eyes into the lake. Pete was the only human that he knew, and Pete was not only the dragon’s friend, but his caretaker. Pete had protected him, sheltered him, and made him feel loved.
The heart-broken dragon flew away, looking for Pete, never to return to the lake where it was born.
Everyone in the lake community was also sad. The annual celebraton wasn't the same without Pete and his beloved dragon, but finally some industrious locals created a large floating dragon replica, complete with flames shooting from its snout.
Now, every year, the lake community gathers to enjoy a great evening once again as a replica of Pete’s Dragon roams the lake, happily showered with peoples’ laughter and cheers as it leads a parade of decorate boats, breathing fire to the cheers of the locals gathering along the shore and following in the boat parade.
And somewhere Pete and his dragon, now reunited, smile as they remember how it all started, back when it was just a man and his dragon.
