"The Tale of the Talking Sea Dragon"
A Fable by Jack Neubart
©Jack Neubart. All rights reserved.
There once was a dragon who lived in the sea,
He had gills like a fish, he looked odd to you and me.
He didn’t have legs, as most dragons do,
He didn’t breathe fire, he was tiny, too.
This dragon had one thing, an unusual name,
So none of the fish let him play in their games.
“Your name is funny,” the fish would say,
“We can’t play with you, now go away.”
The fish would play, the fish would sing,
Their names in everything,
The fish would dance, the fish would shout,
But our lonely dragon could only pout.
Then one day a little boy came to play by the sea,
He played on the shore where sea dragons should never be,
When he came upon our dragon in the sand,
He scooped it up into his little hand.
He held it close, and with a gentle prod
He was startled to see the sea dragon nod.
Then more startled was he when the dragon spoke,
He thought it was a dream from which he’d not awoke.
The dragon uttered his plaintive cry,
“I have a silly name, I’ve no friends,” and sighed.
The little boy looked down on him,
And said, “Hi, my name is Jim.”
“That’s a nice name, not like my own,
Said the dragon, “I never even speak it when alone,”
“But no one’s name could be that bad,”
Said little Jimmy, looking sad.
Then Jimmy brightened, and with a smile,
Proclaimed so you could hear him for miles,
“From this day forward your name shall be
“Jim or Jimmy, just like me.”
And the dragon wiggled his tail with glee,
And he laughed uproariously,
But, as he was about to return the dragon to the sea,
The boy asked, “What name gave you such misery?”
“The name I was given, the name I was called,
“The name that started my troubles all,
“Was a name no one could say,
“Xtplrumphxtuplday.”
“I like it,” the boy replied for all to hear,
For those far away and for those near,
“It sounds like fun, it is unique,
“It makes you stand out, it’s a name I would keep.”
Now the sun was setting, it was time to leave,
And Jimmy put the dragon back in the sea,
And lo and behold, from far and wide,
All the fishes in the sea swam to his side.
And one by one they said the dragon’s true name,
And invited him to play in their games,
They laughed, they sang, they shouted, they played,
Each chanting, “Xtplrumphxtuplday.”
The little boy turned to look once more,
At the dragon and fishes playing near shore,
And the dragon smiled back up at him,
“Goodbye my friend, goodbye little Jim.”
And on the drive home, Jimmy slept, then awoke,
Startled, he thought someone was playing a joke,
For in his hand was a seashell so fine,
Could this be a dream? He looked one more time,
On the seashell, shapes and hues all arranged
To look like a sea dragon, now that was strange,
But stranger still what he was about to hear
When he held this seashell close to his ear,
It wasn’t just the sounds of the sea,
Sounds we would hear normally,
No, what Jim did hear the seashell say,
“Hello from your friend, Xtplrumphxtuplday.”
And with a smile, Jimmy slept all the way home,
Knowing his new friend would no longer be alone,
Knowing he was helpful in his little own way
To a tiny sea dragon named Xtplrumphxtuplday.
He had gills like a fish, he looked odd to you and me.
He didn’t have legs, as most dragons do,
He didn’t breathe fire, he was tiny, too.
This dragon had one thing, an unusual name,
So none of the fish let him play in their games.
“Your name is funny,” the fish would say,
“We can’t play with you, now go away.”
The fish would play, the fish would sing,
Their names in everything,
The fish would dance, the fish would shout,
But our lonely dragon could only pout.
Then one day a little boy came to play by the sea,
He played on the shore where sea dragons should never be,
When he came upon our dragon in the sand,
He scooped it up into his little hand.
He held it close, and with a gentle prod
He was startled to see the sea dragon nod.
Then more startled was he when the dragon spoke,
He thought it was a dream from which he’d not awoke.
The dragon uttered his plaintive cry,
“I have a silly name, I’ve no friends,” and sighed.
The little boy looked down on him,
And said, “Hi, my name is Jim.”
“That’s a nice name, not like my own,
Said the dragon, “I never even speak it when alone,”
“But no one’s name could be that bad,”
Said little Jimmy, looking sad.
Then Jimmy brightened, and with a smile,
Proclaimed so you could hear him for miles,
“From this day forward your name shall be
“Jim or Jimmy, just like me.”
And the dragon wiggled his tail with glee,
And he laughed uproariously,
But, as he was about to return the dragon to the sea,
The boy asked, “What name gave you such misery?”
“The name I was given, the name I was called,
“The name that started my troubles all,
“Was a name no one could say,
“Xtplrumphxtuplday.”
“I like it,” the boy replied for all to hear,
For those far away and for those near,
“It sounds like fun, it is unique,
“It makes you stand out, it’s a name I would keep.”
Now the sun was setting, it was time to leave,
And Jimmy put the dragon back in the sea,
And lo and behold, from far and wide,
All the fishes in the sea swam to his side.
And one by one they said the dragon’s true name,
And invited him to play in their games,
They laughed, they sang, they shouted, they played,
Each chanting, “Xtplrumphxtuplday.”
The little boy turned to look once more,
At the dragon and fishes playing near shore,
And the dragon smiled back up at him,
“Goodbye my friend, goodbye little Jim.”
And on the drive home, Jimmy slept, then awoke,
Startled, he thought someone was playing a joke,
For in his hand was a seashell so fine,
Could this be a dream? He looked one more time,
On the seashell, shapes and hues all arranged
To look like a sea dragon, now that was strange,
But stranger still what he was about to hear
When he held this seashell close to his ear,
It wasn’t just the sounds of the sea,
Sounds we would hear normally,
No, what Jim did hear the seashell say,
“Hello from your friend, Xtplrumphxtuplday.”
And with a smile, Jimmy slept all the way home,
Knowing his new friend would no longer be alone,
Knowing he was helpful in his little own way
To a tiny sea dragon named Xtplrumphxtuplday.
