In a land far, far away, but really close by, like in your backyard, something magical always happens when the leaves turn orange!
Evelyn loved to play in her backyard, especially when the leaves on the trees became the color of pumpkins. One day, while playing with her toy boat, Jacob, her happy old teddy bear, whispered, "Look!"
Evelyn followed Jacob's gaze and saw something amazing! A big, colorful tail disappeared behind the old oak tree. It was covered in shiny scales and sparkled like the sun.
"A dragon!" Evelyn whispered back, her eyes wide with excitement.
She tiptoed towards the oak tree, her heart thump-thumping like a drum. Peeking behind it, she saw a magnificent dragon! It had scales of blue, green, and purple, and its wings were huge, like colorful blankets.
The dragon was picking up fallen leaves with its claws, making a big pile. It looked sad.
"Hello, dragon," Evelyn said softly. "Why are you sad?"
The dragon looked surprised! "A tiny human! You can see me?"
Evelyn nodded. "I'm Evelyn. This is Jacob." She held up her teddy bear.
"I'm Sparky," the dragon said, "and I need help with chores! My fire breath is no good for raking leaves. My mom will be upset if the backyard isn't clean."
Evelyn knew all about chores! Sometimes, she helped her own mom tidy up her toys and put away her books. It felt good to help!
"We can help you, Sparky!" Evelyn exclaimed.
Evelyn and Jacob started picking up leaves. Evelyn made smaller piles for her little arms, and Sparky used his big claws to gather them into a giant leaf mountain.
Jacob, even though he was just a teddy bear, helped too! He sat on a small pile of leaves so they wouldn't fly away in the wind.
Working together, they finished the chore in no time. Sparky was so happy! He flapped his wings, making the leaves swirl around them like autumn confetti.
"Thank you, Evelyn and Jacob! You're the best!" Sparky roared, but it sounded like a happy song.
Just then, they heard a gentle voice. "Sparky, darling, where are you?"
Behind them stood a beautiful dragon, even bigger than Sparky, with kind eyes and scales that shimmered like jewels.
Sparky grinned, "Look, Mom! I finished my chore with new friends!"
Sparky's mom smiled at Evelyn and Jacob. "Thank you for helping my little Sparky. You're always welcome in our backyard."
As the sun began to set, painting the sky in shades of orange and pink, Evelyn and Jacob knew it was time to go home. They waved goodbye to their new dragon friends and promised to visit again soon.
Walking back inside, Evelyn realized that chores weren't so bad, especially when you had friends to help you, even if those friends were dragons with sparkly scales and fire breath!
