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This is. 
Time for podcast? 

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Yeah. 
The podcast is starting. 

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What's the? 
Podcast It's all gonna be 

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alright in the air, It's gonna 
be alright. 

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You've got some worries, my dear
little. 

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Arise. 
Means rest your busy minds 

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because it's finally time the 
Stories from Now and Then. 

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Hello, everybody. 
Welcome back to Stories From Now

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and Then. 
My name is Captain Blunderface, 

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and I'm here in the old library 
with Deprecatus. 

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And we have a bit of a 
situation. 

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Yeah. 
Do you hear that I have a 

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problem with the audio cable? 
Yes. 

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It's because there are mice in 
the old library. 

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I've been hearing them behind 
the shelves for weeks now, and 

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they're finally chewing through 
my cables. 

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I can't have that. 
Deprecatus as the cat in 

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residence. 
I feel like this falls under 

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your department. 
What do you mean you don't want 

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to? 
You were born to do this. 

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No, they're not your friends. 
Well, maybe we shouldn't argue 

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about the mice too much longer 
because we have a shout out to 

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do. 
Today's shout out goes to Elsie 

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in London ON. 
Elsie loves playing hide and 

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seek and she loves to sing, 
especially Raffi songs and 

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practicing her do re mis at 
music class. 

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So Elsie, today's story is for 
you. 

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And with that, we'll pass it off
to the amazing Nicola for 

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today's story, the reluctant 
dragon deprecatus. 

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We'll have to keep discussing 
this this mice issue. 

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This one is set in a quiet 
countryside where the hills roll

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softly like green blankets, 
where sheep wander slowly under 

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wide skies, and where little 
paths curve between hedges thick

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with black breeze and wild 
roses. 

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This place was the sort of place
where nothing surprising ever 

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happened, which is exactly why 
what happened there became 

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unforgettable. 
For one summer, on the side of 

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the hill above a peaceful 
village, a dragon came to live 

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in a cave. 
The reluctant dragon. 

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He was not the sort of dragon 
people usually imagine at once, 

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with fire bursting wildly from 
its mouth and claws scratching 

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towers. 
No, this dragon was rather 

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thoughtful. 
He liked warm sunshine, long 

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naps, and listening to the wind 
moved through the grass. 

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He had large wings folded neatly
along his sides, scales that 

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gleamed softly in the light, and
eyes that were bright and 

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curious rather than fierce. 
Now, the first person to 

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discover him was not a knight or
a hunter or a frightened 

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villager, but a boy who often 
walked alone with books tucked 

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beneath his arm. 
This boy loved exploring old 

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places. 
He liked ruined walls, hidden 

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paths, and caves where the air 
smelled of damp stone and Moss. 

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One afternoon he climbed farther
than usual up the hillside until

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he found a cave opening half 
hidden behind brambles. 

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Inside, he expected darkness. 
Instead, he heard a deep voice 

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saying, rather politely, do come
in if you are coming. 

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Standing in the entrance let's 
in a dreadful draft, the boy 

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nearly dropped his book. 
There, inside The Cave, curled 

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comfortably among dry leaves, 
lay the dragon. 

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A little smoke rose from one 
nostril, not angrily, but as if 

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he had sighed while thinking. 
The boy stared. 

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The dragon blinked. 
Then he said. 

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I hope I did not startle you too
much. 

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I was trying to remember a line 
of poetry and nearly had it. 

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You can talk, said the boy. 
Certainly, said the dragon. 

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Most creatures can, if one 
listens properly. 

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The boy stepped inside. 
To his surprise, The Cave felt 

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warm and almost cosy. 
There were smooth stones 

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arranged like seats, a neat pile
of books in one corner, and 

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flowers growing near the 
entrance where sunlight reached 

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in. 
You read? 

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Asked the boy. 
Oh, yes, said the dragon, 

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brightening at once. 
A little history, some poetry, 

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bits of adventure. 
One must pass the evening 

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somehow. 
The boy looked more closely at 

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the books and saw some had 
clearly come from old village 

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shelves, though borrowed perhaps
without formal permission. 

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You are not at all what I 
expected, he admitted. 

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That, said the dragon, with 
satisfaction, is often the 

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nicest way to begin a 
friendship. 

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And so it did begin. 
Day after day, the boy returned.

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Sometimes they talked. 
Sometimes the dragon recited 

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poetry in a deep, rumbling voice
that made The Cave walls hum 

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gently. 
Sometimes they simply watched 

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clouds move across the valley 
below. 

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The dragon had opinions about 
almost everything. 

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He believed sunsets were better 
in autumn than summer. 

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He thought sheep were under 
appreciated creatures. 

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He disliked loud arguments and 
had never once, he said firmly, 

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eaten a human being. 
I should not care for the 

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flavour, he explained. 
Now, because villages are 

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villages. 
News eventually travels. 

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A shepherd claimed he had seen 
smoke on the hillside. 

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A farmer found curious 
footprints near his fence. 

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Someone else said the sheep were
nervous. 

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Soon whispers began. 
A dragon. 

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A dragon above the village. 
And because people often imagine

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the worst before they know the 
truth, alarms spread quickly. 

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The villagers gathered outside 
the inn and argued in anxious 

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voices. 
A dragon, they said, meant 

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danger. 
A dragon meant burned fields, 

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stolen cows. 
Fear and disaster, the boy tried

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to explain. 
He is quite gentle. 

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He said he likes poetry. 
But nobody listened very 

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carefully to that. 
The blacksmith shook his head. 

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Dragons do not belong near 
villages. 

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The Baker crossed his arms. 
Poetry never stopped a dragon 

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before. 
By evening, word had travelled 

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even farther, until it reached 
the ears of a very important 

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person indeed. 
Saint George himself was passing

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nearby, and if there was one 
thing people expected of Saint 

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George, it was dragon business. 
When he arrived the next 

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morning, mounted neatly and 
carrying polished armour that 

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flashed in the sun, everyone 
felt reassured at once. 

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Saint George was not boastful, 
but he carried himself with calm

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certainty. 
He listened while the villagers 

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all tried speaking at once. 
Then he said, Where is the 

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dragon? 
The boy stepped forward. 

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I know where he is. 
Saint George looked at him 

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carefully. 
And is he dangerous? 

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The boy hesitated. 
Only if forced into being 

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something he does not wish to 
be. 

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That answer interested Saint 
George enough that he agreed to 

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walk up the hill first before 
charging into battle. 

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So together they climbed toward 
The Cave. 

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Inside, the dragon was arranging
flowers in a cracked jug. 

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He turned when they entered and 
gave a small, worried puff of 

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smoke. 
Oh, dear, he said. 

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I had hoped, perhaps not to 
become official. 

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Saint George removed one glove 
and offered his hand. 

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The dragon looked surprised, but
shook it carefully. 

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For some moments they simply 
looked at each other. 

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Then Saint George said The 
difficulty is this. 

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The village expects a battle. 
I was afraid of that, said the 

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dragon. 
Sadly, I do not enjoy fighting. 

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Nor do I, said St. 
George, adjusting his helmet 

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thoughtfully. 
Though I am rather expected to 

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do it now and then. 
The boy looked from one to the 

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other. 
Could could you not explain? 

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Both turned to him kindly. 
St. 

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George said gently. 
Sometimes people need a story 

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they understand before they are 
ready for a truth they do not 

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expect, The dragon sighed. 
I suppose they would be 

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disappointed if nothing 
happened. 

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Oh, very disappointed, said St. 
George. 

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So they made a plan. 
The next day the whole village 

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gathered below the hill. 
Children climbed fences, mothers

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shaded their eyes, men stood in 
excited groups. 

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At the proper hour, Saint George
rode forward grandly. 

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The dragon emerged from The Cave
with great dignity. 

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Spreading his wings wide, he 
gave a magnificent roar that 

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echoed across the valley so 
impressively that several sheep 

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ran at once. 
Then the battle began. 

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Or rather, something very like a
battle. 

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Saint George charged. 
The dragon leapt sideways. 

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Dust rose. 
The dragon breathed a careful 

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stream of fire high into the 
air, well away from everything 

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important. 
Saint George swung his spear in 

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splendid circles. 
Again they moved again. 

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Dust rose again. 
Villagers shouted. 

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To anyone watching from below, 
it looked glorious. 

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To the boy standing nearer it 
looked rather like 2 very 

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skilled performers helping one 
another not to trip. 

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At one point the dragon 
whispered. 

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Was that too dramatic? 
Just enough, murmured St. 

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George. 
At last, after one especially 

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impressive tumble, the dragon 
gave a final great roar and sank

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gracefully to the ground. 
Saint George stood over him, 

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raising his sword, while the 
village cheered. 

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Then he leaned down and 
whispered. 

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Would now be a suitable moment 
for surrender? 

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Extremely suitable, whispered 
the dragon. 

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So Saint George announced 
loudly, The dragon has agreed to

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peaceful terms. 
This puzzled the villagers at 

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first. 
Peaceful terms were not what 

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they expected after cheering so 
hard. 

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But because Saint George himself
declared it, they accepted. 

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And because the dragon then 
promised not to frighten sheep, 

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not to scorch the hedges, and 
not to borrow books without 

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asking, things improved greatly.
In time, the village discovered 

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what the boy had known all 
along. 

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The dragon was excellent 
company. 

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He attended summer gatherings 
from a polite distance. 

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He lit bonfires better than 
anyone. 

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00:14:05,040 --> 00:14:09,160
He frightened away foxes when 
the chickens needed protection. 

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He even recited poetry on 
certain evenings, though the 

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Baker claimed not to understand 
most of it and secretly liked 

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hearing it. 
All the same, Saint George 

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stayed two days longer than 
planned, which he admitted was 

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unusual. 
He and the dragon played long 

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00:14:32,640 --> 00:14:37,720
games of chess outside The Cave 
while the boy watched the clouds

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drift overhead. 
When Saint George finally rode 

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00:14:41,760 --> 00:14:47,640
away, he said, a rare thing has 
happened here, Try not to spoil 

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it. 
The villagers did not, and as 

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00:14:52,640 --> 00:14:56,560
years passed, the dragon 
remained on the hillside, 

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peaceful as ever, smoke curling 
lazily above The Cave at sunset.

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00:15:05,040 --> 00:15:10,880
Visitors came sometimes hoping 
for terror, and left smiling 

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00:15:10,880 --> 00:15:14,880
instead. 
Children grew up hearing the 

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00:15:14,880 --> 00:15:19,800
tale that once there had been a 
dragon above the village. 

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00:15:20,120 --> 00:15:25,240
And a battle too, though not 
quite the sort people expected. 

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00:15:31,040 --> 00:15:34,600
And perhaps that is worth 
remembering. 

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00:15:35,320 --> 00:15:41,240
A creature may carry claws and 
wings and still prefer kindness.

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00:15:42,200 --> 00:15:47,720
A hero may carry armour and 
still choose wisdom. 

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00:15:48,920 --> 00:15:54,640
And sometimes the finest victory
is not defeating what frightens 

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00:15:54,640 --> 00:15:58,440
us, but learning how to 
understand it. 

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00:15:59,600 --> 00:16:05,720
So if ever you walk a quiet hill
at evening and see a curl of 

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00:16:05,720 --> 00:16:12,000
smoke rising softly where no 
chimney stands, you might wonder

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00:16:12,000 --> 00:16:17,720
whether somewhere, hidden just 
beyond the brambles, a dragon is

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00:16:17,720 --> 00:16:23,000
turning pages of an old book and
listening to the wind. 

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00:16:23,880 --> 00:16:29,480
Until our next story together, 
dear listeners, may you always 

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00:16:29,600 --> 00:16:35,560
look twice before deciding on 
anyone, and may you have sweet 

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00:16:35,560 --> 00:16:38,960
dreams of the friendliest 
Dragons. 

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00:16:42,640 --> 00:16:46,520
And that's our story. 
Thank you so much, Nicola. 

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00:16:47,520 --> 00:16:50,040
Deborah Caddis. 
I've been thinking. 

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00:16:50,480 --> 00:16:54,040
And if you don't want to run and
catch mice, that's OK. 

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00:16:55,200 --> 00:16:56,880
Yeah. 
Also, the new cables you found 

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00:16:56,880 --> 00:17:00,000
from storage are working great. 
Thanks so much for getting them.

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00:17:00,360 --> 00:17:02,440
There are no more crackly 
noises. 

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00:17:03,080 --> 00:17:07,000
I just hope the mice leave this 
audio cable alone and don't chew

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00:17:07,000 --> 00:17:10,119
on it like last time. 
Maybe you could let them know 

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00:17:10,119 --> 00:17:15,000
for me. 
Remember, if you'd like a shout 

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00:17:15,000 --> 00:17:18,200
out and a future episode 
dedicated to you, just send us 

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00:17:18,200 --> 00:17:21,079
Adm on Instagram at Stories from
Now and then. 

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00:17:21,960 --> 00:17:26,800
We'd love to hear from you. 
Stories from now and then is 

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00:17:26,800 --> 00:17:31,080
narrated by Nicola Ward, music 
played by Captain Blunderface, 

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00:17:31,120 --> 00:17:34,960
played by Evan Weep. 
Stay kind out there everybody 

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00:17:35,640 --> 00:17:37,920
and we'll see you next time on.