The Story Begins

• Aponi Langsford-Mann, Grade 9, Lindisfarne Anglican Grammar School
• Short Story
• 2014

Excellence Award in the 'The Text Generation 2014' competition

A long time ago, before humans walked the Earth...a group of mythical creatures existed at the top of The Mountain.
Among these creatures lived a dragon family. Every day the oldest of the dragons would tell stories about ancient times and the creation of their kind. He would collect ideas from his present day and prophesise about the future…
Many years passed and during this time an extraordinary egg was created. The outer surface was tinged with aqua and seemed to sparkle in the light of the sun. Along the surface, specks of gold glistened in the sunlight. It was the most stunning egg ever created.
Dragon eggs usually take two years to hatch, but three years passed and there was still no sign of life.
Dragon elders from all over the Earth came to discuss the fate of the egg.
Eventually a consensus was reached. The egg was to be placed in the Deep Forest, away from all living creatures. Never to be seen again...
Centuries passed with no one knowing what became of the extraordinary egg.
Then one day, one glorious sun-drenched day in a lush, rainforest covered valley, the extraordinary egg was finally found!
Over the years many other species of animal had arrived on Earth. The species that discovered the egg was the start of mankind. These primates looked after the egg as if it was their own…after just a few short months the egg began to hatch!
Out of the aqua coloured shell burst an exquisite baby dragon - blue like a cloudless sky, white like the fluffiest of clouds, with scales glistening in the morning.
When the baby opened its eyes; golden, lamp-like flowers grew straight up towards the sun. The dragon’s wings, though small, were more graceful than an albatross surfing the waves.
This little baby was the start of a wonderful beginning.
Before the young dragon hatched the primates had shown very primitive ways of communicating...just simple grunt-like noises. But as the time drew nearer to the dragon’s birth the primates started to advance their way of communicating, to loud warning grunts and hand gestures as well!
The primates even began to produce more complex sounds, not just grunts and screeches but ‘words’ that began to be recognised as certain things.
The dragon grew, as did the communication skills of the primates.
Soon many individuals started to tell stories that were passed down through generations. Some were made up, but others were created from their shared experiences of the past.
There was no limit.
Storytelling and the dragon’s maturity progressed simultaneously. As more different types of stories entered the world’s consciousness, it was obvious that the story telling era had well and truly begun.
Soon, the dragon became a distant memory as humanity became more cynical and self-absorbed.
However, a thread of connection still remained in the minds of our ancestors, and although it felt distant, it was enough to keep the stories alive.
And the rest is history…