The Dragon in the Lake
Our family Christmas traditions include dragons. While winged reptiles might not make it onto most holiday to-do lists, it has become something the DeWitt children always ask about. Full disclosure: I thought I could get away with skipping it last year and they demanded that it make a come back.
It all began with a dragon story we created to go along with a game we played with the twins at Southern Seminary when they would feed the “dragon in the drain.” Here’s the original dragon story about James, keeper of the magical book called “The Abstract.” Most of the stories are dragon versions of doctrinal creeds like: Southern Seminary’s doctrinal statement (The Dragon in the Drain), The Chicago Statement on Biblical Inerrancy (The Dragon in the Windy City), the Council of Nicea (The Dragon in the Sea), and Martin Luther’s 95 Theses (The Dragon in the Door).
This year’s story is a little different. It is a play on a Cedarville University tradition which involves a boulder by the lake on campus. Students paint the rock pretty much every day. I thought that a dragon story about the origin of this tradition would be fun.
This story is set to the tune of “Jingle Bells,” and is about the dragon named Sam who keeps the night watch over the university. But before he begins his shift he first has breakfast on the boulder. Enjoy.
Here’s a picture of the final book format that I gave to the kids:
Here’s a pdf of the booklet.
Here are the lyrics to be sung to the tune of Jingle Bells:
The Dragon in the Lake
Verse One
Living in the lake,
A winged reptile named Sam
On the stone he’ll take
Biscuits with some jam
To keep his watch at night
He needs a full buffet,
Or he’ll not be polite
On his merry way (hey)
Chorus
Dragon Tales, Dragon Tales
Dragon in the Lake,
On the rock, he’ll start his clock,
That’s how he stays awake.
Dragon Tales, Dragon Tales
Dragon in the Lake,
On the rock, he’ll start his clock,
That’s how he stays awake.
Verse Two
A day or two ago,
He woke to find his stone
Covered in spray paint.
Then he cried and moaned
And tossed and turned all night.
His stomach gave a growl,
A vision of that wretched sight,
Awoke him with a howl.
Chorus
Dragon Tales, Dragon Tales
Dragon in the Lake,
On the rock, he’ll start his clock,
That’s how he stays awake.
Dragon Tales, Dragon Tales
Dragon in the Lake,
On the rock, he’ll start his clock,
That’s how he stays awake.
Verse Three
A night or so ago,
Falling on the lake,
It began to snow,
Then Sam, he did awake
And then he thought it grand
The children played their part
They took his ugly rock, so bland
And made a piece of art
Chorus
Dragon Tales, Dragon Tales
Dragon in the Lake,
On the rock, he’ll start his clock,
That’s how he stays awake.
Dragon Tales, Dragon Tales
Dragon in the Lake,
On the rock, he’ll start his clock,
That’s how he stays awake.
Verse Four
Now the ground is white
The rock is ever new
For Sam’s breakfast each night
But by the morning dew
He’ll breathe down fire like rain
Upon the stone so hot
And then the whole thing starts again,
A never-ending plot
Chorus
Dragon Tales, Dragon Tales
Dragon in the Lake,
On the rock, he’ll start his clock,
That’s how he stays awake.
Dragon Tales, Dragon Tales
Dragon in the Lake,
On the rock, he’ll start his clock,
That’s how he stays awake.