This grim little tale relates the story of a fire breathing dragon demanding tribute from villagers lest their settlement be destroyed. Rapt in fear a little man is pushed forward from the crowd.
“What is it that you desire?” the quaking resident asked.
“That the pure waters running from the mountains be captured and rendered unto me, to quench and refresh me as once they did,” replied the dragon.
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| Purloined Image |
The little man retreated into the buzzing crowd, who silenced themselves, heard the demand and pushed the representative back toward the monster.
“I... I… I’m afr… afraid that will be quite… quite impossible,” the little man reported.
In seconds, the dragon drew in his breath, almost doubling in size, and exhaled a blistering flame that roasted the hapless villagers and reduced their homes to ash with only a few standing chimneys remaining.
Then he lumbered away.
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| "Tubbs" Fire, Sonoma County |
Over the ridge, the dragon spied another hamlet. Folks, having seen the cloud of smoke rising over the neighboring hills had already gathered when the dragon arrived.
“What is it that you desire?” a quaking resident of this new locale asked.
“That the winds coursing over these tors and rises and into your valley be diverted to my nostrils so that I may again smell their sweetness,” replied the dragon.
The little man returned to the agitated crowd and was soon thrust out in front of the beast.
“I... I… I’m afr… afraid that will be quite… quite impossible,” the little man reported.
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| "Carr" Fire, Shasta County |
Again, in seconds, the dragon drew in his breath, again inflating himself to twice his normal size, and again exhaled a fiery force that roasted the people and reduced their homes to ash with only a few standing chimneys remaining.
Again, he lumbered away.
Down in a broad valley, the dragon spotted a town of a little larger size. By this time the city fathers were aware of the rampages wrought by the beast. A representative stepped forward to receive the demand.
“Riches!” the frustrated and angry beast snorted. “I want all the riches that you possess, and I want them all this instant!”
The little man screwed up his courage and asked, “Why?”
The dragon roared, “Because you can’t care for them.”
Once again, this hapless man sought counsel from his townspeople and once again he was returned to face the monster and once again the people and the town were incinerated and once again, the fire-breathing dragon lumbered off looking for another village or town to threaten taking with him, as yet, neither the water, nor the air, nor the riches he demanded.
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| "Camp" Fire, Butte County |
Yes, the fairy tale is grim, but sadly, it is not a fairy tale. The villages and towns are real. They are Santa Rosa, California and Redding and now Paradise, California and Thousand Oaks.
And the demands of the fire-breathing dragon, to which we will now give the name “Climate,” are simple: Alter priorities a bit and better care for the planet upon which we live lest more of our cities and towns burn.
And those demands are not “quite impossible.”
They are essential.
© 2018
Church of the Open Road Press
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