Kit Gets Peckish (Children's Story)

Once upon a time there was a bearded dragon called Kit. He lived in a big, cosy house with a huge garden and a human who loved him very much.

Kit was not a clever lizard, but he was very curious.

One summer day he wriggled out of an unlocked window and ran into the garden. It was full of delicious salad, beautiful flowers and brightly coloured mushrooms.

Kit thought, “This garden is a magical place!”  

Suddenly, Kit heard a high-pitched shriek. He looked up and saw a huge owl flying in the sky.

Birds eat bearded dragons!

Kit had been so excited he had wandered under the owl’s nest by mistake.

He ran away as fast as he could, and hid until the owl flapped back to her nest.

All that running made Kit very hungry. He puffed out his beard and stalked through the long grass hunting for bugs to eat. He saw a dragonfly sipping dew off a grass stalk. It looked too pretty to eat!

“Are you a fairy?” Kit asked.

Dragonflies are honest little bugs. She started to shake her head. Before she could explain, Kit interrupted: “You look like a dragonfly, and dragonflies are delicious!”

“I’m a fairy.” The dragonfly said quickly.

Kit was very disappointed. His stomach growled. The shiny bug really did look magical, though. He couldn’t eat a fairy. 

Kit was not a very clever lizard.

Kit trudged into the darker, damper mud to look for worms. He loved worms! He saw a big, fat spider dangling from her web. She had overheard the dragonfly’s lie, and quickly ran up her silken thread.

“Don’t eat me!” she shrieked, “I’m not a spider! I’m a witch! Look at how I spin magic in the air!”

Kit tilted his head and stared at her. His mouth watered. The spindly creature really did look like a witch, though. He didn’t want a witch to curse him with an ugly face or bad breath!

“Sorry to bother you,” he said politely, and left.

Kit was not a very clever lizard.

Kit waddled over to a patch of lettuce. He crunched up some lovely green leaves, but his tummy still felt empty. He saw a hairy caterpillar chewing on an apple. The caterpillar was not a very good liar.

“Don’t eat me!” he squeaked, “I’m a… erm… I’m a lion!”

Kit peered at the caterpillar. He didn’t look like a lion. Lions were big, scary animals with bushy manes. The caterpillar did have a hairy mane, but he was tiny.

Kit remembered that he had once been a little lizard inside a small blue egg. Perhaps lions were tiny when they hatched!

He shivered and wondered if the caterpillar’s grown-up mother would pounce on him the second he swallowed the caterpillar.

Now, Kit was not a very clever lizard, but he was hungry enough to sit down and have a think.

The fairy really had looked like a dragonfly.

The witch was as spindly as the spiders inside the house.

The lion was as wriggly as a worm!

Kit realised that all of them had lied to him!

He was furious! He turned around, already licking his lips, to hunt down the mischievous insects.

But Kit had forgotten to watch the sky. There was a horrible shriek, and the owl swooped down! She trapped poor little Kit in her massive claws.

“Don’t eat me!” Kit squeaked. He suddenly realised why all the bugs had played a trick on him. They didn’t want to be eaten either!

He tried to lie, like they had, “I’m a dragon!”

“YOU LOOK LIKE LUNCH TO ME!”

The owl cackled.

She wasn’t fooled for a second. Owls are very wise.

Kit closed his eyes.

The owl’s sharp beak got closer and closer…

Suddenly, the owl flapped its wings and flew away!

“A GIANT! A GIANT!”

It shrieked.

Kit looked up and saw a huge pair of hands reaching down. They picked him up, and the little bearded dragon felt himself being lifted high up into the sky.

“No, it’s not a giant!” he shouted back at the owl, “It’s my human!”

Now, Kit was not a very clever lizard….

But this time…

 …he was right!

 THE END