"A dragon on a Christmas tree? "Jarge Benson asked.

"Always a fairy; never a dragon, but there we be. Something odd happens when there is a dragon about."

His words made Old Miss Weaver sit up straight. Though she was about eighty years old she enjoyed his visits to her cottage when he told her tales of high adventure. Often his tall tales, though based on local knowledge, became so wildly exaggerated it made her smile. But saying all that Miss Weaver, alone in her dusty and poorly kept cottage, welcomed any visit by neighbourly Jarge. When Jarge visited he brought home made mulled wine and Christmas cake; both items apt for that cold December night. Jarge's bouncy nature, though he was about sixty years old made him almost famous, especially his habit of doing and telling about thrilling things. Jarge knew about the countryside; he also knew about dragons, real ones.

"Anybody could meet dragons", Jarge declared, "if they knew where to look."

Miss Weaver smiled back at him.

"Now, I ask you, would you expect to see a mean faced dragon on the day Jesus was born? No? Well think again. They can kill people or steal their money. Dragon's are all around us so just keep an open mind.

"More cake, Miss Weaver? Now I've a tale enough to get your head in a spin, it's about dragons and Christmas for starters.

"You remember John from my previous story? Him with the magical robots. Well, he just happened to see a light in the sky one night. Though Christmas was around the corner he didn't think it was a holy light. No this strange light came from a shooting star. John saw it as he lay in bed.

"The bright star appeared just when he was wondering about presents and that sort of stuff. It was also the same night when an evil witch brought to life the ancient looking Chinese dragon called Belza. The witch, her with the wrinkled old face, twisty nose and hanging bottom lip, radiated evil. Belza the dragon wasn't good looking either. Just when most folks get soft hearted at Christmas, the witch got her pleasure by making Belza set fire to cars in Oxford. Belza did graffiti as well. You're getting the idea of the evil dragon.

"Now this young John owned a robot called Robbie. At any time the small robot with his sharp sword was plucky enough to fight a nasty dragon like Belza. Robbie's hero was always good old St George.

"John also owned 'Love' a sweet girl robot, so called because of her golden Egyptian headband with her name inscribed on it. The headband attracted luck to its wearer simply by being made of stolen dragon gold.

"Maybe you know the story about the robots. Perhaps you don't. If you want to hear it again give me five minutes another time. But right now there's plenty happening.

"It was early December and young John was thinking about his mother. His mind was on the presents he'd bought her for Christmas. Money was scarce but he saved up bit by bit until he'd enough for a card and necklace she wanted. He wrapped the present up in pretty pink paper and wrote out the card. He hid them in a safe place, just where his mother would never look. Suddenly John felt he was being watched...by the robots.John shrugged. They could keep a secret and anyway he reckoned these here robots were magical...

"Now it just so happened a few days later John found himself at the John Radcliffe Hospital in Oxford. The reason for being there was quite tragic. See what you make of this all.

"The message on the TV screen in the waiting room was pretty clear: "THINK: don't drink and drive"

Young John heard and understood even though he was only eight. He'd seen plenty of Thames Valley policemen at the hospital to know how serious things could be.

"One officer told him for every pulse of the blue light somebody died because of a drink driver. For every second the ambulance kept its alarms on meant another accident. It brought home to him how, just days ago, a close friend of his mother had been knocked down by a drunken driver. This woman was still in a coma and still in the JR hospital. The cruel incident remained doubly so as Christmas day was not far away. John thought about the holiday and his mother a lot. What if it had been her? The Thames Valley Police would then have visited his house with the grim news. He shivered.

"In the same waiting room in the hospital John saw Alice, the woman's young daughter. Six years old Alice was normally a bright cheerful girl; now she was devastated by her mother's accident. The tears filled Alice's eyes, as she loved her mum.

"John opened his rucksack. He took out Robbie and 'Love.' He started to play but watched Alice at the same time.

"The young girl shuffled her feet. She moved across the room to look out of the window. Unknown to John two other small pairs of eyes showed a special interest in the girl. Those watchers passed a message to each other. They decided to do something... extraordinary, as it was Christmas, a time for giving.

"John was stunned. In the winking of an eye he found Robbie and "Love" on the other side of the waiting room. They stood right next to Alice. She gasped with surprise at finding Robbie close to her right foot and 'Love' standing there by her left foot. Alice took a second to wipe away her tears as she paused to think. Just what was taking place? She was not sure.

"She stared out of he window. Blue police lights flashed away and she could hear another ambulance moving at high speed. Thoughts of her mum and accidents filled her mind.

"There was no apparent signal but Robbie suddenly lifted his sword. He tapped on the window three times. Nothing happened. Then came the strange sound from outside. 'Love' raised a hand and rubbed the window with her golden headband. Alice looked again at the outside scene.

"The lawns of the JR Hospital disappeared completely. In its place Alice saw a deep purple carpet. The carpet covered the entire outside area of the hospital. But other strange things grabbed her attention. Because of what she saw in the next few minutes she was distracted enough to pause from thinking about her mother.

"A double rainbow appeared first. She was new to the rainbow idea and the fabled pots of gold she saw at each end.

"Alice found the scene fascinating and kept watching, especially when a white cloud billowed out of the rainbow. She gasped at the white cloud and the huge television set it carried.

"A mystical looking Unicorn jumped out from the television set and bowed its head to Alice before galloping away.

"The screen on the giant TV went blank. Alice was puzzled quite simply by what she saw. Suddenly out from the screen came the terrible Dragon called Belza. This dragon strutted about on the purple carpet belching fire and smoke. Soon Nimba, the black witch's cat with green eyes, followed the dragon. Belza, the Dragon with yellow eyes shining like lit fires, stared at Alice, as did Nimba. That was until a jovial man in a red suit climbed out of the television and chased them off.

"Alice gasped and drew back in surprise.

"She gulped. It couldn't be. Her mum was in a coma. How could there be a Father Christmas? And the rest? That couldn't possibly be, not when her mum was in a coma."

"But there is a Father Christmas, Alice," a little voice said to her.

"She looked around. Nobody was there; except for two small toy robots. Her sea-deep tender blue eyes opened wider. She rubbed them with the backs of her hands. "When you make up your mind something will happen it will, but you must believe." The voice continued. It was warm and gentle. "Young Alice pressed her face against the windowpane. She thought of her mum and closed her eyes. The tears streamed down her face. She was so upset. She screwed up her face. Lines spread across her brow, her cheeks puffed out up with her concentration. "I do believe. I do. I do. Oh! Mum. Please get better. Please." "For a long while nothing happened. But as her face started to tingle she sensed the electricity in the air. Magic! She opened her eyes; looked around. The two robots were back with John. Something had happened. Her whole body shook. "Alice looked out the window again. The carpet was still there and the gigantic television. Out jumped Rudolph. In the background she heard the jingle-jangle of sleigh bells. What was going to happen next? "Come Alice," her father said. "Mum's out of her coma and she's asking for you." " Alice couldn't believe her ears. Her mum! Her mum was better! It was exciting! She grabbed her father's hand and started pulling him along; she could hardly wait to see her mum. Alice was so delighted she started skipping. "When she got to the door of the waiting room she paused. A new thought entered her head. She glanced back and saw the purple carpet had gone and so had the giant television. She gulped. What now? What about Father Christmas? What about the dragon? And the Unicorn? What about her mum? Her mum? But she did believe. She did. Alice kept telling herself how she believed. It was just in case everything changed once more. "She glanced again through the window. In the distance she saw a dot in the sky. It was getting bigger by the second. As it neared she saw flames and smoke trailing behind the enlarged black dot. It was the legendary dragon. But dragons weren't real were they? Then she remembered about making things happen by believing. Her mum had got better, so she did believe. Even if it meant believing in dragons. "She saw the blue police lights again and heard the ambulance racing to another accident. Perhaps to deal with the dragon? "Another thought crossed her mind and she glanced quickly at the two robots. Robbie stood there; sharp sword in his hand and 'Love' stood there with a shy smile on her face. In a fraction of a second Alice caught the elusive 'something'. Whatever it was seemed to zip from one robot to the other robot. Magic. " Miss Weaver did I tell you the rest of the day was brilliant? Alice saw and spoke to her mother. She was so excited. Together they talked about how to celebrate Christmas Day. Alice wasn't big enough to reach cloud nine but she knew just how she felt. Her enthusiasm won through as she talked her mother into having a special party with all the family on Christmas Day. Alice kept telling her mum how she wanted her to get well. And how she did believe in Dragons and Father Christmas and Unicorns. Her mum listened and seemed to understand. Wise old mum, perhaps a puzzled old mum. "Alice was so full of the 'moondust' feeling she even got her mum to buy a present for Robbie and 'Love.' Maybe presents for robots on Christmas day were unusual but her mum was no ordinary mum. She smiled listening to Alice who believed in dragons for Christmas. For an adult Alice's mum really seemed to know all about the 'magic of believing'. "But then, on Christmas Day, mums are like that, aren't they? Especially those special mums who, just by chance, believed in dragons! Even ones as nasty as Belza." Jarge raised his glass of wine. "Merry Christmas, everybody," he said laughing. "Merry Christmas, Mister Dragon." The End Cleveland W. Gibson=A92004 'Moondust' author