Jaeger Reads a Book

Thursday  around evening time  Mystie

Jaeger runs to the bookshelf, eagerly coping his big brother — who is intently turning pages in a book. Hans is now silently staring, but Jaeger knows that books tell stories. Mommy turns the pages, telling him the story. Even Hans has started telling him the stories as they turn pages together. As he peers at the many selections on the shelf, he instantly knows which story he will tell.

He grabs St. George and the Dragon and makes off with it to the rocking chair like a stealth secret agent. He eagerly climbs into the chair and settles down into it. He takes a moment to stare at the hardback front, the emblazoned dragon icon glittering gold. This is the right book.

He turns to the first page. The knight and Una are riding along a plan. “One day…” begins the reader, his voice dripping with anticipation of the events to come. Another page. Another picture of the knight and his lady. “One day…” narrates the little boy once again. The next page contains yet another picture of the knight on his journey toward the dragon. Fight the dragon you were sent to fight, advises the wise dwarf. “One day…” I again hear from the living room. Is the tone I hear boredom, frustration, or a deep expectancy?

The next page turns. You can hear his exhilaration upon finally reaching the real crux of this story he wished to tell. The narrator explodes with fervor: “A DRAGON!”

Quickly the page turns once more. Narrative gives way to sound effects. “Boom, BOOM, boom!” Hans still hasn’t convinced him that one can’t fight dragons with guns.

Next page. “BOOM BOOM BOOM,” the battle continues with even more zest and energy.

Again the sound of the page turning. Grim satisfaction has replaced the battle lust. “He’s dead!” pronounces the narrator.

The page turns. There are more pictures. Flowers, girls, smiles, gold…but in the background one can still see, “The dragon’s dead,” the bard confirms.

One last page. A wedding. A beautiful bride. Jaeger’s heart is still too fiery to melt with pleasure. He has already finished this story; it needs no further resolution. He closes the book and again stares intently at the luminous golden dragon.

This entry was posted on Thursday, August 30th, 2007 at 8:46 pm and is filed under Nursemaid. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.