Once upon a time, long, long ago, way before your grandmother's grandmother's grandmother was born; there was an ancient village in Central Europe. There was one thing that made this village different than all others. There was a scary castle called the Black Tooth Castle. In it lived an ancient dragon, the dragon of Black Tooth Castle.
Our story does not start with the dragon and all the problems the dragon has caused over hundreds of years. Instead, our story starts with a child, a child somewhat like you. He/she (from now on the child is identified as “he”; feel free to change this) was the son of a shoemaker. In the old days, they called that a cobbler. The cobbler was skilled and had the help of his wife. They had enough income (money) to send their child to school.
The school was hard. It was also cruel. Unlike schools today which really teach kids, this school was like a clubhouse where the students practiced reading without learning how to read. Emil could not keep up. He asked his teacher how he could learn the basics of reading and writing. The teacher said, “Don't bother me. Ask your parents for help. Leave me alone, or I will kick you out of school.” Poor Emil knew that his parents could not read or write. It was a secret he hid from everyone at the school. Emil tried to think of anyone who could help him. He realized he needed a solution that day, but there was no solution.
Somehow, Emil's feet started to walk the long path up the hill to Black Tooth Castle. Emil could not imagine that a dragon could live for several hundred years without learning to read. Emil could not imagine that a dragon who had read hundreds of books not helping him. Fearlessly, he walked straight up to the front door of the castle and looked at the giant, ancient, heavy metal knocker on the castle door. What Emil did not know is that over the last three hundred years, thirty-six grown men had used the knocker to try to meet the dragon. Each one had been burned into dust by dragon breath and fire the moment that the dragon opened the door. Emil was now the thirty-seventh person in three hundred years to decide to knock on the dragon's door.
Emil looked at the big knocker for a long time. He thought “I am going to ask the dragon for a favor. When you ask for a favor, it is quite important to be polite. I think dragons have good hearing. I will knock just once and wait. If I have to wait a long time, so be it.” He pulled very hard on the knocker, and let go. It made a big booming sound when seemed to echo around the castle. Emil waited and waited. Emil was patient. After eight minutes passed by, Emil heard a strange noise. He did not know that he was the only person alive to hear the sound of a dragon's massive toenails pounding against the stone floor. Every human who had ever used the door knocker died as soon as the dragon opened the door.
Ever so slowly, the door opened. Emil was shocked at how large the dragon was. The dragon did not turn Emil into a pile of dust. Instead, the dragon asked who he was. Emil answered, “My name is Emil. I need your help. I need you to teach me to read and write.” The dragon gave his name, which is long and difficult to spell. It is even harder to pronounce. The dragon said “I have a rule that I burn up anyone who knocked more than once before the door is opened. Please remember my rule. You are my first visitor in 545 years.”
The dragon said, “I will help you, Emil. But I am not prepared for you today. Come again tomorrow, and we will start our lessons.” Emil went home and told his parents, “I have found someone who will help me learn to read and write without charging any money. My first lesson is tomorrow.”
You might think that Emil would be concerned about learning from a dragon. Dragons do not have a good reputation. They often eat many sheep. They often killed good people. But Emil was not frightened coming into the great hall of the dragon's castle and practicing reading with his very unusual instructor. Instead, Emil was frightened of not keeping up at school and was also frightened that someone else would learn that his own parents could not read or write a single word.
The dragon had set up a massive easel in the great hall. The dragon could place a large piece of paper on the easel so he could ask Emil to write, and the dragon could see what Emil was writing. The dragon knew the surrounding landscape for the last few hundred years. Emil learned about geography, history, and literature from the dragon. Emil went from being the bottom student at his school to being the top student. The one thing Emil was not paying attention to was that he was quietly lying to everyone. Emil told his parents that someone else in the village was giving him free lessons. While technically true, he omitted all mention of the dragon. He told his teacher that his parents were giving him lessons. Emil did tell the dragon that his parents could not read or write, but he did not say that he told no one who gave him his extra lessons. Emil thought the dragon would be upset that he was not giving proper credit.
One day, the teacher called Emil to his desk. He said, “Emil, you have improved so much. I want to talk to your parents about how they have done such a magnificent job teaching you. I think other parents would learn much from their approach. Have your parents come to my school tomorrow.” Emil answered, “I am sorry Herr Teacher but they cannot come. My parents have not been teaching me. They cannot help me since they cannot read or write.” Emil knew what the next question would be. He sighed as his teacher asked, “Who is helping you learn so well?” Emil raised his voice and said, “I am very sorry Herr Teacher that I have not told you the name of my noble and ancient tutor. My tutor is known in this town as the dragon of Black Tooth Castle, but the dragon has a long and noble name which I will not recite here.”
The village school teacher's face turned red. He yelled, “I have never heard such a pile of nonsense in my life. I am giving you a zero for this year. Leave this class right now.” Emil turned to his class and said, “I will be at the gates of the school when lessons are over. I invite you to come with me to the castle so you can all come with me and meet the dragon of Black Tooth Castle today. Tomorrow, please tell Herr Teacher the truth of what you have seen and heard.” The teacher waited for Emil to leave. He scoffed and said, “Each person who has ever knocked on the door of Black Tooth Castle has been burned to a crisp. I forbid anyone from this class from walking to the castle of the dreaded beast.
Emil greeted his class as they left the schoolhouse. Half the students were too frightened to come. Emil said, “I want you to stay far, far away when I ask the dragon to open the door. If anyone becomes a pile of dust, it will be me. You will hear me asking the dragon to keep you all safe. There is nothing to be frightened of.” Some students were frightened and went home. Some students whispered that they would beat up Emil if they did not see a dragon. They walked the scary long path up the hill to the castle. At one point Emil said, “Around this turn is the actual door to the castle. Stay here. Do not look around this corner until you hear me asking you to come.”
Emil made the quietest knock he thought he could make while still allowing the dragon to hear. Quickly, he told the dragon the problem he had caused by not telling the full truth about who his tutor was. He asked the dragon to accept as guests ten brave students who had agreed to meet a dragon. The dragon made the peculiar sound of a dragon's laugh and said, “Yes, please invite them inside. But they must be polite. Emil called for his classmates to come to the open door. He asked each student to introduce themselves. Emil said, “This is a solemn moment. You are going to be invited into the great hall of the dragon of Black Tooth Castle. It is decorated with magnificent jewels and precious metals. You cannot touch or even come close to any item in the Great Hall. I hope all of you live long lives; I want you to be able to describe the beauty of what you are about to see for the next sixty years. Spend your time painting a picture in your minds. Drink in each delicious detail. If you want to be alive tomorrow, do not touch a single object. Do you all agree?” Each of Emil's fellow students quietly said yes, as they stared at the gigantic dragon's head filling the doorway.
The dragon was friendly. He said, “Let me show you a project that Emil and I have been working on now and then. Perhaps you can help fill in the details.” The dragon brought out a large piece of paper that filled the easel. It was a map of the entire region. The dragon was able to draw the streams, rivers, valleys, mountains, villages, towns, and cities. The dragon only knew a few of the names. Emil only knew the names of some of the places in the area. It took a few minutes for Emil's classmates to orient themselves to the map. Working together, they were able to add the names of four villages to the map. Leoma, the student with the best handwriting, was chosen to write these names to the great map. A few minutes later, the dragon said quietly, “I think we are done now. It is time for me to retire.” The students quickly had one last look around the great hall and then walked slowly to the door. There were now ten more human beings who had seen the dragon's great hall and walked away alive.
The next day, the teacher started his class by saying, “Well, we are glad to be rid of Emil and his nonsense about the dragon.” Leoma stood up and said, “Yesterday, Emil brought ten of us students to the great hall of the dragon of Black Tooth Castle. Herr Teacher, you could learn much from the lord of the great castle.” The teacher was sputtering. Leoma explained how she had added four village names to a large map the dragon kept in his hall. Leoma asked, “If Emil and I ride the back of the dragon and we land in the village square, holding a map with my handwriting on four village names, will you believe me then? What will it take for you to understand the great thing Emil has done by befriending the dragon who lives on the hill?” Several stood up and agreed with Leoma. One of them explained, “I have seen no one fly on the back of a dragon. But I have seen the riches of his great hall. Emil and Leoma are telling the truth.”
The stubborn teacher grumbled, “Well, I might as well see what the fuss is all about. As soon as school time is done, Leoma, please locate Emil so that we may stroll over to the castle and have tea with a dragon and a magic troll.” What can I say? That afternoon, Herr Teacher himself was introducing himself to an ancient dragon. Herr Teacher bowed low. Leoma insisted on showing the map with her handwriting on it. The dragon asked Herr Teacher for the names of villages and mountains on the map. The Teacher was able to write the names of twenty different place names of mountains, rivers, villages, and towns on the map. The dragon brought out a book written in Latin and asked if he could read from the first page. The teacher shook his head. Emil walked up and read two paragraphs, and then translated the Latin text into the customary language they spoke. Emil stopped, and said, “I cannot go any further. I do not know enough Latin to go further in this book.” The dragon spoke with pride, “That was excellent for having only six weeks of Latin lessons. Now did I correctly hear that you expelled Emil for telling a lie? Can you tell me the lie he told you?” The teacher was able to answer “Oh great dragon, I am confident you know of the mistake I have made. What happened in my school was perhaps the greatest mistake in my life. I shall restore Emil's good name and tell every one of your great hospitality, generosity, and learning. It has been my highest honor in my life to be present before you and your great hall.”
Here our story ends. Emil became the most educated person the village had ever produced. Due to the vast library of books in the castle, Emil did not ever have to leave his village to learn six languages and read the great books of the world. Emil's parents were very proud of him, and of all the things he accomplished in his long life. When Emil was only seventeen years old, he was elected mayor. He held that job for fifty years.