Chapter Five: The True Earth
The Tale of Two Dragons: Discovering the True Earth, Book 1
This is a fun story about two little dragons who ponder about the Earth. One happens to come across a Gleason’s Map and it piques her curiosity about what is said versus what is observable about the Earth. The dragons have a friendly banter over this quandary.
Did you miss the earlier chapters? Read them here »
Enjoy reading Chapter Five below. At the end, you’ll find out what brilliant idea just might lead to their next adventure.
Sincerely,
Cedra
Chapter Five: The True Earth
Still sitting over the edge of Sparkle Lake, the two dragons, Durga and Maya, continued their banter about the nature of their world.
"Do you recall how we looked at how water seeks to be level?" Durga asked the little dragon. Maya nodded in agreement. "That means water can't curve around a globe, especially one that's spinning." Maya continued to nod, but gestured to encourage Durga to get to the point. Maya loved how inquisitive her big dragon friend was, but hurriedly wanted to return to her play.
"Water, just like air, needs a container to hold it in,” Durga explained. Maya rolled her eyes. She might have been young, but she wasn’t clueless.
“Did you know that Antartica is the highest land in all the world?” Durga interjected. A new fun fact always caught Maya’s attention.
Pointing to the Gleason’s Map in her hands, Durga said, “This map shows that the oceans are contained by the Great Antarctic Ice Wall." Durga took her claw and encircled the entire map showing Maya exactly where the Ice Wall was.
"I see," said Maya. "Like the edge of a giant bathtub!" Her remark made both dragons bellow with laughter.
"But how does the Earth go around the Sun and the Moon if the land on the Earth is level?" Maya asked with sincere interest.
"Well, it doesn't. The Earth is stationary, and the Sun and Moon move over us," Durga explained. “Just like how we experience it.”
Durga checked to see that Maya was following. She found she was quite attentive, which meant Maya must have been interested, otherwise the little dragon would have returned to playing by now.
Taking the opportunity while she had Maya’s attention, Durga continued: “The Sun and Moon wagon wheel across the sky bringing night and day to different parts of the Earth. They are often on opposite sides of the Earth plane.”
“The Earth plane? You mean like a big machine that flies in the sky?” Maya asked with excitement.
"No, a plane is another way to describe a level surface. All the land is laid out on a level plane.” Durga explained, then realized another point. “Most of the world is water anyway and large bodies of water, like lakes, ponds, and oceans, seek to be level.” Not letting herself get too distracted by this simple realization, Durga kept to answering Maya’s question about the movement of the Sun and the Moon.
“Anyway,” Durga said and shook it off. “It's said that the Earth is spinning really fast, but I just don't feel it.”
“However, if the Earth is a level plane like it shows on this map, and stationary as we experience everyday life, then what we see in the sky is correct," Durga explained.
Maya gave Durga a little nod to suggest that a clarification of the point was needed. “What we see in the sky is the Sun and Moon moving over us,” Durga chimed in.
It was Maya’s turn to make sense of this curious map. She squinted in close and took a moment to scan it. “Ah ha!” she exclaimed, seeming to find what she was looking for. “The North Pole is at the center of this map, but where abouts is the South Pole?" she asked.
"Well, there isn't one.” Durga figured. “Since the Earth is a level plane, there isn’t a top and bottom. On the level Earth, North points to the inner or center part of the map and South points to the outer edges of the map, moving us towards the Ice Wall.”
Maya placed her hands on her hips. Her curiosity was piqued and so was her skepticism. Durga didn’t usually play games on her because she didn’t like them played on herself. However, with all this news Maya wanted to make sure. She looked from the map to her big Dragon friend and scanned Durga for signs of tomfoolery. To her delight, Maya saw Durga’s genuine nature shine through.
After another moment, Maya asked with frustration, "Why doesn't anyone talk about this Ice Wall?" Maya didn’t like being left out on things. Since she was younger she often found things out last and thought this might be one of them.
Durga glanced around, then lowered her voice. "Because nobody is allowed to go there. All the kingdoms of the world signed a treaty banning the exploration of Antarctica."
Maya went wide-eyed at this news and Durga continued. She said, "The treaty went into effect after Admiral Richard Byrd, a famous military explorer, returned from an expedition and announced throughout all the kingdom there was more land beyond the South yet to be explored."
"Why would they agree to that?" Maya asked, puzzled. "Don’t all the kingdoms hate each other? There is always so much war."
"Exactly," Durga said, her eyes twinkling. "That's what's so strange about it."
Maya caught a dragonfly, but it quickly escaped through the gaps in her little claws. Muttering to herself she kicked up some pebbles in frustration and said, "Of all things to agree upon, that is what they picked. How silly!" Disappointed by this news, she returned to play in the grass.
The firefly danced near Maya's nose, and she swatted it away, deep in thought. "Do you think maybe they are hiding something?" Maya asked.
Durga nodded and replied, "More land possibly, beyond the Ice Wall. Land that no one's ever seen."
"More land!" Maya exclaimed, almost falling off her perch. "But everything has been discovered. Maybe there are extra-terrestrials out there," she mused, glancing up at the sky. "But that's about it."
"That's it!" Durga cried, startling both Maya and the firefly.
"What?" The little Dragon replied with some perturbance for being distracted while this time trying to balance with one foot upon a small pebble. "What’s it?" Maya asked again as she spun around and nearly lost her balance.
"Extra-terrestrial. 'Extra' means more and 'terra' means land," Durga said excitedly. "Maybe there is more land beyond the ice wall, just like Admiral Byrd said. You're brilliant, little dragon!" Durga said, giving Maya a pat on the back and she certainly fell off the pebble that time.
Plopped to the ground, Maya claimed, “If there's more land, then the Earth must be a really big globe."
Durga rolled her eyes. "No, Maya. We don't live on a spinning globe. Water remains level. The Sun and Moon are close to us. All the stars rotate around the North Star. It's plain to see. The sky moves, not us. Plus, we have this map that says so!"
Maya thought for a moment, taking it all in. She recalled a time with her Uncle Drake. He was a grand warrior dragon that flew high in the sky protecting the village. Maya loved the tales and dangerous adventures that Uncle Drake would return with. She loved her uncle. He was a fierce dragon, fiery red, with sharp claws and a long tail with spikes. He was strong, brave, and well-respected by the other dragons in the community.
When he returned from his last mission, Uncle Drake told Maya that he had flown to the top of the sky. With curiosity and admiration, Maya had asked if he had seen the curve of the Earth. To her surprise, Uncle Drake crouched down to little Maya and whispered in her ear. “Want to know a secret?” he had asked. Maya nodded. “There is no curve. It’s as flat as a pancake.” Maya didn’t think much more of it that day. She was just delighted to see her uncle.
"But why the lie?" Maya asked, her mind swirling with new thoughts.
The two dragons took a seat at the rock ledge as the final drifts of Sunlight pulled away. Durga spoke softly. "Imagine it,” she said. “This would be one special place to know that the Earth is at the center of Creation."
"Wow! That's a powerful thought," Maya replied, her eyes wide with wonder.
They both paused in momentary reflection, awakening to a truth that they hadn’t given much thought to before, but seemed so obvious now.
In a nudging, curious tone, "Can we go to the Ice Wall?" Maya asked.
"Sure. But we'll have to go another day. It's getting late. The Sun is setting," Durga said.
"You mean the Sun is moving away from us," Maya clarified.
I guess the little dragon was paying attention after all, Durga thought. She was proud to call Maya her friend.
"Yes, you're right, little dragon, and it will return tomorrow."
THE END
Post-Reading Discussion
Engage in thoughtful discussion with your children. Allow them to reflect on the story and any lessons learned.
Where do the dragons want to go at the end of the story?
Why aren’t they allowed to go there?
Who was the explorer that said there was more land beyond the South?
Credits
Memes sourced from the Flat Earth Sun, Moon & Zodiac App. Get the app for more uncensored truth. Let them know I sent you. Enter the referral code: cedra
Cartoon imagery was generated using AI technology with Microsoft CoPilot.
© 2024 Stationary Earth Science. This is an original work and is not to be reproduced without the author's permission. All rights reserved.