Chapter Three: Things Just Don’t Add Up
The Tale of Two Dragons: Discovering the True Earth, Book 1
This is a fun story about two little dragons that ponder about the Earth. One happens to come across a Gleason Map and it piques her curiosity about what is said versus what is observable about the Earth.
Did you miss Chapter One and Two? Read it here »
Each week a new chapter is released. Enjoy reading Chapter Three below.
Sincerely,
Cedra
Chapter Three: Things Just Don’t Add Up
Before Durga could reply, a small acorn fell from a large oak tree nearby. It knocked Maya on the head and startled her. Fortunately, dragon scales are tough. Maya rubbed the spot and shook it off, prompting another question from Durga.
Durga started on, "The other dragons say things fall because a force called gravity pulls them down," and paused there. "What if there was a simpler reason? Like heavy things fall because they are heavier."
Durga caught herself in this circular reasoning, so elaborated, “I mean, things fall that are denser than air. For example, that acorn fell, not because an invisible force pulled it down, but rather the acorn is clearly more dense and heavier than the air.” She was pleased with her reasoning.
Maya shot a small flame towards the little bug that, at this point, she realized was teasing her by eluding being caught. The tiny flame just missed it and hit a rock. Having felt the heat on its fragile wings, the bug was unhappy with Maya’s aggressive play. Maya apologized to the little critter after realizing her folly. Smoke floated up from the spot where the flame made contact with the rock, sizzling a few dried leaves, turning them to dust that wafted upward.
Durga saw this and said, “I’m supposed to believe that gravity can choose when to pull things down and choose when to let things rise?” Shaking her head, she continued, “Maybe light things rise because they are light and less dense. Simple.“
Durga realized Maya wasn't paying much attention to her again and called her over. Maya gladly came over and sat beside her friend. "Take a look at this lake,” she instructed.
They stared over the water. With a gentle elbow into Durga’s side, Maya asked, “So what am I looking at?”
“Maya, water doesn't curve over land,” Durga replied. “It remains level, just like Sparkle Lake. There is no lake in the world that curves.”
"Wow, you got a lot on your mind, Durga," Maya said, then muttered to herself, "Sorry I asked." She rolled her eyes as she rolled over and wandered away again.
Unphased by Maya's disinterest, Durga continued to ponder aloud. "Have you ever noticed all the stars rotate around Polaris? Polaris is the North Star. The brightest star in the sky." Maya stopped and looked up. "No, I haven't. How amazing!"
Durga looked up at the sky with a troubled gaze. "But how can this be if we're spinning in space and passing millions of stars each night?"
While bouncing on her tail, Maya replied, "Oh, I heard something about how it takes light years for the light of distant stars to reach Earth."
"Remind me, what a light year is?" asked Durga.
"A light year is the distance light travels in one year. Nothing travels faster than the speed of light,” replied Maya and she spread her youngling wings and tried to zip back and forth showing Durga just how fast.
Durga replied, "That sounds pretty far.”
“Yes, it is,” Maya said. “It’s over 5,000,000,000 miles away.”
Impressed, Durga inquired, “Where did you learn that?"
"From one of the children’s books at the library, of course,” Maya said.
In a skeptical tone, Durga retorted, "I'm supposed to believe that you need glasses to read the words on a page, but our eyes can see stars that are trillions of miles away?”
Maya pulled out a pair of oversized spectacles. Her little claws propped the lenses up as they slid down her nose. "You have a point. I never really thought about it."
Frustrated by this logic, small puffs of smoke fumed from Durga's nostrils. Things just don’t add up, she thought.
To be continued…
Chapter Four: the Gleason’s Map comes out next issue!
Post-Reading Discussion
Engage in thoughtful discussion with your children. Reflect on the story and any lessons learned.
Can water or air stick to a regular spinning ball?
If not, do you think it can stick to a spinning Earth?
Do you spend time looking at the stars?
Do you know how fast the Earth is said to be spinning? Can you feel the Earth spin that fast?