Chapter Two: Seeing Things for the First Time
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? Read it here »
Each week a new chapter is released. Enjoy reading Chapter Two below.
Sincerely,
Cedra
Chapter Two: Seeing Things For the First Time
“I just don't understand," the big dragon Durga said softly, her snout an inch from the parchment she carefully read, nearly poking a hole in the center.
"You don't understand what?" scoffed Maya, the little dragon, a little annoyed. “What is there to understand?” She rolled over playfully.
Durga paused, deciding whether to share her inner thoughts. It felt like the first time she was opening her eyes to the world around her. The trouble was that what she saw didn’t match what she was told.
Durga expressed her concern and said, "Everyone tells us that the Earth is spinning, that the Sun is a massive fireball 93,000,000 miles away, and the Moon is a tiny rock 200,000 miles away.”
Durga paused, tilting her head to examine the size of the glowing evening Sun. "But I see a Sun and Moon that are about the same size in the sky,” she said.
Durga jerked her head up tall having noticed something important. “It appears the Sun is quite close too, just beyond the clouds,” she said.
Squinting her eyes and stretching her long dragon neck, she tried to zoom in on the exact proximity of the Sun. A big smile crossed her face, “It’s a small local light. Sort of like a streetlamp for the Earth,” she chortled to herself. A bit of smoke puffed from her nostrils as she found this realization amusing.
Durga then shook her head. Her mind was full of many other so-called facts she had been told.
She thought aloud. "The Moon couldn’t be a dusty dull rock,” she muttered and gazed up at the glowing Moon. Explaining the obvious, she said, “A dusty dull rock wouldn’t be able to reflect such a brilliant glow. Dull things don’t reflect bright light.”
During this time, Maya bounced around trying to catch fireflies. She stopped only to scratch an itch with her hind claw, like a dog, or fend off a bug climbing up her tail. She enjoyed herself as any energetic youngster would, while Durga sat in stern contemplation, staring out over the water.
Durga thoroughly examined the Moon and noticed another important point. “Plus, something round like the Moon is said to be, when reflecting light would have a hot spot where the Sun hits it and the rest barely reflect any light at all,” she said. Thinking Maya was listening, Durga pronounced, "But that’s not what I see.”
Durga scratched her head and wondered, ”Could it be the Moon emits its own light?” Durga stood up and opened her arms and wings wide to receive and honor the moonlight, like a big hug in its cool embrace.
With delight, she exclaimed, “I see a beautiful Moon that emits its own glow and is close to Earth.” Adding one more thought, “Just like the Sun,” she finished.
Durga threw a glance over at the playful little Maya to catch her attention. “Look!” Durga said and pointed a sharp dragon claw to the sky. “Watch how the Moon brightly illuminates the nearest clouds. Only a local Moon close to us could do that,” she explained.
Durga continued since Maya didn’t interject. With claws turned up, lost for words, Durga arrived at another concern about how this world works and asked, “How is it possible to hold the air we breathe to the Earth while it’s spinning? And without a lid to keep the air in?”
Durga paced back and forth as her mind reeled with questions. Things just don’t add up, she thought to herself.
Maya flapped her wings vigorously as she continued to try to get a bug off her.
“You know what I’ve noticed about the Moon,” Maya said in spurts as she struggled with the bug. Durga shook her head in reply. “I’ve noticed that often times I can see blue sky through the Moon,” shared Maya.
Durga used the parchment she held to fan away the dirt that Maya kicked up in her struggle with the little critter.
Feeling the cool air from Maya’s tiny wings gave Durga another thought. She asked, "I can feel the slightest breeze brush against me, but I don’t notice the Earth spinning - at all?”
Working through this problem, Durga said, "Air is a gas and knowing the properties of gas, it can't be held down. Gas needs to be contained. Otherwise, it spreads out to fill the entire available space," Durga explained to Maya with conciseness.
Durga, recalling every time she’d opened a bottle, said "Even the bit of carbonation in my bubbly brew from Grandma Dragon needs a lid to hold the gas in. Otherwise, it escapes once I crack the lid.”
Not realizing little Maya was actually listening, Maya replied, “You’re right! Gas does do that. Well, wouldn’t that mean there would need to be a lid over the Earth too to keep the air from escaping?”
To be continued…
Chapter Three: Things Just Don’t Add Up comes out next issue!
Post-Reading Discussion
Engage in thoughtful discussion with your children. Reflect on the story and any lessons learned.
Why was the dragon confused at the start?
Do you feel like the Earth is spinning?