“i lie to my journal sometimes”

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Can we have a story where Maddie, Grayson, and their golden retriever Hudson fall into a wormhole and land in a world of magical dragons? Golden retrievers are a lot of fun. They're a loyal, loving, friendly dog, always on the lookout for a treat, or for something to sniff and investigate. This is exactly what Hudson was doing when he found the wormhole. He'd been rummaging around down the side of the house, drawn to an unusual smell, and ended up with just his back legs and tail sticking out of it. Which is exactly how Maddie and Grayson found him. "What happened to the rest of Hudson?" shrieked Maddie in alarm. "Surprised to discover just half a dog?" Grayson stepped a little closer to investigate. Although only 50% of their dog was there, he could still tell Hudson was happy because his tail was wagging. "I think," said Grayson, studying the dog carefully, "that he's found a wormhole." "A wormhole in our backyard?" said Maddie in disbelief. "What's a wormhole doing here?" Grayson shrugged his shoulders. "I don't know, but I think Hudson's trying to find out." As he spoke, the rear quarters of the dog stepped forward to vanish completely, leaving a swirling black and purple hole behind. "Hudson, come back!" shouted Maddie. "Where is he gone? What are we going to do?" "I guess we'll just have to go and get him," said Grayson, matter of factly. "Come on, I think we'll be all right." Hudson seemed happy enough when he went through to wherever it was he went to. "Well, okay, if you say so," she said, trying to sound brave. "Let's go and get him." Together they stepped into the wormhole, and stepped out, somewhere completely different. It was a wide valley made of thousands of grass covered cliffs and ledges where trailing plants and flowers decorated every drop. But that wasn't what caught the attention of Maddie and Grayson. They were too busy staring at all the dragons. They were lying on the ledges or flying through the sky, taking off and coming into land. They were all shapes and sizes, different patterns and colors, some covered in horns and lumps, while others with none at all. "Is this yours?" called a voice from behind them. It was a silver dragon with danger markings along its body and legs. At present it was curled up, wings folded upon the grass, with Hudson snuggled in beside it. "Uh, yes," said Grayson. "That's our dog." "Oh, he's a friendly fellow, isn't he?" said the dragon approvingly. "Oh, yes," nodded Maddie. "He likes new people." "Well, I've never met a dog before," the dragon added. "They're all the noise, aren't they?" "Well, we think so," laughed Maddie. A pair of dark shadows swept over them at that moment, as two car-sized dragons thudded to the ground beside them. "What's this? A wormhole?" "And in trudos!" snapped the first of the dragons. This one read with two long, curling horns. "Sorry," said Grayson. "It's not our wormhole. We just came through it to get our dog back." "Hah, a likely story," said the second new dragon. "This one, a dark blue." "You're here to steal the king's gold." "No, honestly, we've just come for our dog," began Maddie, but was rudely cut off again by the red dragon. "Silence! You're coming with us," he demanded. "That goes for you too, Silver Scale." said the second dragon, pointing to the dragon lying on the ground. If Maddie and Grayson were expecting to ride on a dragon's back, they were disappointed. Instead, they were carried in the dragon's terrible talons. Hudson, at least, was allowed to be carried by Silver Scale, who was, it appeared, much more gentle. Despite their rough treatment, the two children were fascinated by their flight along the valley. There were dragons everywhere. Some had built shelters, some tended to small gardens, and some looked over younger dragons as they played, but every dragon they saw flinched and drew back as they passed. Clearly, the two dragons that had taken them prisoner were to be feared. The two walls of cliffs eventually came together at a towering pillar of rock that had been skillfully crafted into a palace. The two dragons followed by Silver Scale glided inside, arriving at an enormous hall. Here they sent Maddie and Grayson tumbling and rolling across the floor until they came to rest where the ground was lumpy and uncomfortable. Grayson twisted around, feeling quite dizzy, to realize he was lying on gold coins. They had been set down at the edge of a gigantic treasure pile, on top of which, sat a large white dragon with a thick crown of horns. It scowled down at them, clearly unhappy to see them. "What's this? Thieves come to steal my gold!" boomed the dragon. "Yes, Your Majesty," said the red dragon. "We caught them by an unlawful wormhole. They were clearly attempting to rob you, aided by Silver Scale here." "We were not," protested Maddie. "We were just looking for our dog." "Hah, to think one of my own subjects should betray me by assisting robbers and thieves," the white dragon growled. "But what's this? There is gold by your feet already. It's her dog," said Silver Scale. "A dog," repeated the queen dragon. "And yet it wears a coat of gold and fur. I've never seen such a creature. I shall add the golden beast to my treasure trove right away." "You can't do that," shouted Grayson. "Hudson is our dog." Thieves and robbers don't get to decide what is and isn't theirs. "Sneared the queen dragon. But we were not thieves," insisted Maddie. "We just want our dark back." "But this dog now belongs to me," the queen dragon said, meanly. "And if you're trying to take it, that just goes to prove you're trying to rob me." "But he was ours first," Maddie yelled, as she balled her hands into fists. "Hoo, my, you're a troublesome pair," snorted the queen dragon. "I don't know whether to throw you in the dungeon or eat you for my lunch." "I'd like to see you try," said Grayson, his confidence surprised all the dragons that are gathered to watch. "My, my," chuckled the queen dragon. "This little parcel of skin and bones seems to think he's better than a mighty dragon." "Not better," corrected Grayson. "But I know a bully when I see one, and I don't like bullies." "What a strangely little creature you are," said the queen dragon. "You speak so confidently despite being so small, and yet there is nothing you could possibly do to a dragon as great and powerful as I. I'm not going to let you take my dark back." "Gracin insisted calmly. It's mine," roared the Queen Dragon impatiently. "I rule here, and if I say the golden creature belongs to me, there is no argument." "There you go again, being a bully," said Grayson. "Would you like me to deal with him, Your Majesty?" said the red dragon, threateningly. "No, stay where you are," ordered the Queen Dragon, as she rose up from her bed of sparkling gold. "I shall squash this annoying fly myself." The white dragon was big compared to the others in the ground hall. But she was used to lasing around and ordering others around. Grayson could see that the Queen Dragon moved stiffly. Even so, she was still a large presence that loomed over the much smaller boy. "Be careful, Grayson," whispered Maddie. Grayson just nodded. His eyes focused on the approaching dragon as he prepared himself. "What a strange way of stamping you have!" commented the Queen Dragon. As she bared her teeth and reached forward with a clawed hand to flick Grayson from his feet. But instead of doing this, the Queen Dragon found her hand being knocked aside. It all happened so fast that she wasn't quite sure what happened. So she tried again. Once more, her hand ended up where she hadn't intended it. "What magic is this?" demanded the Queen Dragon angrily. "It's not magic," replied Grayson quietly. "It's karate! It's great for self-defense." Frustrated, the Queen Dragon lunged forward with her other hand. But was stunned to see Grayson block the attack with his two hands, then strike the inside of the dragon's galley wrist with his knee. "Ow!" shouted the Queen Dragon. "That hurt!" This time she tried to sweep Grayson over with the back of her hand, only for Grayson to duck under the blow. "Will you keep still," followed the Queen. The angria, the white dragon became the sloppier with her attacks. Grayson continued to block and dodge, occasionally landing blows himself until the Queen Dragon's hands, fingers and forearms began to throb. More dragons had gathered to watch, as fascinated with Grayson's skills as they were by the fact that someone was standing up to their bully of a Queen. "Enough!" roared the white dragon, throwing her head forward, mouth open, in an attempt to snap Grayson up. But Grayson had been anticipating this. Instead of stepping back, he stepped forward into the attack and under the Queen Dragon's chin, which allowed him to land a string of blows along the underside of the Queen's jaw and neck. With a gurgle, the Queen Dragon's slump sideways defeated, grasping her throat as she struggled to breathe. "I'm sorry," said Grayson. "But I did warn you that I didn't like bullies. Now, if you don't mind, we'd like to take our dog home again now." "But what about all the treasure?" asked the Red Dragon. "You've defeated the Queen. There's nothing to stop you taking the gold now." "But we were never thieves in the first place," explained Grayson patiently. "As we said, we were just looking for our dog." "So you're not going to rob anything," said the Red Dragon, clearly struggling with the concept. "No," said Maddie, as Hudson bounded over a tail wagging. "I don't know what to do now," admitted the Red Dragon. "Then perhaps it's time for a rethink," spoke up Silver Scale. "As the boys just show us, our so-called Queen is nothing but a bully, interested only in gold and herself. She was rather useless," admitted the Red Dragon. "But what do we do with her?" "Well, that's something all the dragons here should decide," said Silver Scale. "But in the meantime, I think that these three need to get home." The journey back to the wormhole was much more pleasant, not least because they were allowed to ride on Silver Scale's back. They touched down on the ledge where the wormhole still swirled, and Silver Scale bent low to allow them to hop upon the grass. "Thank you," said Silver Scale happily. "For what?" asked Grayson. "For helping us to get rid of that tyrant," said the Silver Dragon. "She was all noise and bluster. All it took was a small boy to show all the other dragons how mean, selfish and weak she really was." "Then it was lucky that Hudson found this wormhole," pointed out Maddie. "Not lucky," winked Silver Scale. "Sometimes change needs a bit of a helping hand, and us dragons aren't without a little magic. Now, best you head home, the wormhole won't last much longer." Maddie let Hudson through, but before Grayson could follow, Silver Scale called out. "What did you call that thing that you were doing when the queen dragon attacked you?" "Oh, it's called karate," smiled Grayson. "It's good for building self-confidence, discipline and for self-defense." "Winteresting," said Silver Scale. "If you don't mind, I might call upon you again. I think a few of us dragons would like to learn karate." "Holy, be happy to help," said Grayson, "and with a wave he was gone. The wormhole closing behind him." "The End." [Music]