After John Robert found a dragon’s egg down by the swamp, he and his Grandpa Riley kept it a secret from Aunt Bess whose life was too hard to care about such things. That is until it hatched, grew to 14 feet in two months and drank all the coal oil in the barn. Well, something had to be done. Lucky for John Robert and Grandpa Riley it was the flyin’ kind…

A story from Ms Banks delightful anthology “The Magic Hare” in which the magic hare hears tiny bells after every good deed and discovers they are applause from a sad, unnamed flower. In gratitude, the magic hare gives the flower a name, ‘harebell,’ or ‘Campanula rotundifolia.’

When Derek’s kid brother finds bunches of mistletoe on the ground in an orchard, he decides to sell them to earn money to buy Derek a much needed guitar case. Little does he know that Derek is the one cutting the mistletoe trying to earn enough money to buy him the wooden recorder he has always wanted. Nicely reminiscent of O. Henry’s “The Gift of the Magi.”

When a stranger comes to the city of Chelm, he claims that he can make his own latkes with nothing but his magic spoon. To make them even better, the folk of Chelm start to loan him ingredients until they are feasting on the perfect latkes.

Young Kotoshi is supposed to be the yearly sacrifice to appease the local dragon. But when she finds the dragon grief-stricken over her dying pup, she uses her healing skills to save the pup.  In gratitude, the dragon promises that no harm will ever come to the village.

Young Kate Fotheringay is refused entrance to Miss Perkle’s School for Young Witches, until one of her spells saves the school and causes Miss Perkle to reconsider.

Young Hamid, is bound as a servant to rug merchants that he believes are his aunt and uncle, until one day a beautiful but ghostly figure hands him an old carpet. Both the woman and the carpet seem remotely familiar and, indeed, they lead to Hamid being reunited with his father, a prince, while the abusive couple get their comeuppance.

When a young orphaned girl comes to live with Old Vanka, he tells her of his yearly search for the goat that leaves jewels wherever he stamps his silver hoof.

Rooster is wondering how to untangle his lucky bobber when mean Old Man Bockenweiler comes strolling down the path. While Rooster hides, his dreaded enemy stops, untangles the bobber, neatly rolls the line and leaves Rooster’s fishing pole by his can of worms, showing Rooster a surprisingly kind side of the Old Man.

A lovely verbal rhythm develops as three squirrels, foot, foot-foot and foot-foot-foot, attempt to eat all the nuts on the tangliest ol’ giant of a nut tree in the bottom of the holler.