Username: LadyM
Name: Pim
Gender: male
Extra: ...
It was a wet winter day. Pim wished that it would snow, so he could catch the flakes on his tongue and make a whole jam of snowbeans in the field, but instead it was just rainy. He sat on the porch, shivering and wearing a miserable pout, occasionally blowing puffs of fire to warm his cold limbs.
At the first sight of rain, the jellybean dragon had dashed right outside to play. He loved pouncing in puddles. He loved splashing around. And once he was all done, he reeeeeally loved shaking all the water off his fur! But one step out into the rain and his smile had disappeared. It was icy, so cold he could see his breath, and the drops of rain that hit him pierced through his fur.
What could he possibly do on a day like today? It was not cold enough for snow but way too cold for rain. He had no other choice but to go inside and find something to do there. He hated the inside. He was a pet jellybean dragon (which had spoiled him – countless jellybean dragons lived outside even in the cold winter months, but he couldn’t imagine not having blankets and hot cocoa), and he loved his home, but his favorite thing was playing outside! He wanted to explore! Just the other day, he had found a little thicket filled with delicious wild berries, and he was itching to go eat some more. Plus there were several jams that roamed nearby and he enjoyed visiting them all when he could. The inside was just… so boring!
He scampered through the door, shutting it behind him. He dripped rainy pawprints all over the rug as he made his way into the kitchen, licking his furry mouth. Maybe he’d make cookies! He purred to himself, wearing a little smile. What a perfect idea! He was an absolute genius! His trusted chocolate-chip cookie recipe was stuck to the fridge with a magnet. His eyes ran down the list of ingredients, and he dashed about the kitchen, pulling down canisters of sugar and flour, taking the carton of eggs out of the refrigerator. But at the next ingredient, Pim dropped down to the floor with a groan and a whimper.
“Brown sugar?” he said, “But I used all of that last time…”
He rubbed his face with his paws, his tail twitching. What a bad day he was having! He’d have to find something else to do. If only he wasn’t home alone! He was sure his owner would have had something for him to do!
Pim left the kitchen, abandoning his mess. He wandered from room to room, stopping to pick up a magazine and flip idly through its pages, or to chomp at dust bunnies in the air, or to peer out the windows and check on the weather. Yep! Still raining.
“Ugh!”
He chased his tail, just for something to do. He ran in circles, nipping at the fluffy tip, and he caught it with ease because it was so long. Bored with even that, a solution suddenly occurred to him.
“I’ll go explore!” he called out into the empty house, a smile stretching from ear to ear as he trotted down the stairs. Of course! How had he forgotten! Even indoors, there was always one place forever exciting to him. The basement!
The basement was full of treasures. There were boxes everywhere, and each box was filled with toys or old clothes or sometimes even birthday gifts that he wasn’t supposed to find yet! He wasn’t normally allowed in the basement, but it served his owner right for leaving him home alone on such a nasty day. He pounced right onto the first box behind the stairs. It was full of dishes and glasses, packed tightly with bubble wrap. His eyes grew wide. Pim pulled the bubble wrap off of all the plates and laid it out on the floor. He leaped onto the wrap and there was a loud sound beneath him. Giving little puffs of fire in his pleasure, he began to roll all over the bubble wrap, creating a chorus of snaps as each bubble popped. This was great fun! Just as good as playing out in the rain on a warmer day!
Gradually the sounds came less frequently and quieter each time. He was running out of bubbles to pop. Grumbling to himself, Pim stuffed the bubble wrap back in the box and moved onto the next one.
This box was filled with books. Pim almost moved on without a second glance. He could hardly read, and he didn’t enjoy reading anyway. But he realized the book on the top of the stack had a very special three-letter word on the cover. His name! Why was there a book about him in there? He didn’t know someone had written a book about him! He took the book from the box and laid it down on the ground. His tail wagging with anticipation, he flipped open the first page.
It was a photograph. Not a photograph of anything he cared about, though. Just a stinky egg. It wasn’t even a pretty egg, all grey with purple spots. As he studied it, though, he realized it wasn’t just an old egg. It was HIS egg! This was a picture of his own egg, before he had even hatched! Wow…
Pim flipped the page again. There was another picture of him! He was a teeny little baby jellybean dragon, hardly larger than a rabbit, with his favorite yellow blanket. He had been adopted older than this. How had his owner gotten these pictures? She must have worked very hard tracking them down. He smiled to himself, purring and flipping another page. So many pictures of him! There he was eating strawberries with juice all over his fur. There he was in the bath tub covered in bubbles. A picture of him coloring with paint on his paws.
Just then, a ray of sunlight fell upon the page. He looked up. Out the window, the clouds had parted. It wasn’t raining anymore! He leapt to his feet, so eager to race outside and play in the sun and the puddles! But he only took one step before he paused. It may not be as exciting as playing in the yard, but there was something nice about this, too. He dropped down onto his belly on the carpet and buried his face back in the “Pim” book, his tail wagging behind him.
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