A strange thing was happening that year. It was summer and the weather had become very warm. Roads and fields were full of little dragons. The whole place looked green and purple with dragons of different shapes and sizes. They made their nests in the shrubs, bushes and hedges. They didn’t harm the children, but the children were scared of them all the same.
Effie and her brother Harry were going home from work and Effie was scared. She just longed to get back home.
“We must be brave,” Harry told her, “After all, we have to save our country from dragons like St George did! Let’s go to find his statue. I’m sure he will help us!”
In the churchyard, among the gravestones, a statue of St George was carved on the marble. He wore a grand armour and a helmet and stood with his hands folded. He had once killed a dragon.
“How do we wake him up?” asked Effie in a whisper.
Harry shook him but there was no response. Effie hugged him and called out, “Oh, please wake up!”
St George opened his eyes and asked, “What’s the matter, my dear children?”
“The town is full of dragons,” explained Harry, “We need your help to slay them!”
“There’s a rule,” said St George, “One person can slay only one dragon!”
“But there are so many dragons!” said Harry.
There was a long silence while St George was thinking. Many dragons flew overhead while they waited.
“What’s the weather like in the town?” asked St George.
“It’s hot,” said Effie, “Because it’s summer now.”
“That is the trouble. Dragons enjoy the summer a lot. They increase in the heat,” explained St George, “They dislike the cold and the wet weather. They can’t stand water!”
“That’s it!” exclaimed Harry, “We will give them a good wetting!”
“Open all the taps,” said St George, and then he fell asleep again.
And that was just what Effie and Harry did. They went around the town and opened all the taps. They connected all the garden pipes and sprinklers and turned them on too. The place got so wet that all the dragons flew away. They had managed to save the town from all the dragons without killing a single one of them.
