Where do they pick up these things? (Anna)

Another parenting challenge I never anticipated. My two year old being the victim of extortion...from a pet dragon.

[Emma running into the bedroom] "Mumma. Mumma. Scared. Scared." [leaps into my arms]...There's a dragon. It scaring me."

When she had calmed down a little bit, she starting scavenging through the drawers where we keep our losoe change.

"What are you looking for?" I asked.

"Money. I need to give monies to the dragon so he won't scare me."

Apparently, it worked. Having been paid the protection money, the dragon apparently DID stop scaring Emma. So much so that he gave Emma a ride on his back, and then happily came on the bus with us. (On Vancouver buses, apparently you can transport an adult, a toddler AND a pet dragon for the cost of one ticket! Deal!)

I think sometimes it's best not to psycho-analyse toddlers too much, or we might conclude that we have inadvertently taught her that fear is unnecessary if you've got the money to keep it at bay. Or something. (Also I must confess, I did ask her if anyone in her life apart from the Dragon has been asking her for money, to which the answer was, thankfully, no. I might be old-fashioned but I do think that two is a little young for kids to have to pay protection money in the schoolyard...)

By the way, are dragons always male? I just realised that I've never read a single kids' story about a female dragon.