Once upon a time, there were three siblings named Maddie, Weston and Eloise.
They had just set off on a hike with their parents, boots laced, backpacks strapped and a pair of binoculars bouncing between them.
The desert was alive with light and shadow that morning, but they knew it wouldn't stay that way for long.
Before they stepped onto the dusty trail, their dad gave them a look.
The serious one, the one that meant, hey, listen up.
All right, guys, stay on the path, okay?
And their mom handed out water bottles.
And stick together.
Maddie took a sip.
It was cold and crisp.
Mmm, thanks, Mom.
Drink often, Mom said.
It's dry out here.
And they nodded and set off, their feet crunching against the packed dirt.
Earlier that week they had visited the park's visitor center where they had seen plaques about the different cacti in the desert.
They looked like thick, spiny beasts twisting toward the sky.
Out here, the desert felt wild, untamed, and full of things that could poke, scratch, or sting.
And then, something skittered across the path.
It was a lizard.
It zipped up to the top of a rock and it froze, watching them.
The kids stood there staring back, barely breathing.
And then a tiny flame puffed from its snout.
No one moved and no one spoke.
Had they really just seen that?
Suddenly a shriek split the air.
It was a hawk.
Its wings were tucked and it was dropping from the sky, aiming right for the lizard.
The kids leapt into action, waving their arms and shouting, and the hawk veered off, wings flaring.
But the lizard, it wasn't there anymore.
Far away, they saw a streak of fire rolling over the ground, vanishing into the desert.
Weston blinked.
Did that lizard just breathe fire?
Maddy and Eloise weren't waiting for answers.
Come on, let's catch it, Matty yelled, already running.
Weston groaned but took off after them.
They sprinted through the desert, dodging thorny bushes, leaping over cacti.
The fire lizard was fast, too fast, and soon it was gone.
And so was the trail.
With no trail in sight, the kids slowed down, breathing hard.
The sun had climbed higher into the sky now and the heat was pressing in.
They sipped their water, glancing around at the endless sprawl of sand and rock.
Weston swallowed hard.
Uh, which way is back?
No one answered.
I don't think we should have left the path, Weston said.
Eloise chimed in.
What are we going to do?
We have to get back.
I know, I know, we're trying.
Come on, follow me, Maddie said as she led the siblings on through the sand.
The kids carefully stepped around another prickly cactus as Eloise drank the very last of her water.
By this point, the sun was really high and it was getting unbearably hot.
The kids were starting to get nervous.
Maddie looked at her siblings and realized they all needed help.
And soon, she didn't know what else to do, so she looked around the desert and started yelling.
Hey!
We need help!
Weston and Eloise joined in.
Help!
We need some help!
And just a few moments later, they saw the little fire-breathing lizard again.
It just popped up out of nowhere.
The three kids started chasing it again, but it was really fast.
After chasing it around back and forth, they saw it go behind a big rock.
They knew they had it cornered.
They slowly tiptoed toward the rock and right.
As they were just about there, they felt the ground beneath them begin to shake, as they heard a huge roar.
A blaze of fire exploded out from behind the rock as they looked up and saw an enormous beast emerge.
Is that?
The lizard said Weston, it's a dragon.
They all screamed together as the magnificent beast flew up high into the air, and then it turned around and started barreling toward the three kids.
It looked like it was about to fry them all up for dinner, but then, at the last second, The little baby lizard ran out from behind the rock and stood between the dragon and the three kids.
It almost looked like it was trying to protect them.
And the dragon slowed way, way down and then landed gracefully beside them.
It looked like this big dragon must have suddenly had a change of heart.
And Eloise couldn't be sure, but as she saw the way the dragon and the little lizard were looking at each other, it looked like the dragon was the lizard's mom and the lizard was its baby.
Maybe the lizard was telling its mom about how the three kids had saved it from that hawk just a little bit earlier.
And just when the kids thought their day couldn't get any crazier, the dragon looked at them with a kinder look on its face.
And then it picked up the little lizard in its mouth and started walking into a nearby cave.
And then it looked back at the kids as if it wanted them to follow her.
Eloise, Maddie and Weston were out of water and it was getting really hot outside.
They didn't really have a lot of other options, so they followed the dragon and the little lizard into the cave.
And when they walked into the cave, it was unlike anything they had ever seen before.
They felt the ground tremble again and Weston spun around just in time to see the entrance to the cave seal shut with a massive slab of stone.
They were trapped!
Uh, guys?
Eloise whispered.
They all looked down and could see symbols carved into the stone floor as they began to glow, forming a massive circle around them.
The dragon turned toward them, staring intently with its giant golden eyes.
And as the kids' eyes began to adjust to the dim light, they started to notice something even stranger than the dragon itself.
Nestled among the cave's rocky walls were dozens of eggs, each about the size of a basketball.
And Maddie took a step closer, still catching her breath.
And one of the eggs suddenly wobbled.
And then another.
And then another.
And then they heard a crack.
A tiny claw poked through one of the shells.
These eggs were hatching.
And then, for the first time, they heard the mother dragon speak.
But that's a story for another day.
