Aramis' Scrapbook, Part 1

Things have changed so much since Aramis came to live here with me, we have decided to make up a scrapbook so we can always remember how much fun we had the first days he was here. It has gotten so big that we had to divide it into two parts!

February 2, 1998

(Amethyst's journal)
I learned that there are some baby dragons that are going to hatch without a mom. I don't have any little dragon of my own, I am a little young still. But I think I can take care of one. I will ask if I can adopt one of the new eggs.

February 10, 1998

(Amethyst's Journal)
Good News! Donivin says he thinks I would take good care of one of his babies. He will save one of the boy eggs for me. I don't know how to tell the difference, but he says he can.

February 16, 1998

(Amethyst's journal)
I went to the hatchery today and my little dragon friend's egg was ready to hatch! He will have the same birthday as me!
If he's for certain a boy, I will name him Aramis Valor. It is a good, brave, name for a little dragon.
It's a boy!

This is a picture of Aramis' egg just before it hatched.

February 18, 1998

(Amethyst's journal)
Aramis has just hatched. HE IS SO SMALL!! I can hold him in one hand. I am very frightened to bring him home because he is still so very tiny and fragile. He is covered with a soft peach fuzz on his tiny green scales and his wings are only tiny bumps on his sides. He is pink in places from hatching. His eyes have not yet opened. This is a big problem, since he can already walk and wants very much to play! But I think he will be safe in his rainbow playpen.
He is still a little shy about talking, but would like to enter a few words in the journal.

February 18, 1998

(Aramis' journal)
Hi, I'm Aramis. Amethyst is writing for me. I love rainbows. She found a rainbow for me to live in. I can't see yet but I can feel the rainbow around me. I can't wait until I get my first e-mail, but I don't know what that is yet. Okay, bye!

This is a picture of Aramis just after he hatched.

March 1st, 1998

(Amethyst's journal)
It is a lot of responsibility to take care of a little dragon. As soon as his eyes open I will begin to teach Aramis to read. He loves to hear poems and would like to write one of his own.
Aramis' room here on the webpage will change quite often, as he grows up, learns about the seasons and holidays, goes on adventures, and eventually, raises his own family. This month Aramis is celebrating St. Patrick's Day with a field of clover and his very first toy! I hope all of our friends will visit often to see what we've done with the place, and to hear what Aramis has to say.
Right now he would like to talk a little about the hatchery where he came from and what he has been doing lately.

March 1st, 1998

(Aramis' journal)
I think I said I like rainbows. Amethyst found a rainbow for me to live in. She says she will move my playpen to new places often so I can feel new things. This month, I am visiting a field of shamrocks. It is cool and moist and smells sweet. I still can't see it yet but I think I will soon.
Amethyst brought me a toy! It is a freight train. Her brother got is for me. He calls it a "mixed freight". I don't know what that means, but I like to hear it "whirr" around me and click and blow the whistle. It is neat, but I must be careful not to knock the cars over with my tail!
Another dragon e-mailed me last week, that was nice. Amethyst read it to me. She said to tell you about the hatchery.
Well. Okay, I don't remember much. Amethyst has a picture of my egg just before I hatched, she says she will put it in my photo album. I remember it was warm in the hatchery, and my brothers and sisters were next to me. They have warm skins with peachfuzz on them, like me. One other is already adopted. It would be nice to visit them someday. I am happy I was adopted. I can't wait until my eyes open so I can see my rainbows and Amethyst and the people who visit me! Okay, Bye!

March 2, 1998

(Amethyst's journal)
Today was a big day for Aramis!! I can't believe Aramis came to live with me only a few weeks ago. When he arrived, his eyes hadn't opened yet, but we already had big plans--to learn new things, go on adventures, and explore the wonderful world of "toys". Just yesterday I moved Aramis' playpen to a field of beautiful shamrocks so that he could celebrate St. Patrick's Day, and my brother sent him a brand new toy train.
But today, something happened that was so special, I just can't believe it!! But Aramis tells the story so well, I will not spoil it but just leave his version here in the journal.

March 2, 1998

(Aramis' journal)
This morning, my eyes felt itchy. Amethyst told me not to rub them, instead she went to get warm tea to wash them. Well, when she wiped them with the cloth I squealed! My eyes felt funny and they hurt! It was so bright! I could see!!!
Yeah, my eyes opened today!!! The first thing I saw was Amethyst. She said to tell you that she does not always look like that, so I will tell you what she looked like afterwards. (She said that was okay.) She is a blue dragon, not just one blue but rainbow-y blues, with green and purple. It was so fun to learn the names of the colors and see them. I could only taste them before. Her eyes are brown.
Then I saw the field of shamrocks. Oh, it is so beautiful. They are green, all different types of green, so cool and soft under my feet. And I saw my rainbow. I don't know how I could be happier!!
But then I saw my train! Oh, it is the neatest of all. It goes around and around, and the locomotives are red and the cars are all different colors, just like my rainbow. It is so much fun to watch it and listen to it!
I was having so much fun I almost didn't notice my wings! They are still tiny and not strong. I will not be able to fly yet. But they have finally spread out from the little buds on my back. So someday I will be able to fly. Then I will visit my brothers and sisters. I bet their eyes opened today, too.
This is the happiest day since the day I came to live with Amethyst.

This is Aramis' train. He likes it so much he would like to keep its picture in his scrapbook.

March 15, 1998

Amethyst's Journal

This is SO exciting!!!

I work in the library on campus at U.C. Berkeley. And sometimes famous people come in to do research. Once I got to renew the library books for one of my favorite mystery writers, which was really neat. but today was even better!!!
I got to check books out to my VERY FAVORITE writer in the whole wide world! If you've read my Book List section, you know who it is--that's right, Laurence Yep! The author of Dragonwings, in person!!! and I even got to shake his hand. Oh boy, I don't know what could be better. Just imagine meeting the most famous movie star or writer or whoever you wanted to meet, and that's what I got to do today.
Tonight I think I will read "The Dragon Prince" to little Aramis for his bedtime story, to celebrate. :)
YIPPEEE!!!

March 15, 1998

Aramis' Journal
Amethyst is happy, so I am happy. I don't know how to read yet, but Amethyst read "The City of Dragons" to me, and I liked it very much. I can't wait to learn to read so I can read "Dragonwings" for myself (and so I can write in my own journal instead of having Amethyst type it for me!!)
P.S. I got a new toy today! I will show it to you soon, I need to get it out of my toybox and then it will be in my room with me.

March 16, 1998

(Aramis'Journal) Sometimes I sit for a very long time and just look at my rainbow. Looking is very nice, and I couldn't do that before. My rainbow is even more beautiful than it tasted, and brighter than it smelled. Rainbows are very quiet. But someday, I think, if I listen hard enough, I will hear it.
I like my field of shamrocks a lot. They are green, all different types of green, so cool and soft under my feet. They are also very tasty. :-q I wonder where Amethyst will take me next? I can't imagine it will be as pretty as my shamrocks, but she promises it will be very neat.
Uncle Andy is very good to me! He got me a train, and now a car. They are so much fun! My car is a Stock Car. Amethyst says it looks like Mark Martin's car. He is stock car driver who won a lot of races. I have never seen a race but I think I will someday. Amethyst says there are big trains that you can ride on. I would like to ride one someday. Amethyst says we will.

This is what Aramis' field of shamrocks looks like.

This is Aramis' stock car.

March 17, 1998

(Aramis' Journal) Happy St. Patrick's Day!
St. Patrick's day is a big holiday for Dwarf Dragons, I think that's because we were from Ireland to begin with. I know Irish people have parades & eat things like corned beef today. I wonder if we will go to a parade?
Dwarf dragons don't eat meat, but Amethyst is making a dinner of potatoes for me and lots of pretty green leaves. They are very tasty, especially with paprika. (That also makes it pretty, because the potatoes are white, the leaves are green, and the paprika is red-gold. I love colors!) Amethyst says those are the colors of Ireland's flag. Aren't colors neat?
I guess we are not going to a parade, but we are going to sing songs with the other dragons (they are not Irish but they like to sing) and have a big dinner. I think that will be fun, too.
I don't have to worry about wearing green for St. Patricks Day because I AM green!!

March 19, 1998

(Amethyst's Journal) Aramis and I had a very nice St. Patrick's Day. We couldn't go to the parade, but we had dinner and a party with some of our dragon friends, and pinched people who weren't wearing green. ;-)
Everything is blossoming and growing right now because of all the rain we have been having, so Aramis is visiting a field of flowers right now. I know he likes his shamrocks, but I so want him to see a little more of the world. I think he will like his garden just as well.
I have just thought of the perfect pen for Aramis so that he can start learning to write his letters. Stay tuned!

March 26, 1998

(Aramis' Journal) I am still very excited about being able to see. It is neat to have eyes that open. Amethyst is going to begin teaching me the alphabet soon. She says I must learn it before I can read. She has not yet found a pen tiny enough for me to use, but she says she has an idea. I wonder what it will be.
Do you like the flowers? I didn't there could be anything as nice as my shamrocks, but these are really pretty. I don't think they taste quite as good as shamrocks, though. Amethyst said maybe I should just eat the middles because that's what the bees like. I will try that.
If you noticed, I have a new toy now! It is a stock car. It looks like Mark Martin's stock car. He is a race car driver who won a lot of races. I have never seen a race yet, but someday I will. Uncle Andy finds lots of nice toys for me. Amethyst says I must not let him spoil me. I don't know what that means, but I sure like the toys.

This is what Aramis' field of flowers looks like.

April 11, 1998

(Amethyst's Journal)
Happy Easter! Last week I dyed some Easter Eggs for Aramis. He is very excited about his first Easter Egg hunt tomorrow. His friends the Lindorms--Drake, Dinky, and Pickles--will help him hunt. We hope to put some pictures of all the pretty eggs in the scrapbook soon, but right now they are not developed yet.
I feel bad that I have not had time to teach Aramis his letters yet. I will have to start showing them to him one at a time. It will take a while, because we dragons do not learn just by looking and hearing the name of the letter, but we need to taste it, smell it, and feel it, too.
I hope I explained about Easter well enough to Aramis. It is hard to explain to grownups, much less to a little dragonet. He doesn't even understand that people can be mean, or why. I hate to have to tell him that most religions are not very nice to dragons, or most people, for that matter. :-( But Newman Hall here in Berkeley has been very nice to us. Maybe I will never have to explain to Aramis that people can be bad.
[I think I speak for all dragons when I say I am glad that whole St. George story was finally laid to rest by the pope.]

April 11, 1998

Aramis' Journal
My eyes are very useful. I can see all sorts of colors with them, and a few days ago I saw Amethyst playing with colors. I wondered, what she could be doing?
She explained that she was dyeing Easter Eggs. I was scared at first that meant she was sick or something. But it turns out dyeing is something to do with colors and not bad at all.
She told me Easter is something we dragons celebrate because a long time ago the best dragon of all came to live here, but like a human, small and not strong, and died so that someday we could all live with him in the beautiful weyr up in the clouds. So every year we dye eggs pretty colors because they are a sign of life that we will have because of Him. I think that is very pretty. But it makes me sad that he had to die, he sounds very nice. I hope I meet him someday.
At first I was worried about the eggs, but Amethyst told me they were not alive eggs. Birds can lay eggs that are not alive, but dragons can't. These were just not-alive bird eggs, so it is alright to eat them. But I will not eat much. They are almost as big as I am!
Speaking of eating, I tried the middles of the flowers. They are yummy. :-q

April 12, 1998

Amethyst's Journal
Today Aramis hunted for Easter Eggs with his friends the Lindorms--Drake, Dinky, and Pickles. They had a good time and can't wait until the pictures come back so we can put them in the scrapbook!
It is very tiring to write Aramis' Journal entries for him. His little mouth goes so fast I can barely keep up with what he says! I have got to get him started on his letters soon.

April 12, 1998

(Aramis' Journal)
Happy Easter!
Today I hunted Easter Eggs with my friends. They are Lindorms and so they have to pick up the eggs with their mouth or their tails, but they are strong so that's okay. We got up very early this morning and watched the church on television, because Amethyst said it was too cold for us to go out to church. Only big dragons like her can go out when it is so cold. I liked the way the people sang. But it is different from how dragons sing. Much tinier!
So we hunted easter eggs on her bed, which is big and fuzzy with soft blankets. For a while I looked for eggs and found some, but I got bored because I can't pick them up. So I just slept in the blankets for a while.
Then I played hide-and-seek with Dinky, Drake, Pickles, and the Shirrusim, Pico and Rimpau. We had so much fun! Yay! I love Easter!And it is supposed to last a while longer, Amethyst says, although we won't hunt for eggs anymore. But we will eat the eggs we hunted. I can't wait for the pictures to come back.

This is a photo taken during the Easter Egg hunt. If you look closely, you can see where Aramis curled up in the blankets to take his nap.
This is a picture of Aramis and his friends after the Easter Egg Hunt. In the very back are Salazar and Dwinelle. From left to right in front of them are Rimpau, Pickles, Drake, Dinky, Merlin, and Pico. Aramis is the smallest, so they let him sit on an egg in front.
If these pictures seem a little too small, go to the Photo Album to get a better look.

Click on Scrapbook II to keep reading about Aramis' summer and fall adventures.

Click on Scrapbook III to keep reading about Aramis' adventures in a new year.

Click Here to go back to my main page. Thank you for looking at the scrapbook!

If you would like to say hi to Aramis (or me), click on my e-mail address:dracnova@hotmail.com. Put "Aramis Letter" in the subject heading if it's for him.

The scrapbook is still

UNDER CONSTRUCTION

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