Miserable

Brother looks miserable. He doesn’t feel like doing anything, and his belly hurts.

"Is it Turtle’s mud bath?"* Dragon wants to know.

Brother shakes his head. He doesn’t know what it is. He looks bloated—very different from before.

"Maybe he’s not a dragon like you," says Wolf, who is studying Brother, who indeed looks unrecognisable.

"What do you mean? He looks just like me."

Wolf licks his front paw and says, "What if he is something else and takes on the appearance of the first one he sees?"

"Do you mean he becomes a turtle?" says Dragon in fright. "Flying with a shell isn’t very handy."

"Am I poisoned again?" squeaks Brother. His voice sounds strange, and he would rather crawl into the corner of the cave and not come out again. His body hurts. Dragon comes closer and touches his skin.

"Leave me alone! I want to sleep!" He wags his tail and turns his back to the others.

"Is it homesickness?" asks Dragon, standing outside with Wolf and looking at the waxing moon.

"Maybe, or it’s an allergy... or he’s different from you. Have you ever thought about that? You haven’t seen him for a long time, and he was sick at the waterfall when you found him."

"The water was poisoned."

"Are you sure? Didn’t you notice anything?"

Dragon shakes her head.

"I was thirsty, but I didn’t drink anything. I was hungry too, but I left the eggs I found to eat the next day..."

"Eggs?"

"I told you about them. Brother asked about them on the way over here. He did a while ago again. I believe they were eggs."

After a long silence, Wolf says, "I think Brother should go back home, and we should find those eggs."

"He’s sick..."

"He’ll get better, just like last time. Let’s tell him we’re leaving in a few days."

_{14.4.25
Picture}