Cora and the Nurse Dragon by H. L. Burke

Author:H. L. Burke [Burke, H. L.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: k'12
Published: 2016-01-30T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter Fourteen

The Dragon Regulatory Agency

Cora and Abry sat on the floor of Cora’s cottage, counting their money. Abry noted the total in her account book, then put what she felt they would need for upcoming “business related expenses” into a manila envelope she’d “borrowed” from her mother’s office. The rest she divided into two even piles, one for her, one for Cora.

By the potbelly stove, Cricket stalked Scrabble’s twitching tail. The cat pretended to be asleep, but kept his tail working like a clock’s pendulum. Cricket pounced on it, only to have it sweep him across the floor. He sprang again. The tail snapped out of reach. Cora laughed. She was glad they got along.

The door to the cabin opened, and Dad strode in. He pulled up a chair. “You two tycoons are counting your profits, I see? What about that college fund we talked about?” He raised his eyebrows.

Cora grimaced but separated out a few dollars and placed them in his hand.

“Thank you.” He put the money inside a teapot in the china hutch. “I was just at the greenhouse. It looked as if you only have one steamer left.”

“We sold the last striker yesterday,” Abry explained. “We haven’t had time to go buy another egg pack yet. We also need more cages, food, and another notebook.” She flipped over her ledger, exhibiting all the full pages.

“How many dragons have you raised so far?”

“Three sets, six eggs in each, but not all of them hatch into rares. We got three mayflies in the last batch.” Cora eyed her father, wondering what his angle was. They hadn’t talked much about her dragon business. He’d checked in on the dragons every so often, but for the most part, he let her pursue her goals, no matter how much he disapproved of them.

“I wanted to see if we could influence Cricket to make certain sorts of dragons for us, but he just does what he wants to do.” Abry laughed. “I even tried copying his methods to see if I could make certain sorts of dragons hatch.”

“He didn’t like that.” Cora shook her head. Cricket had “kidnapped” every egg Abry had meddled with and hidden them. It had taken a lot of coaxing to get him to trust Abry again after that.

“No, he didn’t.” Abry wrinkled her nose.

“Well, his purpose isn’t to make the dragons that people find the most interesting or profitable. It’s to make the dragons he thinks would best suit his colony. Even mayflies have their purpose, don’t they, Cor?” His eyes burned into her. His face was placid, but she still squirmed.

Does he want me to admit I read his stupid book? Of course I did. I love dragons. More than he does.

She drew herself up as if reciting at school. “Mayflies are pollinators, like bees and butterflies. They tend the flowers and plants around large dragon colonies, which provides shelter, camouflage, and even food.”

“That’s right. A dragon colony was said to have a positive effect on the overall ecosystem, like a gardener tending a garden.

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