Liam and the Leaf Dragons

Liam, a creative six-year-old, loved the playground. He loved the bright red slide and the super-duper swing. But most of all, Liam loved to imagine. He could turn a simple stick into a magic wand or a pile of sand into a towering castle. Today, the playground was buzzing with familiar sounds of happy children.

Suddenly, a new kid arrived. She had shiny, dark hair and carried a bright yellow art bag. Liam watched as she found a quiet spot near the big oak tree and pulled out her sketch pad. She started drawing a magnificent, sparkly dragon! Liam's heart gave a little thump. He loved drawing dragons too. He really wanted to say hello, but a shy, wobbly feeling started in his tummy.

Liam took a deep breath. He looked around and spotted a few colourful fallen leaves. An idea sparked! Quickly, he gathered them, then added a small, smooth pebble. He carefully arranged them on the ground to make a tiny, leafy dragon with a shiny pebble eye, just like the one the new girl was drawing. He looked up. The new girl had stopped drawing and was watching him. She smiled a shy, little smile. Liam smiled back, his wobbly feeling fading. "G'day," he mumbled. "That's a super dragon!" she replied, pointing at his leaf creation, "I'm Maya!"

Maya gently closed her sketch pad and walked over. "Did you make that?" she asked, her eyes wide. "Yep," said Liam, "It's a leaf dragon!" Maya giggled. "Can I make one too?" Soon, they were both on the grass, gathering leaves and pebbles, creating a whole family of leaf dragons. Their nervous smiles turned into big, happy grins. They even pretended their dragons were flying high, making swishy-whoosh sounds.

The afternoon zoomed by. Liam and Maya built a magnificent leaf dragon kingdom, complete with a pebble path. They talked about their favourite colours and their favourite imaginary creatures. Liam realised that sharing his creativity wasn't scary at all; it was heaps of fun! When it was time to go, they promised to meet again tomorrow. Liam walked home, his heart full of joy, excited to tell his mum about his new friend, Maya, and their amazing leaf dragons.