10 Years Later Note:
Rereading this after ten years brings back such sweet memories. I’m so glad I now have a class full of littles who don’t mind my singing. I dusted off this version of Puff the Magic Dragon that I created and shared it with them—it was a big hit. Now I just need to learn to play the ukulele, because that would really seal the deal!
Thing 3 is now two. He has a love-hate relationship with dragons. He gets scared when he sees them, but still asks me to sing songs about them. His favorite right now is, of course, “Puff the Magic Dragon.”
“Sing dragon, Mommy. Back, back,” he says, asking me to sing the Puff song while rubbing his back.
I LOVE this. I could do it forever—if my back didn’t get tired, if my other boys didn’t need the same kind of attention, and if the dishes weren’t also calling to me. Actually… forget the dishes. We don’t really need them anyway.
When Thing 1 was about four years old, I sang “Puff” to him and he cried. I guess I sang it a little too dirge-like, as my dear husband would say. But honestly, I want to cry when I sing it too—it tells a rather sad story. To this day, Thing 1 won’t let me sing it when he’s around.
I never even attempted it with Thing 2 because I didn’t want to traumatize him.
To avoid that with Thing 3, I made up my own little final verse. Now I love this song even more—and I briefly considered sending it off to Peter, Paul, and Mary for a rewrite. Just kidding. But seriously, what were they thinking?
Here’s the song, along with my final verse, for you to enjoy and sing with your littles.
Happy Tales!
Kristen
Puff the Magic Dragon
(with a special verse by me, KS Sandoz)
Puff, the magic dragon lived by the sea And frolicked in the autumn mist in a land called Honalee,
Little Jackie paper loved that rascal puff,
And brought him strings and sealing wax and other fancy stuff. oh!
Together they would travel on a boat with billowed sail
Jackie kept a lookout perched on Puff's gigantic tail,
Noble kings and princes would bow whenever they came,
Pirate ships would lower their flag when Puff roared out his name. oh!
A dragon lives forever, but not so little boys
Painted wings and giant rings make way for other toys.
One grey night, it happened, Jackie paper came no more
And puff that mighty dragon, he ceased his fearless roar.
His head was bent in sorrow, green scales fell like rain,
Puff no longer went to play along the cherry lane.
Without his lifelong friend, Puff could not be brave,
So puff that mighty dragon sadly slipped into his cave. oh!
Little Jackie Paper grew up and had a child,
She was just as curious and even a little wild.
And frolicked in the autumn mist in a land called Honalee,
Puff, the magic dragon lived by the sea
And frolicked in the autumn mist in a land called Honalee.
