More had happened in Aaron's life in the last couple of days than in the last several years. He fell into bed completely exhausted.

Within moments he found himself swimming downstream with the little blue dragon, and saw the little fellow headed for trouble.

"Don't touch that!"

The dragon looked at him questioningly.

"Worms don't live in the water," Aaron explained. "That one will be attached to a hook. It's for catching fish. It's safe to take a close look, but don't bite it."

The dragon went in for a closer look, examined the hook and line carefully, then grabbed the worm by the tail and manoeuvred it off the hook. It seemed unconcerned about its close call.

"Look around," Aaron told it. "Learn what belongs. If you know what belongs, then you'll know what doesn't."

Aaron thought he saw the dragon nod.

"I must be dreaming. I can't be here, " he said.

"You are here now. Soon you won't be." The dragon's voice seemed to come from all around him.

"When I wake up I won't be. So this isn't real."

"Here real. There real. Different real."

If the grammar was terrible, the meaning was clear. Aaron wasn't sure he believed it, but he understood, and decided he may as well enjoy the dream.

"Another egg hatched today," Aaron told his companion. "She's not very happy. You got any idea what I should do?"

"Egg she bite know. Know much. Aaron not let bite more."

"Of course I won't. I don't know what I'll do if I end up with a dozen dragons who all want to kill each other."

"Mostly don't eat other one."

With that thought, Aaron found himself back in his bed. The sun was rising. Had he really slept that long? His body seemed to have found several new places to ache. He stretched his muscles and stood up.

After a quick breakfast he set out for the cabin. He soon found himself lost in thought. When a doe ran across his path, he let her go. Game was not plentiful in the forest, as it should have been. Aaron would never say so; that would be treason, but he knew it just the same. King Melvin was not a good king.

"Ah, what to do?" Aaron said to his horse. "Out king's father was not a wise man, He spoiled his children. Now we have a king who can't see what he's doing. Truth is, the kingdom can't pay any more tax, and it's dying. People are leaving. Yet he continues with his royal feasts. Soon there won't be anything left to feast on."

The horse hardly fussed at all when they approached the cabin, so Aaron knew the witch was not around today. He was on his own with the dragons today. No odor greeted him when he opened the door.

The red dragon saw him. Furiously, she puffed hot smoke and flame at him, all the while madly throwing herself against the jug. Aaron dropped a strip of venison to her. She attacked it like a creature possessed, shaking it and tearing it to shreds before gobbling up the pieces.

"I see your mood hasn't improved," Aaron said. She hissed in reply and belched acrid smoke. The little wings worked furiously as she tried in vain to free herself.

Aaron left her to her own devices and turned his attention to the eggs. Not much had changed. He added drops of water to the patch on the pink egg to prevent it drying out.

"Let's see what we have here," Aaron said as he opened cupboards and searched around the cabin. He found jars of dried herbs he couldn't identify, but noted the jars, thinking he could use them if any more little cannibals hatched.

An ancient wood burning stove sat near the middle of the room. A small stack of wood sat near the front door. An axe that still looked serviceable sat next to the wood.

"I don't know how long I'm going to be babysitting you little guys, he told the eggs, but if it's more than a few weeks we're going to need more wood than that."

He took the axe, checked on Demon, who was contentedly grazing, and went to work on a fallen log. Though it was hard work, it didn't keep his mind occupied. He wasn't one to worry, but he knew he was breaking the law hiding the dragons. At least one was potentially dangerous.

"If that little red devil gets out, all Hell's going to break loose," he said to himself. He knew people hid food and livestock in order to feed their families. Not only could a dragon be a threat, a dragon hunt could turn up a lot more than a dragon.

Aaron carried the wood he'd chopped into the house, then pumped some water and sat down to eat his lunch. The angry red dragon saw the food, opened her mouth and stuck out a little gold tongue. Aaron gave her a piece of his sandwich. Bread, meat, cheese and lettuce all disappeared down her gullet.

He checked the eggs again, and found one had developed a crack. It was not the pink egg as he had expected, but a green egg with flecks of yellow. Aaron watched closely. Nothing happened. He spent the next hour staring at the egg. The occupant seemed in no hurry to leave his cozy shell.

Aaron split the wood into kindling to pass the time. He dropped more water onto the patched egg. He smelled it to check for rot, though he had no idea what he would do if he smelled anything. Then he returned to staring at the green egg. The crack was a little larger. He stared at it some more.

Finally, after what seemed like ages, a little dragon wriggled free. Long and thin, he rolled about on the straw trying to get his legs under him. He was a mottled yellow and green. Two pairs of green wings sprouted from his body. He got his legs under him, tried to walk and tumbled again. He reminded Aaron of a newborn colt trying to find his feet.

Aaron offered him a piece of meat. He accepted it eagerly and tried again to stand. Obviously getting around was going to be a little more difficult for this
dragon.

Aaron was so involved with the new hatchling he hadn't been giving any attention to the red dragon. She threw herself against the jug again, causing it to topple over. The prisoner was free. She had no trouble scrambling up to the sink. Had she run for the door, Aaron would not have caught her, but that was not her goal.

She ignored her new sibling and went straight for the pink egg she'd attacked before. It was obvious she didn't want that one to hatch. She would have torn the patch off had Aaron not grabbed her by the tail. She twisted and sank her teeth into his hand. This time Aaron didn't drop her. He grabbed her firmly in his other hand and held on while she tried to tear a strip off him. She refused to let go.

Aaron plunged her into the pail of water he'd had handy since the first dragon and held her under water. She thrashed furiously for a few moments, then let go. Holding her firmly, he emptied the jug and added fresh grass and a couple of bugs, and forced her back inside.

She made no effort to contain her fury. Hissing and belching fire, she threw her body against the glass again, trying to knock it over. Aaron found the heaviest pieces of firewood he could and placed them around the jug. When he was satisfied it wasn't going anywhere, he returned to the new dragon.

He had his feet under him and was standing on his hind legs peeking out of the sink. Aaron gently lifted him out. His long thin body was covered in bright yellow and green. Two rows of black spots ran down each side. The colorful little fellow had two large sets of wings set high on his body. A bright green fringe ran along his back and the underside of his chin.

Aaron placed him back in the sink to see what would happen. He made no effort to bite, or to attack the other eggs. It appeared he had no concerns about the pink egg hatching. Aaron offered him another piece of meat, and he took it gently from his fingers.

Knowing he would have to go home soon, Aaron watched him closely, trying to decide what to do with him. Aaron had no idea what kind of dragon this was. He seemed calm enough. He explored the sink, climbed out onto the counter top and after exploring that and looking around the room, he climbed back into the sink, curled up, and fell asleep.

Aaron decided to leave him. Attracting attention would be more dangerous. He'd have to go home and leave the dragons until tomorrow.