All the children loved Bella. They played with Bella from sunrise to sunset every day. The children loved to dive off Bella's nose, slide down Bella's tail, and swim where Bella warmed the clear blue water with fire breath.

They loved to fly UP UP UP and all around on Bella's back. They were very happy.

Bella was a special Dragon with scales made of precious gems that shimmered and sparkled in the sun. The glittering jeweled scales made Bella strong because they were bright, shiny, and full of light.

Bella's scales were made of Passionate purple amethyst Icy blue aquamarine Deep sea green emeralds Translucent pearls Firery red rubies Limey green peridot Cold blue sapphires Sunny yellow amber Earthy blue turquoise and brilliantly Rainbow-colored diamonds

One gloomy day, when the long afternoon shadows gave way to gray twilight, a band of baddies, green with greed, emerged. They were jealous of the friendship that Bella and the children shared. They snuck up on Bella, cut off the the jewels with their sharp knives, then ran away into the deep dark night with bags full of Bella's jewels.

Bella, weak and weary without the strength of the sparkling jeweled scales, slithered slowly to the waters edge and sank ...

Bella tried and tried to swim to the surface to tell the children not to worry. Without the jeweled scales, Bella could not swim. Bella the Dragon lay all alone on the ocean floor ... motionless and helpless.

The next day appeared bright and sunny The children looked for Bella, but their dragon was gone. They were very sad.

They missed diving off Bella's nose, sliding down Bella's tail, and swimming where Bella warmed the clear blue water with fire breath.

The memories of Bella made them happy, but they still missed their dragon very much. Every day the children walked to the water's edge and thought of Bella. Their tears of sadness splashed in the salty water and drifted far out to sea.

They somehow knew that Bella understood their sadness. Bella was at the bottom of the brown sandy water, but the children's loved reached that far and that deep. Each tear and each thought brought Bella strength.

Their hearts touched Bella's heart and SLOWLY .... very SLOWLY ... Bella's jeweled scales grew back one by one.

Then one happy day, the children saw their dragon. At first they saw a magical golden shimmer in the distance.

Then, as Bella flew closer, they saw Passionate purple amethyst Icy blue aquamarine Deep sea green emeralds Translucent pearls Firery red rubies Limey green peridot Cold blue sapphires Sunny yellow amber Earthy blue turquoise and brilliantly Rainbow-colored diamonds

The children ran to Bella. They hugged Bella and they hugged each other. Friends happy to be together.