The strange attraction to dragons

[Narya]

For an enjoyable dragon, and a no-nonsense princess, and lots of fun references to fairy tales, there's Dealing with Dragons, Patricia Wrede's lovely book for children/teens (rated for 10 and up). There are three more books in the series. I enjoyed reading and re-reading this to my kids. That dragon was very attractive, and unlikely to eat anyone - more like an eccentric aunt.

[KekPafrany]

Indeed. Such things seem attractive when we believe we are completely safe from them. Take wolves. I have never seen one 'in the flesh'
(...)
Hmm. This also brings bushrangers to mind. Kind of like pirates of the bush, they were/are often glorified and have been/are often written of sympathetically in Australian texts. No doubt the further from their presence in history that we journey, the higher in esteem we seem to view them and their antics. Held up at gunpoint tomorrow and the majority of we Australians would not be so ambivalent I'm sure!

I am lucky to be able to tell: I have petted living wolves more times in my life. They were tamed, hand-raised and playful. I am charmed by their sounds and characters. I can't and won't say, they aren't dangerous, I just don't love them less because they live in my home country too. Wild wolves tend to avoid humans, as long as they can. I have more chance to have an accident with a badly attended domestic dog, than a wolf..

Dragonds.. Well, Hungarian children from 80s were lucky with dragons: There was a great tale with a dragon, Süsü, who was exiled because he wasn't evil enouh and he had only one head, (everybody in his family has 7-12 heads per capita ). He found a human prince as friend and a home in his kingdom.

But he was more dragon-like than the "dragons" in the other tales: those were like just men, usually bad men. I remember an other tale, where the main character had to free a girl (princess maybe) from an evil dragon - but the dragon had a 5 legged horse and the young boy had to find a 6 legged mount one to be able to do his heroic run-away with the girl.. Don't ask me why do a dragon need a horse, any kind of horse.

I know I am more attrackted to wolves and other canines since my childhood, than to any other creature but I love dragons. They mean somehow the base of fantasy: Dragons need magic and they mean the magic itself.

['thul]

the prime cause for wolf-hatred isn't attacks on humans. It is attacks upon unguarded, defenseless-through-breeding sheep and such.

[KekPafrany]

the prime cause for wolf-hatred isn't attacks on humans. It is attacks upon unguarded, defenseless-through-breeding sheep and such.

People hate wolves even if they live in a city and have never seen a sheep in their lives.

There is conflict with the nature - you are right in that - because nature doesn't work that way they would like to see. Predators want to hunt, herbivores want to eat greens, martens are danger to cars, blackbirds dare to sing early in the morning, the guard dog barks and you have to be the first one to get on and off a bus (or be the first with your car by the green signal), if you can't do it, your whole day is in ruins.

[Farseer]

Dingoes though, are different. Also members of the canine family, do I 'love' the dingo as I do the wolf? No. Why? Likely because they live in my vicinity and thus they affect me. I don't have to worry about wolves eating sheep or cattle or me (!) but I do have to worry about dingoes. I am also daily surrounded by their bad press, try as I might to ignore it. If nothing else, one does not grow up in the 80s as an Australian child and not become affected by the Azaria Chamberlain case. I have followed it for what feels like my whole life. ** This is not to say that I hate dingoes or want to destroy them for eating sheep or some-such (!!)...it's just an illustration! **

Totally off-topic to this thread but following on from this old post, I cried yesterday when, after thirty-two years since Azaria Chamberlain went missing, the coroner finally ruled that Azaria's death had been by dingo attack...not 'murder' or 'unknown'. Such a long, long time it has been in coming. I was about seven at the time she went missing and never thought this finding would ever be handed down in my lifetime.

Cry? Actually, I sobbed. Even the coroner was affected by the sheer emotion of it all and to hear her offer condolences to the Chamberlain family after more than three decades was shattering in its simplicity. Such a burden the family has had to carry on top of the loss of a child...even if you sit on the side of the fence that is against Lindy Chamberlain, you have to consider how you would feel if you were indeed innocent. I'd be ruined.

[fool-ish]

Dingoes though, are different. Also members of the canine family, do I 'love' the dingo as I do the wolf? No. Why? Likely because they live in my vicinity and thus they affect me. I don't have to worry about wolves eating sheep or cattle or me (!) but I do have to worry about dingoes. I am also daily surrounded by their bad press, try as I might to ignore it. If nothing else, one does not grow up in the 80s as an Australian child and not become affected by the Azaria Chamberlain case. I have followed it for what feels like my whole life. ** This is not to say that I hate dingoes or want to destroy them for eating sheep or some-such (!!)...it's just an illustration! **

Totally off-topic to this thread but following on from this old post, I cried yesterday when, after thirty-two years since Azaria Chamberlain went missing, the coroner finally ruled that Azaria's death had been by dingo attack...not 'murder' or 'unknown'. Such a long, long time it has been in coming. I was about seven at the time she went missing and never thought this finding would ever be handed down in my lifetime.

Cry? Actually, I sobbed. Even the coroner was affected by the sheer emotion of it all and to hear her offer condolences to the Chamberlain family after more than three decades was shattering in its simplicity. Such a burden the family has had to carry on top of the loss of a child...even if you sit on the side of the fence that is against Lindy Chamberlain, you have to consider how you would feel if you were indeed innocent. I'd be ruined.

I, too would be ruined. An absolute tragedy for everyone involved. There are so many miscarriages of justice, it's truly frightening.