Duala, the Dr
Duala, the
Dragon - Part #1
Once upon a time in a far away land that was filled with swamps and sloughs, there lived a dragon named Duala. If you were to creep through
the bogs on a misty morning, you might actually find Duala hidden away in one of the caves bordering the swamps.
Duala certainly had the power to kill, but there was something most people did not know about Duala. He was a peace loving-dragon and he had no desire to hurt anyone. He never killed out of malice and only when it was absolutely necessary.
One day in the autumn season of the year, Duala was taking a nap in his cave. A young boy by the name of Ando Hiroshige was floating on a raft near the cave, when suddenly the raft became entangled in a low hanging heavy vine. It was nearing dark, and the child was trying hard to be brave, but the entanglement in the vine was causing him great fear.
Even grown men feared being alone in the swamp at night, and Ando was but a boy. He had been out on the small raft all afternoon. Ando loved to paint; and he had taken his paints and a canvas with him so he might paint a picture of the trees that hung gracefully over the water. As he floated along, he became so absorbed with his painting he was not aware he was drifting off course.
The hours slipped by as Ando painted furiously. He felt he had never painted as well as he did that afternoon. Because he was so intent in his painting, he did not notice the raft becoming entangled in a vine until it was locked solid. Try as he might, he could not free the raft. Ando finally decided he would have to find his way back to his home by walking, so he stepped into the water, thinking he would wade to shore.
The water was much deeper then Ando had anticipated, and he immediately sank. Ando had not thought about the water being infested with poisonous snakes; therefore he had no fear of the water. He was doing what he could to swim to shore as soon as possible; and as he approached the shore where the water was not so deep, he tried to stand. All of a sudden he felt a bite on his leg. He began to scream when he saw a snake swim away
The screams of Ando awakened Duala from his sleep. He wondered what was making the awful sound that had awakened him, and then he heard the sound once again. It was coming from a man creature. He peered out of his cave, and saw a young man creature thrashing about in the water and struggling to stand. He wondered what he could do to help him out of his predicament. He moved out of his cave, stretched his wings, and then walked into the water towards Ando.
When Ando saw Duala approaching, he was afraid the dragon would eat him. He was terrified and he began screaming loudly. Duala tried to plug his ears against the loud screams; and he so wished the small man creature would stop that horrific noise.
Duala loomed over the boy in the water, then reached down, lifted him gently, and set him on the shore next to his cave. Duala looked down at Ando; and calmly said, "Would you please stop that terrible racket?" Ando looked shocked; and said, "You can talk." "Well of course I can talk; and it is apparent you can scream. Could you possibly stop the screaming?" asked the dragon.
Ando looked at the dragon; and said, "But you don't understand, I am afraid for my life for I have been bitten by a snake." Duala asked, "Was it a poisonous snake?" "I think so," said the boy. Duala thought for a moment; and then he said, "Please describe the snake to me." Ando said, "The snake was large, tan in color, and had gray outlined spots on his skin." Duala asked, "How long was the snake?" Ando stretched out his arms and said, "He was about this long." Duala said, "Well, my young fellow, that description sounds like a poisonous snake called a viper. They happen to make their home in and near the waters of this swamp. These snakes also inhabit the island. It will be necessary for you to come to my cave with me. I will do what I can to treat the snake bite there." Ando asked, "What can you possibly do to treat a snake bite?" Duala said, "You are going to have to trust me for there is no one else out here to help you. Follow me."
The boy limped as he followed Duala into the cave. Duala told him to stretch out on a bed of moss; and he would draw out the poison. Duala removed some of the moss under the boy's legs so the leg would be lower than the upper part of his body. This was done to slow the progress of the poison throughout the body. By this time, Ando was beginning to feel strange from the poison of the snake bite. He wondered if he would surely die. He hoped the dragon knew what he was doing.
The dragon had a strange looking tube that he applied over the fang marks on the boy's leg. Ando could feel the suction on his leg as Duala drew out the poison from his leg. Within a short period of time, Ando began to slip in and out of consciousness.
Duala lifted Ando and carried him to a pit filled with a terrible smelling liquid. The liquid was deep enough to cover the boy's body. When Ando regained consciousness, he was afraid Duala would drown him. Duala said, "Look, this is a "medicine boat" that is used to treat snake bites. It was here when I took over this cave as my home. It has been here many years, and the liquid contains venom that has been milked from the viper." Ando lost consciousness once again; and Duala wondered if the boy might die. He knew he had done all he could do for the boy. It was not up to him to decide whether the boy would live or die. He would simply have to wait, and see if the treatment would be effective. After another hour in the "medicine boat" Duala lifted the boy and carried him back to the bed of moss. The dragon prepared some herb tea for Ando to drink that would help with the pain.
Ando moaned as Duala lifted him; and when he opened his eyes, he saw the dragon leaning over him. Ando was terrified, and he screamed once again.
The dragon said, "Look, you're scaring me with all this screaming. You must stop the screaming; I am not going to hurt you. I am trying to save your life. I have some herb tea that should make you feel better, so try to swallow as much as you can." Somehow Ando managed to swallow some tea; and then he fell back upon the bed of moss.
To be continued...
