Emily and the Winter Dragon
Arina List

© Arina List, 2025

ISBN 978-5-0068-5759-9

Created with Ridero smart publishing system

Chapter 1 – The Night When the Stars Whispered

It was the coldest winter evening of the year. The stars hung low above the small town, sparkling like tiny ice crystals. In a cozy little house on the edge of the forest, a girl named Emily wrapped her warmest scarf tightly around her neck and pulled on her soft hat.

Her grandmother had told her stories – about that special night when winter fills the world with magic, and the forest awakens to reveal wonders unseen during the day.

Emily clenched her mittens, breathed in the frosty air, and stepped outside.

The snow softly crackled beneath her boots. Tall pine trees lined the path, their branches bowed under the weight of fresh snow. It seemed as if the forest was listening to every step she took.

And suddenly… something moved behind a sparkling branch.

A gentle glow. A soft rustle.

And there appeared a little dragon.

He was not scary at all. His scales shimmered with silvery frost, and his bright blue eyes sparkled like frozen lakes under the moonlight.

«Hello, Emily,» he said softly, exhaling a puff of frosty breath.

«I am Frostwing. I am the Winter Dragon, guardian of winter’s wonders.»

Emily’s eyes widened in surprise.

«I hide little sparks of magic in the forest – warm wishes, shining gifts, the light of celebration. But tonight, there’s so much magic that I can’t handle it alone,» the dragon said, tilting his head.

«Will you help me?»

A smile lit up Emily’s face. Adventures like this happen once in a lifetime.

«Of course!» she said.

And together, they stepped deeper into the sparkling winter forest.

Chapter 2 – The Path of Icy Lights

The forest greeted Emily and Frostwing with a soft, almost breath-like shimmer. The silence here felt alive – it shimmered with light, weaving between the trees and rising up to the stars. In the air floated tiny glowing dots, like fireflies made of pure ice. They didn’t flicker like ordinary lights but left behind slow, silvery trails, as if marking a path of someone’s quiet laughter.

«These are icy wishes,» Frostwing said, lowering his wings slightly to cast a steadier light over the space. «People make these wishes before the winter holidays. The truest ones rise into the forest… and become these lights.»

Emily carefully held out her mitten. One of the lights, as if sensing her gentle touch, softly settled on the fabric. It felt warm, against all expectations, and inside it softly chimed – like a tiny bell trembling in a distant dream.

She smiled – unconsciously, purely, and wide.

«Are they alive?» she whispered.

«They are a reflection of warm hearts,» the dragon answered. «Everything made from kindness lives.»

They continued on their way.

Frozen streams stretched between the trees like glassy roads. The ice was so clear that beneath it, twigs were frozen as if trapped in amber. Sometimes thin threads of frost covered the surface, sparkling like strokes of a silver brush.

Around them, pines rose like real winter towers. Their branches, decorated with frost, looked as if covered in millions of crystals. Each step echoed among the trees, but the echo was soft and muffled, as if the forest spoke to them in a gentle language.