‘The Squashbuckler Diaries’ are the daily tales of Joy Shelley’s Life in the Dream. The ‘Lost in Dreams’ books will tell the story of what happens to her at ages 6, 9, 12, 15, and so on. The diaries tell us what happens before, after, and between the books.

#98: The Snot Eater: Part 5: Conclusion

A week after their adventure with the Snot eater, Dragon Father saw Dragon Little pick her nose. 

It was shortly after breakfast, as they were deciding which planet to visit today.

Dragon Father sounded worried, “Oh, no. Do you remember what happened last time?” 

Dragon Little looked up at him, freezing in place. 

“The last time you did this, the Snot Eater came. I think every time someone picks her nose, his little pieces in the ocean come back together. After a few times, he’ll be back, and he might take you again.”

Dragon Little took her finger out of her nose. “He’s going to make me eat all that snot again?”

Dragon Father nodded knowingly. “Of course.”

Dragon Little made a face. On a five-year-old, it looked cute. “I don’t want him to come back.”

Dragon Father nodded. “Wise decision. Here,” a roll of tissues appeared in his hand. “Use these.” 

She took them and the tissues glowed for a split-second. Neither of them noticed. 

“Thank you,” she said. 

“Now put that in your cabin!”

As Dragon Little ran to her cabin obediently, Dragon Father smiled. This was, perhaps, the one time in the last two years that she listened to him when she did not want to. 

When she returned, she said. “Come on, you pilot the ship. Let’s go on adventure! Yarrrrr!”

—Told by the Red Dragon

#99: How Did You Do That?

#97: The Snot Eater, Part 4: The Tsunami