Only one Phoenix bird, the bird of fire, ever exists. Resembling both an eagle and a peacock, he lives for hundreds or thousands of years. At the end of his life, he sets fire to his nest and is consumed by flames. A young Phoenix is reborn from those same flames. The first Phoenix was present in the Garden of Eden and the Phoenix will exist for eternity, but he will be lonely, the only one of his kind.

The Phoenix has been celebrated in magic and mythology and literature for all time. He may have been heard of first in Arabia or that may be where he first lived and then he appears in Egyptian mythology, closely associated with the worship of the sun.

In ancient Greece, he was a symbol of immortality and of resurrection and closely associated with Phoebus, the sun god. The Phoenix bird was believed to live in a cool well and sing so beautifully at dawn that the Sun god would stop his chariot to listen.

In Rome, they knew the story of the phoenix bird and the Roman poet, Claudian wrote about him

“The willing bird; to burn is his desire.
That he may live again; he’s proud in death,
And goes in haste to gain a better breath.”

By the ninth century, the Phoenix was known in England and features in a famous anglo-saxon poem in the Exeter Book of Leofric, which still lies in Exeter Cathedral Library. By then the Phoenix, the death and resurrection of the bird was a representation of Christianity.

One of Shakespeare’s most difficult love poems was called The Phoenix and The Turtle, but the most moving poem about the bird is in the poem The Phoenix Bird by Hans Christian Andersen, read charmingly here:

The Phoenix will live forever with us as a special and magical bird, which is why he also features quite so much in children’s books, including the forthcoming Guardians of The Scroll, sequel to The Palace Library.

1. Your house is likely to burn down.

Much of your house is made of wood. The floors, the roof timbers, maybe the walls. If you live in a thatched house, the roof is made of straw. As soon as a ‘pet’ dragon breathes out, it will, of course, be breathing fire. The curtains will burn, then the walls and soon you won’t have a home any more.

2. They steal anything shiny.

You will have heard about magpies collecting shiny things and keeping them in their nests. Dragons are much, much worse. Dragons like to steal anything shiny and especially anything made of gold, like a ring on your finger. They might bite your finger off to get at the ring too. Then you’ll never get it back (the ring nor the finger). Dragons are worse hoarders than misers.

3. Even baby dragons are not cute or cuddly.

Everyone loves puppies or kittens. They are so cuddly and can be forgiven anything, as you can pick them up and stroke them. The problem with a dragon, even a baby dragon, is their skin is all tough and scaly. You can’t stroke them at all – even if you can near them. Of course, if you will not accept my advice and do keep a dragon as a pet, don’t get a puppy. It will eat it.

4. Dragons eat babies.

If you think dragons might like puppies or kittens as a tasty snack, there’s still more to worry about. Dragons eat babies the moment someone looks away. They’re not sensitive about whose baby it is, or whether he or she lives in the house with them. They’re cruel like that.

5. Dragons are huge – even little ones.

Another problem with dragons is that they are huge. If you are very lucky and live in a huge house and think that’s OK, then think again. I mean really huge. Longer than a long car. Fatter than a fat cow. That means they are heavy and as soon as they start stomping around inside (and I mean stomp as they really want to be outside), they’ll start breaking things.

6. Dragons are warriors, not domestic pets.

Dragons are fighters and warriors and are not friendly. That’s why great Kings put dragons on their flags and shields, like Uther Pendragon, father of King Arthur. In fact generally, they are downright evil, which is why King Arthur had to kill one. If you want a dragon, it’s better to have a picture of a dragon on a wall.

7. Dragons need a lot to eat – especially if they have several heads.

Dragons eat a lot and want a lot of meat (quite apart from all the puppies and babies). In fact, even if you run a butcher’s shop, it’s unlikely you will be able to give them enough food. Remember, a dragon needs at least six meals a days, plus snacks. Some dragons have three or more heads. That makes them even hungrier.

8. Dragons live a long time.

Dragons can live for hundreds or thousands of years. Even if you are one of those one-in-ten-million people who can actually befriend a dragon, it will live far longer than you. And even an evil dragon can be lonely, so it’s no fair on the poor thing.
 
 
 

So, in short, “DON’T KEEP A DRAGON AS A PET!”

Do you have any suggestions why you shouldn’t keep a dragon?