A New Ending to An Old Story

"Puff the Magic Dragon, lived by the sea, and frolicked in the Autumn mist in a land called Honalee..."

And so it goes, that melodious tune that conjures up feelings of freedom and playfulness and then sadness and loss.  As a small child I would get tears in my eyes when I heard the part about Jackie Paper coming no more.  How sad for Puff.  How sad for Jackie.  It would seem these feelings about the song's ending are universal, at least I heard the same sentiments from my daughter when she heard the story.  "Puff the Magic Dragon" was one of many fanciful stories the 8th graders came down to read to the 1st graders on a Thursday afternoon.  It is a beautifully illustrated rendition of the story, complete with a heart-broken Puff, when it would seem his life long friend was moving on.  My daughter came home and told me that her class was going to write a new ending to the story; that it didn't feel good to end it the way it did.  In this particular story book which they had been gazing upon, a fresh idea had been born.  The 2nd to last page of the book shows a small girl, peering at Puff, Puff with an expression of anticipation and delight.  And on the last page, this girl is fully engaged in the make believe world that Puff inhabits, and peeking from behind, a grown man, with a smile on a his face.  A smile of warmth.  A smile for Puff, for his beloved magic dragon now had a new playmate.  And a smile for the little girl, his daughter, for she has a childhood of adventures waiting for her.  And a smile for himself, because in getting a chance to glimpse the magic, he got to embrace it once again too, for there are few things in the world as warm and inviting as a remembered sense of something beautiful.

And so, my daughter's class wrote a new ending.  An ending where Puff and "Sally Paper played along the cherry lane."  The whole class sings together, while their magnificent teacher plays the guitar.  My daughter's proud of that new ending. She talks about how this song is special to them, special to 1st grade and that they like to sing it together during snack time and when they take walks outside.  They added to the magic and in doing so can participate in it in their own way.  Knowing that this magic was encouraged and brought to life in part by the teacher leaves me with a feeling of such gratitude.  And so, to my daughter's 1st grade teacher:  Thank you for taking the time to hear their experiences of the story, Thank you for taking the time to help them retell it in a way that felt good to them. And thank you for taking up your guitar and making the music that carries the magic that they bring into the world.