The Green Anole
Posted by Martha · Jul 30, 2015
One early summer morning, Elspeth seemed to doze peacefully on the moss below the Japanese maple. Her colorful scales glistened in the sunlight. From time to time though, as elfin dragons are wont to do, her vigilant eyes opened and peered from side to side, up and down. After all, she considered it her job to observe all, absolutely all, that transpired on Miss Martha's Patios. So those eyes quickly, often, and thoroughly scanned the parameters of the patio. A leaf rustled slightly.
Her scales rippled down her back to her flickering tail. "Just who are you?" she interrogated.
All was quiet.
"I asked you a question. Who are you?" Elspeth repeated. She could be quite fierce.
Several moments later, a tiny tinkling voice replied, "Desdemona. I'm Desdemona. I'm a green anole."
The elfin dragon had climbed the maple to have a closer look. "What is a green anole, please?" inquired the dragon in a decidedly more gentle tone.
"Well, actually I'm related to iguanas who are lizards. We're all very small and very green when on any green foliage. But, watch this!"
She sprang agilely from the stevia leaf to the trunk of the Japanese maple. As she landed, she changed colors from a bright green to a light brown. All in a moment's time. "So you see I can dress myself in 'camp.' The long word is camouflage."
Desdemona was, by this time, facing Elspeth on a maple branch. The elfin dragon was at a loss for words. She was intrigued by this delicate presence.
Finally, though, the dragon found her voice. "My name is Elspeth. Do you think we may be cousins, Desdemona? I'm an elfin dragon. We're related to lizards. I've come from another land called Caelumen with my best friends."
"I'd like to meet your friends, Elspeth. I could come every morning if you'd like."
"That would be my pleasure, and I'd be happy to introduce you, Desdemona. Everyone will be 'over the moon' when you show them your changing trick. It's a stunner."
The two touched noses. They talked for a short while but soon the anole leapt away to another ledge, down the wall, and disappeared into the shrubs below. She had other places to go and other creatures to visit.
Elspeth stayed on the cool moss for some time after her new friend left. She was pleased. Lizards wait patiently, she thought to herself. She remembered Master Jock saying one day, "Good things come to those who wait." And, so tomorrow, with the early morning sun, she would wait for Desdemona's return. (la fin from Midtown Atlanta, Georgia, USA - Earth)
