For my father

One cold rainy day when my father was a little boy, he met an old alley cat on his street.

He took chewing gum, two dozen pink lollipops, a package of rubber bands, black boots, a compass, a toothbrush and a tube of toothpaste, six magnifying glasses, a very sharp jackknife, a comb and a hairbrush, seven hair ribbons of different colors, an empty grain bag with a label saying "Cranberry," some clean clothes, and enough food to last my father while he was on the ship. (p. 20)

But my father and the dragon knew that nothing in the world would ever make them go back to Wild Island.