Fairy Tales: Puff the Magic Dragon
This fairy tale came to us in 1963 (based on a poem my Leonard Lipton) via Peter, Paul, and Mary, the sensitive, folksy singing musical group of the 60s and 70s. This is definitely the most recent fairy tale that will be illustrated this week. Most of our fairy tales were written long before the 1900s… many of them before the 1700s. But I could not pass up this coming-of-age story about a boy and his magical dragon. As a child, I don’t think there was a song I loved more. I loved the soft melody about the land of Honalee, the autumn mist, and the dragon who played there.
Maybe some of you have heard rumors about this story and its “other meaning”. Take a look at wikipedia and read what Peter, Paul, and Mary said about this false speculation. They really felt it was a song about the hardships of growing older and coming out of childhood. So the subject of Puff the Magic Dragon and Jackie Paper playing with him is really a beautiful depiction of childhood imagination and innocence. I hope you see that in this piece. It’s what I love about the song… and loved when I was that innocent little one. I bet many of you did too!
A couple details to point out. The boy’s name in the song is Jackie Paper. Notice he has a newspaper folded hat on his head? 
And notice that the smoke the dragon is blowing from his nose is twinkling? That’s because he’s a magic dragon… so naturally his “exhaust” is magical too. Did you ever wonder what Honalee in the autumn looked like? This is how I see it in my imagination. It’s fun to bring something like this story to life. I’m glad several of you asked for this one. I knew I couldn’t pass it up. And I knew the week of boy-targeted fairy tales wouldn’t be complete without at least one dragon making an appearance.
I’ll close this post by leaving you with the original lyrics to the song. If you want to listen to it, check it out in its original version by Peter, Paul, and Mary. Go to grooveshark.com and do a simple search for it and you’ll find it.
Puff the Magic Dragon
Peter, Paul, and Mary, ca. 1963
Puff, the magic dragon lived by the sea
And frolicked in the autumn mist in a land called Honalee
Little Jackie Paper loved that rascal Puff,
and brought him strings and sealing wax and other fancy stuff. Oh
Puff, the magic dragon lived by the sea
And frolicked in the autumn mist in a land called Honalee
Puff, the magic dragon lived by the sea
And frolicked in the autumn mist in a land called Honalee
Together they would travel on a boat with billowed sail
Jackie kept a lookout perched on Puff’s gigantic tail,
Noble kings and princes would bow whene’er they came,
Pirate ships would lower their flags when Puff roared out his name. Oh
Puff, the magic dragon lived by the sea
And frolicked in the autumn mist in a land called Honalee
Puff, the magic dragon lived by the sea
And frolicked in the autumn mist in a land called Honalee
A dragon lives forever but not so little boys
Painted wings and giant’s rings make way for other toys.
One grey night it happened, Jackie Paper came no more
And Puff that mighty dragon, he ceased his fearless roar.
His head was bent in sorrow, green scales fell like rain,
Puff no longer went to play along the cherry lane.
Without his life-long friend, Puff could not be brave,
So Puff that mighty dragon sadly slipped into his cave. Oh
Puff, the magic dragon lived by the sea
And frolicked in the autumn mist in a land called Honalee
Puff, the magic dragon lived by the sea
And frolicked in the autumn mist in a land called Honalee
I am so in love with this one! Thank you!
LOVE this one! Thank you!
So, tonight I was typing your website and said to myself, Come on, be Puff the Magic Dragon! And it is! Yea!!! Love it!
When I go to download Puff the Magic Dragon, it’s downloading Jack and the Beanstalk.
I double check everything and it should be working. Make sure your close your browser and then you can try again?! Maybe clear cache? Sorry.
Puff the Magic Dragon was one of my favorite stories. I can still sing you the song today. So cute!
Love, love, LOVE! Thank you so much! My two year old adores the dragon taking a bath
)
you should 2 weeks of fairytales! They are so cute
The song was one of my favorites, too, as a child. Thanks for doing this!
Oh wonderful!! I’m so glad that you are doing fairytales for boys – I was hoping I’d have some pictures I could use for my son!
An idea if you really want to keep the fairytale theme going – you could also do a week for just animal fairytales (which would be gender neutral). I thought stories like the Ugly Ducking, the Three Little Pigs, etc. could fit into this category. Just an idea.