MAGIC IN THE MIST

Once, when mountains sang and people listened, when Cader Idris was covered by snow and Plynlimon was hidden by fog, there lived in western Wales a boy named Thomas."" Thomas, who is studying with indifferent success to be a wizard, lives alone with a toad called Jeremy, and one blustery day when the wind stops and the bog and the sea seem hushed and waiting, he finds a small dragon in the marsh grasses. About all that happens is that the dragon kindles Thomas' fire and teaches him and Jeremy to sing, then disappears in the night leaving the previously cold, damp hut snug and cheerful to this day. However, Kimmel tells the story with such unobtrusively melodic fluency that it's a pleasure to listen.