Mina had ten gold coins and one small problem.
The problem was in the window of Mr Oduya’s shop. It was a blue sledge with a rope the colour of strawberries, and it cost eleven coins.
“Ten is nearly eleven,” said Mina.
“Nearly,” said Pip, the very small star who lived in her coat pocket. “But sledges don’t sell for nearly.”
Mina had already done every job she could find. She had fed the hens. She had swept the step. There were no more jobs, and the first snow was only a few weeks away.
“There is one more thing you could try,” said Pip. “But you’d have to climb the hill. And you’d have to talk to the dragon.”
Everybody in the village knew about the dragon. Her name was Ember, she was as big as a bus, and she lived in a cave full of tiny wooden chests. Nobody knew what was in them.
Mina climbed the hill. Her knees wobbled a bit, so she told them to stop.
The cave was warm. Ember looked at Mina over a pair of tiny round spectacles.
“Good morning,” said the dragon. “Have you come to lend me your coins?”
“Lend you?” said Mina. “What for?”
“Dragons love gold,” said Ember. “We like to sleep on it. So here is my offer. Put your ten coins in one of my chests, and I will keep them very safe. When the first snow falls, come back, and I will give you your ten coins, plus one more, to say thank you for the loan.”
Mina did the sum on her fingers. Ten plus one was eleven. Eleven was a sledge.
“What’s the catch?” she asked, because her grandad had told her always to ask that.
Ember smiled, which showed a lot of teeth. “A very sensible question. The catch is waiting. You may have your coins back any day you like. They are yours. But if you take them before the snow, you only get the ten. The extra coin is for waiting. It’s called interest.”
Mina put her coins in the chest. It made a small, sad clunk.
The waiting was the hardest job she had ever done.
On Monday, her brother Kofi bought a bag of toffee and ate it in front of her, slowly. On Thursday there was a yo-yo at the market that lit up. Twice, Mina got halfway up the hill to fetch her coins. Both times Pip said, “It’s your choice. They’re your coins.” Both times she stood there for a bit, thinking about strawberry-coloured rope, and then she walked back down.
Then one morning the light in her bedroom looked different. It was very white and very quiet.
Mina ran up the hill in her pyjamas and wellies.
Ember was waiting at the mouth of the cave, with snow on her nose. She opened the chest with one careful claw and counted out the coins, one by one. Ten. Then she reached under her wing and put down one more. It was warm.
“Thank you for the loan,” said the dragon.
By lunchtime Mina was at the top of the hill on a blue sledge. Kofi was standing next to her.
“Can I have a go?” he said.
Mina thought about the toffee. She thought about it for quite a long time.
“You can,” she said. “After me.”
And she flew.