Once upon a time, a long, long time ago, about 3 o'clock last Thursday, a little girl dragon was hatched. She had big eyes, a long green tail with little sharp points all down the top. She had little rosy wings she would sometimes hide her face in, a huge mouth and a special hot breath that could cook things.

Now, Poly, for that was her name, was a good little dragon, but she was always making messes (according to her mother) because she just LOVED to play in the mud. It was so soft and squishy - and she could make it into little dishes, plates and cups and have a tea party. She would use her magic flames to make the clay hard. But the bowls and cups weren't very pretty because they were just dirt colored. Also, Poly always seemed to forget to wash her hands (and feet and tail) before she went into the cave. Her mother sure didn't like that!

Little Poly grew and grew and started to get big enough to explore her world. One day she discovered a big black pot turned upside down. It had been left there by a good fairy. Poly lifted the pot up and was so surprised she sat down hard! Under the black pot was a glittering, shining pile of blocks in every color of the rainbow. There was yellow like the warm sun, red like the sweet wild rose, blue as cool as the water in the stream, green as bright as a new leaf, orange as tangy as her favorite tangerines, and a purple as royal as her party dress. There was even some black and white just like her mother's dress up shoes.

Poly picked up the sunshiny yellow block and held it in her hands. She squeezed it a little and she found out it was soft. So, Poly started rolling it into a ball, then a snake. "Oh, this is fun," she said. Then she played with all the colorful blocks and they were soft, too. Soon Poly had a whole pile of soft balls and little snakes.

She found a long, really skinny stick, and she stuck the balls on it and wrapped the snakes around the stick, too. Poly wondered what she could do with them. Then she remembered; when she had played with the brown mud clay, if she blew her magic fire breath on it, the clay got hard. Would that happen this time? Poly tried it on just one of the balls. And the greatest thing happened!! The clay got hard. So Poly blew her hot breath on all the colored balls and snakes and they got nice and hard.

When they were cool, Poly took them off the stick and now she had a whole pocket full of pretty colored balls and coiled snakes. She rolled them on the ground and stacked them up. Then she saw a vine wrapped around a branch. Poly had an idea. She took the vine down and threaded all her red, yellow, orange, blue, green, purple and black and white beads and coils onto the vine. Poly had the most BEAUTIFUL colored necklace in the whole world.

Now Poly grew up and made all sorts of things out of her colorful clay: bracelets, pins, magnets, book marks, gifts for her mother, father and friends. She also had friends that gave her colored clay gifts and she kept them at her castle where she had moved to when she got grown. Poly kept them in her treasure room so they were safe. She loved to look at them and she would share them with her friends.

Poly had LOTS of friends: faries, elves, gnomes, princes, princesses and even a couple of trolls. They liked her treasures so much that they wanted some, too. Poly wanted to keep most of her treasures for herself but she thought it would be fun to show all her friends how to make their own colored clay treasures to share or to keep. So Poly invited her friends to her clay castle not only to look at all her treasures, but also to teach them how to make their own.

Whenever you come to Poly's castle, walk quickly over the bridge across the moat. Don't fall in or the moat monster might grab your clay! And look for Poly to show you how to play with the clay. Always remember the clay rules so you don't wind up in the castle's dungeon. Climb the Tower stairs to find out all her clay lessons and be sure to stop by the Keep for easy-to-find Frequently Asked Questions. Be sure to drop into the kitchen for a snack after you wash your hands. Don't forget a trip to the Treasure Room to see all of Poly's special clay treasures.

Poly always loves company and she invites you to come and bring your friends for a visit to the Clay Castle. Maybe you'll meet the Moat Monster, or the friendly Chatelaine and her baby ChewChew, or Sir Knight or some of Poly's other special friends.

So come and visit. We'll all be watching for you!