"Cradle of Life" by Stephanie Pui-Mun Law

Inspired by the short story -Green Serpent- by Marie-Catherine D'Aulnoy, a 17th century version of the old Psyche and Eros tale. However, Eros is replaced with a man cursed with the form of a green serpent. The curse is his penance for slighting a goddess. The following is an excerpt from the part when the princess (Psyche-role) first comes to the prince/serpent's palace on his island. She was taken there by a magic ship, but midway to her destination, there was a storm…. ''Completely at the mercy of the winds, the vessel drifted on until it struck a rock and immediately shattered into pieces. The poor princess realized that mere philosophizing would not save her in such a catastrophe, and she grabbed onto some pieces of the wreck, so she thought, for she felt herself buoyed in the water and fortunately reached the shore, coming to rest at the foot of a towering boulder. Alas, she was horrified to discover that her savior was none other than the green serpent!''

To see a detail of the dragon, go to: http://www.shadowscapes.com/details/cradled.shtml