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The Sleeping Dragons: Welsh Dragon Story for Toddlers

Welsh Story for Toddlers

The Sleeping Dragons

Y Dreigiau sy’n Cysgu

A gentle Welsh legend for young children, with English storytelling and simple Welsh words on the same page.

Age: 2–5 Theme: Wales & the Flag Read time: 6–8 minutes Learning: Welsh power words
Draig Coch • Red Dragon
Parent note: The Welsh words stay on the page. The read-aloud voice uses English-safe spoken lines so it does not pronounce Welsh badly. Use the blue pronunciation guides to say the Welsh words together.

Welsh Words to Learn

Castell Say it like: KAS-tell Castle
Brenin Say it like: BREN-in King
O Na! Say it like: oh nah Oh no!
Bachgen Say it like: BACH-gen Boy
Mynydd Say it like: MUN-ith Mountain
Dŵr Say it like: door Water
Twll Say it like: tool Hole
Draig Say it like: dryg Dragon
Coch Say it like: kokh Red
Gwyn Say it like: gwin White
Cymru Say it like: KUM-ree Wales
Hwre! Say it like: HOO-ray Hooray!

Say Together

Draig Coch
dryg kokh Red Dragon

Story Sounds

Heavy Stones

Clomp, clomp, clomp.

Falling Wall

Crash! Bang! Wallop!

Dragon Roar

ROAR!

Chapter 1: The Wobbly Castle

Castell KAS-tell — Castle

Brenin BREN-in — King

O Na! oh nah — Oh no!

Long ago, there was a king called Vortigern.

He was a very busy Brenin BREN-in — a king.

He wanted a strong stone house.

He wanted to build a Castell KAS-tell — a castle.

The builders lifted the heavy stones.

Clomp, clomp, clomp.

Up, up, up went the walls.

But the next morning, the King looked outside.

“O Na! oh nah Oh no!” cried the King.

The walls had fallen down.

Crash! Bang! Wallop!

“Why does my castle keep falling down?” asked the sad King.

Chapter 2: The Clever Boy

Bachgen BACH-gen — Boy

Call kall — Clever or wise

Mynydd MUN-ith — Mountain

The King asked everyone for help.

No one knew why the walls kept falling.

Then a little Bachgen BACH-gen came to the mountain.

His name was Myrddin.

Myrddin was call kall — clever and wise.

He looked at the broken stones.

He looked at the grass.

He put his ear to the ground on the Mynydd MUN-ith — the mountain.

“Shhh,” whispered Myrddin. “Listen.”

Thump-thump. Thump-thump.

It sounded like a giant heart under the ground.

“Something is moving under your castle,” said the clever boy.

Chapter 3: Digging Deep

Dŵr door — Water

Twll tool — Hole

Mawr mawr — Big

“We must dig,” said Myrddin.

The King’s men brought their shovels.

Dig, dig, dig!

They made a twll tool — a hole.

Then they made a twll mawr tool mawr — a big hole.

Suddenly — splosh!

They found dark, deep dŵr door — water.

“Look at the water,” said the King.

But Myrddin pointed carefully.

“Look! Bubbles!”

Bloop, bloop, bloop.

Something very big was waking up.

Chapter 4: Two Dragons

Draig dryg — Dragon

Coch kokh — Red

Gwyn gwin — White

The water splashed everywhere.

Whoosh!

Out came a Draig dryg — a dragon.

It was a Draig Gwyn dryg gwin — a white dragon.

It had shiny scales and a long tail.

Then — ROAR!

Out came another dragon.

It was a Draig Coch dryg kokh — a red dragon.

The Red Dragon had bright wings and big eyes.

The dragons had been sleeping for a long, long time.

Now they were grumpy.

The White Dragon hissed.

The Red Dragon roared back.

They flew into the sky.

Chapter 5: The Red Dragon Wins

Cymru KUM-ree — Wales

Hwre! HOO-ray — Hooray!

Ennill EN-ill — Win

The two dragons danced in the sky.

The White Dragon was strong.

But the Red Dragon was faster.

The Draig Coch dryg kokh flew high.

He breathed a little puff of smoke.

Then he gave one big push.

The Red Dragon won. Ennill! EN-ill

The White Dragon flew away to find a new place to sleep.

The Red Dragon landed on the Mynydd MUN-ith — the mountain.

He looked at the people and smiled.

“This is the dragon of Cymru KUM-ree — Wales,” said Myrddin.

The King built his castle again.

This time, the walls stayed standing.

And that is why, even today, there is a Draig Coch dryg kokh on the Welsh flag.

Hwre! HOO-ray Hooray!

Mini Games

Build the Castle

O Na!

Dig for Water

Red Dragon Wins

Hwre!

One-Page Printable Activity

Colour the Red Dragon, trace the Welsh words, and draw a castle on the mountain.

© Prydain.co.uk — Welsh stories and language learning for young children.

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