No friendship is imaginary. When Ellie is very little, she finds a newborn dragon fresh from the egg on a supermarket shelf, and calls him Scratch. He is quite the sweetest thing she has ever seen! From that day on, Ellie and Scratch do everything together. Ellie's mum and her teacher can't see her fiery friend, but all her friends can - and, over the years, Ellie's dragon grows to be big, house-trained, and very affectionate. And Ellie is growing, too.