Breathing out smoke

I am uncertain when I first heard the original song, but I recall remembering it by the time a TV show began on one winter vacation during my elementary school days. The show was a cartoon concerning a dragon called Puff and was probably stemming from the popular song. I watched a lot of TV in my childhood, and it being close to Christmas, I filled my days happily dabbling in the art of sitting on the lounge stuffing my stomach full of hideous snacks and staring at that mechanical box of pictures and words. Neither the song nor the TV show would be likely to raise a memory, had it not been for an imagination game I used to play in conjunction with them.

Where I grew up in the South of England, it was very cold in winter. Every year, there would be many frosts; sometimes we would also have snow. My family have never owned or used a car, preferring to walk or use a pushbike if not taking the bus. Early in the morning during the colder months, if we went for a walk to the shop or farm our breath would smoke out as the heat of our inner air met the chill of the world outside us. Somedays, I would pretend that I was Puff the magic dragon as I walked beside a parent in the chilled morning air, my lungs billowing out a smoke-like cloud. I cannot recall the details of the game, but I recall intentionally puffing out these billowing vapors of pretend dragon-smoke. I also recall singing part of the song on a few occasions, as I skipped along beside my mother or father. I would not have known the entire lyrics, but the chorus alone was enough to burst out along with the fake smoke and keep me content on a freezing cold day upon which I might otherwise have complained.