He said he was there to repair the dragon and to make a mold so he could replicate the beast for the entrance to Clark's farm. He didn't realize the grinder he was using would hit a layer of paper inside the dragon's fiberglass head and start a fire.
After Cline made a frenzied dash into the nearby pet store for water, the Howard County fire department put out the blaze and helped Cline remove the remains. He said he has made a replacement that he hopes will be installed soon.
Next up for Clark's is the repair of the dish and the spoon from the children's rhyme and, after much debate about what is supposed to be in Willie the Whale's mouth, a figure of Jonah to go with the giant creature.
Among the newcomers, Cline added one touch of his own.
That's him -- or a small, fiberglass replica of him -- wearing his signature white fedora hat and holding a can of purple paint among the old woman's "so many children" on the two-story purple shoe.
He said the new figure "guarantees I'll play in the Enchanted Forest happily ever after. That's what all children want to do when they come here. That's how I felt when I was little."
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Clark's Elioak Farm, 10500 Clarksville Pike (Route 108), is open Tuesday through Sunday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Information: www.clarklandfarm.com or 410-730-4049.
FARM'S NEW FACES
There are some new residents at Clark's Elioak Farm this year:
Rapunzel and the lute-playing dragon on the castle entrance
Cinderella, her prince and their coachman
Sleeping Beauty's prince
One of the three little pigs
Jill of "Jack and Jill" and their pail of water
Goldilocks and Baby Bear
A schoolmarm for the little red schoolhouse
The Merry Miller (the first animated figure at Clark's) and four dancing mice
Four new children for "the old woman who lived in a shoe"
Mary, Mary, Quite Contrary has also been refurbished and returned to the farm.
