From Whence they Came
Once upon a time, there was a young man who loved a beautiful girl. They both loved each other very much, but one day, a dragon came along and kidnapped the beautiful girl. So the young man set out to the dragon’s lair that sat upon the old mountain that was nearby. The young man walked on the road to the mountain, but was stopped by an old woman.
The old woman asked him, “Are you heading up to the old mountain where the dragon lives?”
The young man replied, “Yes I am. The dragon has kidnapped my love, and I wish to rescue her.”
The old woman exclaimed, “You’re going to challenge the dragon!? You have nothing on you! How are you to defend yourself from the dragon’s flames? At least take this shield to protect you from the dragon’s fire breath!”
So the young man took the shield and walked on his way. Further down the road, he came across an elderly man, who stopped him.
The old man asked him, “Are you heading up to the old mountain where the dragon lives?”
The young man replied, “Yes I am. The dragon has kidnapped my love, and I wish to rescue her.”
The old man exclaimed, “You’re going to challenge the dragon!? You have nothing but that shield to defend yourself! How are you to slay the dragon? At least take this sword to pierce the dragon's scaly skin!
So the young man took the sword and walked on his way. Further down the road, he came across a young boy, who stopped him.
The little boy asked him, “Are you heading up to the old mountain where the dragon lives?”
The young man replied, “Yes I am. The dragon has kidnapped my love, and I wish to rescue her.”
The little boy whispered softly, “You’re going to challenge the dragon? You march at him with shield and sword, that you might slay him? None who’ve set out to do so have done so. But if you remain set in your way, take with you my hope, for ‘tis all I have.”
So the young man accepted the little boy’s hope and started the arduous climb up the old mountain. He reached the top, and saw the cave that bellowed smoke where the dragon lived. He entered, and proclaimed to the fearsome dragon that had kidnapped his love, “Hear me dragon! You have kidnapped my love, and I shall rescue her!”
The dragon blasted his fiery flame breath at the young man, who blocked it with his shield. But then the dragon lumbered forward, swiped its mighty claw, and felled the man with the young man with the sheer force of the blow, knocking sword, shield, and breath, from the young man. The young man, pinned beneath the dragon’s claw, stared the fearsome dragon in the face, and said through gritted teeth, “I shan’t yet die dragon, for I too shall hope like the little boy, for ‘tis all I have now.”
‘Twas a day later, when the bruised, battered, and bloodied young man walked down the dusty road with his equally injured love in his arms. He glanced at the side of the road, towards the body of a little boy. The little boy was staring at the sky, unblinking, clutching his chest where his heart was. The young man knew that ‘twas hope that made the little boy keel over as he did. The young man knew that neither he nor his love would be alive without that little boy’s hope. The young man continued shambling back down the road with his love, back to the village from whence they came, where they lived happily ever after.
-Josh
No comments:
Post a Comment