LIAM
THE DRAGON SLAYER
By Grandma
Baadsgaard
Happy Birthday
Liam. You are strong. You can fight the dragon.
I love you.
Liam lived in a quaint village in
Denmark surrounded by farmer’s fields and bordered by a deep, dark forest. In
the beginning, all the villagers worked together to plant and harvest crops,
forge pots and swords then spin and weave their sheep’s wool into cloth for
their clothing.
Each year at harvest time, the villagers
would place an offering for the dragon that lived in the forest so he wouldn’t
carry off their children. At first the dragon was pacified but soon the
offerings weren’t enough and the dragon began taking one of their children each
year.
When the villagers saw the dragon flying
toward the village, they frantically tried to grab their children and run away
to safety. But the dragon was always
quicker than the slowest child. Each year one more child would turn up missing.
Soon the villagers became angry with each other for running away too fast so that
their child would be the one who went missing. Soon villagers refused to trade goods
with each other. Before long they all became poor. Year after year the village
grew darker until it was as threatening as the forest.
All the children lived in constant fear
never knowing when the dragon would strike. Then one day when they were least
expecting it, the fire breathing dragon would fly into the village, pluck a child
out of the horrified crowd, then fly high into the sky and disappear into the
forest. When it was discovered who was missing, the family of the missing child
would weep and mourn for their hearts had been broken.
Liam watched as his village and his
family grew darker and more afraid every day. One day Liam decided that if
anything was going to change, he had to be the one to do it. He gathered all
the villagers and stood on a platform so they could all hear him.
“Don’t blame each other,” Liam yelled.
“Blame the dragon. We must join together and slay the dragon so that he will
never take another child again.”
“The dragon is huge and we are small,”
one villager replied as he shook his head.
“The dragon can fly and we cannot,”
another villager said.
“The dragon spews fire,” a child said.
We cannot fight the dragon.”
“Today I will forge a sword and I will
be ready for the dragon,” Liam answered. “I will carve a whistle with a
disturbing sound frequency only dragons can hear. Who will join me to fight the
dragon?”
All of the villagers looked at Liam, shook
their heads and walked away. Liam spent months forging his sword, practicing
his dragon slaying techniques and carving his dragon whistle. The next time the
dragon flew down into the village, Liam was ready. But something happened he
did not expect. Liam watched in horror as the dragon flew into the village,
picked up his brother and flew toward the forest before he could stop him. Liam
took out his dragon whistle and blew with all his might. Dragon whistles drive
dragons mad. The dragon stopped in mid-flight and turned back toward the
village.
“Give me back my brother!” Liam shouted.
Startled at the unexpected piecing sound
from the whistle and the annoying disturbance displayed by a young boy, the
dragon dropped Liam’s brother Gideon and flew toward the boy who dared to
confront him. Liam grabbed the sword in
a leather sheath at his side. He thought about how much he loved his brother,
trust the sword over his head and swung the blade with all his might. The
dragon laughed as the blade missed him and sliced through the air. Then the
dragon spewed a huge billowing ball of fire toward Liam. Liam knew the dragon’s
burst of fire was about to consume him and his brother if he didn’t move quickly.
He darted away from the fire as the dragon walked toward Liam’s brother.
“You will not take one more child,” Liam
yelled so the dragon would turn toward him. “You will never hurt a child again!”
Liam’s brother Gideon cowered against a
tree; his leg broken and unable to flee. Liam knew he was the only person between
his brother and death. The dragon threw his head back and laughed at Liam’s
annoying disruption.
Liam acted quickly while the dragon was
distracted. Darting between the dragon’s legs, Liam and swung the sword with
all his might. He cut off the front legs and watched as the dragon fell forward
with a loud crash. Then he swung the sword again and smote off the dragon’s
back legs. Then Liam climbed up on the dragon and thrust his sword into the heart
of the beast. The dragon roared in pain, spread his wings and flew painfully toward
the dark forest.
Liam ran to his brother and picked him
up in his arms.
“I will never leave you to fight the
dragon alone,” Liam said. “I am your brother. I will always be at your side and
protect you.”
Then Liam stood and shook his fist at
the forest.
“Don’t ever come for another child again
for I will stand and fight you and I will win,” Liam yelled.
Liam and Gideon heard the dragon’s last painful
roar and together they watched as the dark forest burst into flames and the
dragon was at last consumed – never to return again.
