© Copyright 2001 TheTalewagger Daisy the Daytime Dragon by The TaleWagger   Far away in Times-Gonebye, there was a very special village called Strood. Thanks to the hard work of its people, it had grown in size, and wealth, to become the finest village of all villages in the land. Just a few miles away, craggy mountains rose to the sky and each night giant columns of flame burst from their peaks. The villagers believed that the mountains were the home of many Fire Gods and everyone stayed well away from them. Although they feared the Fire Gods and were scared that their homes might be burnt down, the villagers knew that the Flaming Mountains kept them safe, on that side at least, from attack by bandits and thieves. Once a week, to please the Fire Gods they left food at the bottom of the mountains and on those nights, they huddled together in fear as they watched as the flames came down from the mountains and moved towards their village. However, each week the flames stopped at the food and, in the morning, the food was gone! As the villagers had lots of food, they were happy to make this payment in exchange for their safety. Then it all changed!   Upon hearing of its wealth, an army of bandits and brigands started to raid the village. Very soon all the wealth was gone, but for weeks afterwards they would still turn up and demand food: the very food that the villagers needed for themselves and the Fire Gods! With only a few cattle, sheep and horses remaining and very little food left, the villagers were no longer able to feed everyone. Something had to be done! About this time, a shepherd was risking his life in the fiery mountains. He was looking for a missing sheep and, although he failed to it, he discovered a glimmer of hope. He had found what appeared be a small pass through the mountains! He shouted out with joy as he realised that it could be a way to freedom, to a New Life. The shepherd dashed back to the village and told the others of his find. They chatted amongst themselves for a short time then, with no other choice, they all decided to flee to the mountains, even at the risk of being burnt to death. A few days later, just before the bandits were due to raid their village again, they left their homes. Their eyes were full of tears but their hearts were filled with a New Hope. Horses and carts, carrying sleepy children and what little food they had left, led the way as they moved quietly towards a clearing at the entrance to the mountain pass. A few hours later they were camped there, waiting for the sun to rise and for the Fire Gods to stop their searing flames. Would this small passage between the towering peaks be their pathway to a New Life, or Death in the flaming fingers of Fire Gods?   Meanwhile, as was usual, on the mountain peaks some dragons were going about their nightly work of standing on their hind-legs and belching flames into the sky. Of course, this was the reason that the villagers thought that there were Fire Gods. In fact, the dragons were only hoping to scare humans away from their mountains and their baby dragons but the weekly feast that the humans left was a pleasant bonus! Many years before, to escape from being hunted by the dreaded dragon-slayers, they had moved to the mountains and were living in the mountain caves. When the villagers lit fires to keep warm, the dragons that were on duty became afraid that the humans were going to attack them and they called to the others for help. Within minutes, more than eighty dragons were roaring and belching flames that covered the tops of the mountains and threatened to engulf everyone. The villagers thought that the mountains were about to erupt, so they knelt down and prayed that they would be spared. On the other side of the mountains was a second ridge of mountains and, between them, a large fertile plain. In one of the large caves that faced onto the plain, an elderly grandmother-dragon was looking after several dragon eggs. Suddenly, the gentle smile on her face turned to a look of despair as the roaring of the dragons echoed around the mountains. The cave shook and eggs began to roll about and she frantically rushed around trying to stop them from rolling out of the cave. However, unseen by her as she was pushing the others to the back of the cave, one of the eggs rolled straight out of the cave, across the path, and down the side of the mountain towards the plain. (Now, two things you must realise about dragon eggs in Times-Goneby, the first is that they are very tough and the other is that, as these dragons only come out at night, their eggs must only hatch-out at night. A dragon is not as scary in the sunlight, and is therefore easy prey for a wily dragon-slayer.)   Next morning the villagers were eager to get on their way, hoping to get through the mountains before the Fire Gods were aroused again. They slowly journeyed up, down, and finally out of the mountains and arrived in fertile fields by a river. Quickly everyone made themselves comfortable on the thick layer of grass that covered the plain and fell into a deep sleep. None of the villagers heard the dragons roaring and belching fire towards their old deserted village, and the dragons could not see the humans asleep by the river. Next day some of the adults searched the area to see if there were any wild animals about, but found only a pleasant, peaceful land, trees full of fruit, and fields of flowers and grass. They decided that this was to be their new home and they set about building their homes and creating a new village. Meanwhile, the children were sent out to collect mushrooms, berries, and firewood. Ryan, a cheeky little lad of eight, decided to go that little bit further away than the rest and wandered back to the base of the mountains. As he searched among the large rocks that had rolled down the mountainside, he came across the dragon's egg that had rolled out of the cave on the previous night. Ryan had never seen an egg that was so big. It was higher than he was tall and at least three times as long as that! He could hear a scratching sound coming from inside of the egg and began to hit it with a stick but nothing happened. He found the largest rock that he could lift, stood on a rock above the egg, and dropped it. Still the egg was unmarked but, as he moved closer, he thought that he could now hear a low growling coming from inside the egg. Suddenly, with a loud crack, the egg split open and a head appeared. It was a strange, scaly head with large eyes and a long nose! Ryan had never seen anything like it before and fell backwards in shock. The two parts of the egg were pushed apart and a baby 'something-or-other' wobbled out. Ryan was spellbound and unable to move. He gazed up in amazement as the fearsome 'something-or-other' lumbered over to him then closed his eyes, certain that he would be eaten.   Click to continue Copyright reserved. No part(s) of these publications may be reproduced, transmitted, transcribed, stored in a retrieval system, or translated into any language in any form by any means without the written permission of the author.

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