Picture 3
by Mysty, Snowpuff, Keedie,
Patches, Yogi, and Boo Boo

Story 1

At Eiderdon Township and Castle
by Playful

      One fine day, a loud trumpet sound was blaring over the castle grounds and surrounding fields. Strangers were approaching. Were they friendly or not? The two Pegasus, Perlon, wearing the white wings to show experience and Cabet, with wings that blushed the pink rank of inexperience were sent out to fly and observe the strangers as they drew near.

      They saw an army! Why would an army be advancing? They did what they could to go unnoticed and were camouflaged by nearby clouds and rock formations. They saw the men sharpen tools and draw a large map on the ground Perlon flew overhead as quickly as he could so as not to be noticed. He saw that the map indicated they were headed straight for Eiderdon.

      Flying higher to escape notice he headed back to give Cabet the information, “It’s war. They are preparing for a fight and the map indicates it will be us.” Cabet was quick to say, “then we must fly straight back to give this information to our brave Knight John. He’ll know what to do.”

      Perlon was pleased that Cabet was such a bright and able pupil. He would get his white wings in no time. But there was no time to ponder such things. And enemy was approaching and the town needed to be warned. Knight John needed to form a plan.

      As they were entering the city they spotted the fair maiden Adelaide. How could they miss her? Not only was she wearing red brocade dress with a gold panel that was eye-catching but also she was running towards them. She looked up into the sky and yelled, ”Help! Help! We must find Knight John. He seems to have disappeared. I am afraid something foul has happened to him.”

      Perlon asked, “Have you searched the grounds and the castle? Where was he seen last? It is NOW imperative that we find him; we have an enemy approaching us. We need to get his advice.”

      Cabet suggested, “Let’s ask the twins, Andrew and Scotlander, or Scott, for short. They usually know his whereabouts.”

      So the three of them went on the search of Andrew and Scott. They found them by the castle entrance amusing themselves by comparing who had shot the best round of arrows that morning. The two Pegasus and Adelaide filled the twins in on the problem.

      Andrew and Scott said they thought they remembered that John liked to have a siesta by the river and forest south of the castle so the group went in search of him. Cabet would make quick forays over to the enemy camp to make sure they were not on the move and Eiderdon still had time to prepare.

      The group did indeed find John sleeping peacefully under a tree in the forest canopy bordering the south river. He awoke as he heard the approaching footsteps. “What is the problem?”

      Perlon, the Knight’s trusted advisor as well as aerial spy, spoke on behalf of the group to let John know what the situation was. John immediately told all those who were gathered, except Adelaide, to assemble all their fighters and prepare for battle.

      The troops were quickly amassed, as Adelaide watched all the brave soldiers find a good fighting spot and one from which Eiderdon Castle could be defended, the foreign army advanced. They looked fierce! Even fiercer than John. They were much larger than he was. And they had huge spears compared to the bows and arrows of Eiderdon fighting men.

      But Adelaide also saw something they didn’t notice. Perlon and Cabet up in the sky. They were a nice surprise element and Drake, the flying dragon, joined them. Drake usually preferred to spend lazy days by the brook on the north of town ever since he had lost the ability to breathe out fire. Even so, he had made his way over to the castle as soon has he heard the first alarm. He had only to search for the amassing defending army for a few minutes to see where he would do the most good.

      As the battle started the enemy charged with spears drawn as the Eiderdon fighters moved out of the way. The spears may have looked fierce but they were bulky. As they ran forward they were surrounded by the Eiderdon’s who also had a great deal of mobility with their light arrows. They began pelting the invaders with their arrows. The women of Eiderdon were at the top of the wall and were pelting the enemy with rocks. As the invaders tried to fight back they found their rear was now their front being pounded by hoofs and a flying dragon with clawed feet. Many of the enemy was drawing in close together to protect themselves, but the Eiderdons were relentless. It was not long before the white flag of surrender was held up.

      For good measure, John, Andrew and Scott ordered that their soldiers lock up the defeated enemy in their dungeon. They thought they would keep them there long enough to teach them a lesson.

      In the meantime, the town had begun a feast to celebrate the happy events of the day. Their water was safe, as was the township. And John and Adelaide announced their upcoming betrothal. The mood was jovial, indeed. Perlon advanced Cabet to white wings. Andrew and Scot were rewarded handsomely with some gold taken from the prisoners. As Perlon and Cabet spread the story, it served as a warning to neighboring towns not to try to battle the fierce Eiderdons.

Now the Princess’ father was a great and famous Wizard, and her mother was a lovely River Nymph. And from time immemorial the family had been the Keeper’s of the Dragon.

Once the family had lived in a lovely Castle, surrounded by a quaint and happy little town. But the family pet kept escaping, and accidentally burning the village down, and the poor Wizard King would have to keep spending money to help rebuild, so that by the time of the Princess’s Great Great Grandfather, the family was quite broke. So they had moved to the forest, and found a good size, clean, empty cave, where they could keep the family pet. It was a nice cave, and there was a tiny stream nearby. There they built a tiny little hut. And there they had lived quite happily for many, many years.

I must tell you that the Princess was a lovely and delightful child who loved all things. She especially loved her pet Dragon. They had many lovely adventures together, exploring the forest and playing by the stream. Often the dragon would take the young Princess for rides on his back, and she would look down on the world beyond the forest where she lived.

Eventually, the Princess grew up into a lovely young lady, who looked at the world with love in her eyes. One day, she was out riding low over distant fields on the dragon’s back, when she looked down, and saw the loveliest castle imaginable. And inside the castle, sitting in a garden all alone, was a most handsome Prince. Immediately the Princess was smitten with True Love. She hurried back to her parents house in the woods, and told them of the handsome Prince, and the lovely Castle, and begged to be allowed to marry him.

The Princess’ parents were quite happy, for they wanted only happiness for their lovely daughter. So they consented to let her marry the Prince. Ambassadors were sent back and forth with Princely and Princessly messages. And soon wagons laden with lovely gifts were sent, the wedding was planned, and before you knew it the happy day arrived. The Prince and Princess were married, and settled into the lovely Castle to live happily ever after.

The Prince was delighted, but the Princess was not quite as happy as she could have been. For you see, there was something very important which she had failed to tell the Prince. She had failed to tell him of her pet dragon. Now that probably would have been alright, except that she had faithfully promised her beloved dragon that she would send for him as soon as she could.

And so the months went by, and in the forest the poor deserted dragon sat all sad and lonely, waiting for a summons from the Princess. Finally the dragon could wait no longer. So one fine Spring day, he decided to go and look for his Princess. He flew for many, many leagues, until late in the afternoon he saw a field full of sheep. Well, he was a big dragon, and he realized he was quite hungry. He was also a very nice and well-behaved dragon. So he decided to stop and perhaps eat one or two of the sheep for dinner. But alas, he was a dragon, and when he opened his big dragon mouth, huge flames leapt out, setting the whole field on fire and roasting all the sheep. The villagers all came racing out, and the poor dragon was so frightened he quickly flapped away without eating anything.

Fortunately, all was not lost. The villagers were so happy the dragon had gone they declared a holiday, and feasted for a week on the lovely roasted sheep. Meanwhile, the dragon landed in a small wood, and gobbled down too hares he found. Not much to fill a hungry dragon.

Much the same thing happened over the next few days. The dragon would accidentally burn a field here, or a barn there, and soon many villages were laid waste. The Princess’ Dragon was so upset he stopped one night by a stream and cried huge dragon tears. Well, of course, he didn’t mean to, but you understand, dragon tears are quite hot, and quite huge. So before long the stream was filled with a flood of boiling water which killed many fish, and flooded the whole region.

All of this destruction did not escape the notice of the Prince and the Princess. And of course, you and I know that the Princess knew quite well what, and who was causing the problem. But still she did not tell the Prince. She was afraid he would send her away if he knew the dragon belonged to her.

The Prince, being the handsome and manly Prince that he was, decided he must go and kill the dragon. So he called for his magic Unicorn, and two of his faithful stewards, and was ready to set off to do battle. Luckily, (for the dragon at least), the dragon arrived at the gate of the Castle just as the Prince was ready to leave. And he landed right beside the Princess. "Oh," gasped the crowd who had gathered. "Will the Prince be able to save his lovely Princess?"

Just then the Princess cried, "NO!!!! Stop! Wait! You cannot kill this dragon, for he is my faithful pet." Then she told the Prince and all the courtiers her story. And she hugged her beloved dragon close.

Well, the Prince was simply wonderful about the whole thing. He had built a huge stone barn, where the dragon could be safely kept. And he appointed the two cats who had been his stewards as the Dragon’s helpers. The old King and Queen moved from their tiny cottage in the forest into a nice large house near the Castle. The villagers all along the way were compensated for their lose.

And finally they all settled down and really lived happily ever after.