ANGUS & THE DRAGON
Angus grabbed his basket of berries and ran back to the castle. Once there, Angus ran in through the back door to the kitchen area startling Agnes who was busy making the crust for the pie. “Whit are ye about now!”, exclaimed Agnes. “Yer fair puckled!”, she said noticing how out of breath Angus was. He handed her the basket of berries and sat down to catch his breath. Once he could speak he asked, “Is Father here?” “Ay”, she replied. “A think he an yer Uncle are in the library.” Angus stood, gave Agnes a quick peck on the cheek, and headed toward the library. Agnes grinned after him. “Such a guid lad”, she thought to herself. Angus found his father and Uncle in the library as Agnes had said. They were deep in discussion about family business. Standing in the doorway, Angus let out a little cough. His father turned toward him. “Ay, Gus? Ye hae somethin’ tae say?” “Father...Uncle”, Angus said giving each a nod. “A wis near the woods pickin’ blaeberries for Agnes whan A noticed a game trap aboot 40 yards aff. Leuks like Ainslies are settin’ traps on our land agin.” Hearing this, Uncle swore under his breath. “Thare’s more…”, said Angus. “Well go on”, said Uncle looking cross. Angus continued, “Thare is a beast trapped in the pit makin’ a terrible noise.” “Whit kinda beast?”, asked Father. “Well, uh…..A dinnae know. It sounded big and wis growlin’, an A thought A'd better tell ye richt away. A ran straight home.” Uncle William looked annoyed. Father closed his eyes and let out a sigh. “Angus”, began Father. Father only called him by his full name when he wasn’t happy with him. “Can ye show us the way tae the trap?” “Ay”, said Angus looking down at his feet. He could tell they were disappointed in him. “Angus the coward”, they were thinking.
Uncle William called the family into the dining hall. “Ainslies are leukin’ for a fight an we are gonna brin it to ‘em! First, we gather the rest o’ the clan; then we ride out an pay ‘em a visit!” “Ay!”, everyone agreed. “FIRST ye will all sit down an’ eat the supper A been cookin’”, demanded Agnes. Everyone looked at Uncle William for direction. “Well, ye heard her! Sit down an have some supper! THEN we ride!” During supper, Uncle William doled out the tasks. “Fiona”, Uncle William turned to his daughter. “I need ye to ride out across the river and tell yer Uncle Robert tae bring his boys. “Ay, Father”, Fiona replied. Fiona was 2 years younger than Angus and was Uncle William’s only girl. She looked more like her mother than the boys did, which was a good thing. Angus couldn’t imagine Fiona looking burly, stout, and hairy. Fiona was slender and tall with long, wavy copper hair and green eyes. There had already been suitors coming to call for Fiona, but Uncle wasn’t hearing of it. So far, there wasn’t a man in all of Scotland good enough for his Fiona. Uncle looked to his eldest two. Andrew and Jacob were twins. At the age of 18, the two looked just like their father. “Andrew, I need ye tae ready the horses.” Andrew gave his father a nod. “Angus, help Andrew with the horses.” “Ay, Uncle”, said Angus looking toward Andrew. Andrew rolled his eyes at Angus. “Jacob, git tha dogs ready. Make sure they haed water.” Uncle William had two very large black mastiffs. They were his huntin’ dogs that doubled as guard dogs. “Ay”, said Jacob. “And last, William, gather our weapons.” William II was Uncle WIlliam’s third child. He was the same age as Angus, though he looked to be much older. “Everyone meet oot at the stables whan done.” Uncle William’s youngest spoke up. “Whit aboot me?”, asked Alick. Alick was 4 years younger than Angus. He was also the nicest of the cousins. Uncle William looked down at Alick and tousled his unruly, thick red hair. “Not this time, son. I need ye tae stay here and leuk after the castle.” Alick looked crestfallen; his happy, plump freckled face turning pouty. “Stay an keep yer mum company”, Uncle William continued giving Alick a pat on the back. Their mother, Aunt Innis, was a tall, frail woman with long auburn hair and green eyes like Fiona’s. She didn’t leave her room often as she had a weak heart and spent most days in bed. Everyone finished up supper, then got straight to work.
When they got to the stables, Uncle Robert was there with his three. George was the eldest of the boys. He was 25 and towered over the entire clan. He was 6' 5” tall with a very broad chest, long copper hair tied back and a full, thick beard. Bearnard who everyone called “Bean” was Uncle Robert’s second born. Bean was 21 years and looked like most of the men in the family; stout and muscular with a thick copper top and hazel eyes. The youngest of the sons was Duncan. Duncan was 18. He was more slender than the others but just as strong. He was fierce yet thoughtful. He had wavy raven colored hair and eyes the color of the sea. Duncan was a mirror image of his mother. His mother was Romanian and had migrated to Scotland with her family many years before. It was rumored that Aunt Diona dabbled in the dark pagan arts and that Duncan shared her affinity for magic. If Uncle Robert ever heard talk of this, he would be sure to tell the gossiper where they could stick their rumors. “Robert”, Uncle William said giving his brother a slap on the back. “Guid to see ye, brother!”, Uncle Robert returned. “Alright ye lot. Let’s heid out! Angus, show us whar ye found the trap”, commanded Uncle William. “Ay”, said Angus giving his horse’s sides a kick. The sun had set, but the full moon lit the way across the rocky landscape toward the woods. As the group approached the spot Angus had been berry picking, they heard the sound of voices close by. Uncle William held up his hand to let the others know to be silent. They all dismounted and tethered their horses to nearby trees. They moved closer, being sure to stay out of sight. About 40 yards off, they saw a group of men who appeared to be taunting something trapped in a pit. There were torches surrounding the hole and they could hear some type of creature crying out in pain. The men were jabbing it with long spears. Suddenly, 30 foot flames shot out of the trap lighting one of the men on fire. “Scunners! They’re tryin tae burn the creature alive”, whispered Uncle William. The men surrounding the trap quickly moved back and set about trying to extinguish the flames from the burning man. “Now is our chance, while they’re distracted. Let’s move.” Shouting a war cry, the Turnebull Clan rushed the group of men who had been tormenting the trapped animal, completely catching them off guard. They overcame the men very easily, causing the leader to surrender before any lives could be taken. “Well, ye aren’t the Ainslies as we thought, so who are ye?” “Dragon hunters”, the leader replied. “Dragon Hunters?”, Uncle William laughed. “Thare haven’t been dragons in Scotland in 100 years!”
“Um...Uncle?”, said Angus. “Ye might want tae have a leuk.” Angus was peering down into the pit. Uncle William, Uncle Robert, and Father walked over to where Angus was standing. Inside the trap was a very large winged beast. The pit, being narrow, caused the creatures black, bat like wings to fold upwards preventing it from being able to move. It’s head was the only thing showing between the distorted wings. It had a long neck with shiny, black scales. There were spears sticking out of it’s head, neck, and wings. This was undoubtedly a dragon, and it appeared to be dead. Uncle William looked over at the leader. “Told ye. We are dragon hunters.” "So ye are...", said Uncle William. "Well, seein' how this dragon won't be goin' nowhere, ye lads are welcome tae stay the night at our castle. I'd like tae talk more aboot these dragons ye have been hunting and yer man needs his burns treated. Agnes shuild be able tae fix him right up." The hunters agreed. They decided they would fill in the hole in the morning and bury the dragon. Uncle Robert and his boys stayed as well, since it was too late for them to head home. Everyone retired to their chambers for the night. Angus lay awake thinking about what he saw. “A real dragon!”, he thought. “I really want tae get a good leuk at it before it’s put under ground.” So, Angus got out of bed and dressed quietly. He slipped down to the kitchen and out the back door. He went to the toolshed to grab a torch, rope, and shovel. He thought if he could dig the hole a little bigger, he could maybe tie the rope around the dragon’s body and drag it out of the hole. Then he could get a better look at it. “Whit are ye doin?”, asked a voice behind him as he was closing the door to the shed. “Ah!”, shouted Angus startled. “Shhhh…..”, whispered Duncan. “You’ll wake the whole castle.” “ I was just…..uh….just….”, Angus stammered. “Ye were just gonna take another leuk at that dragon, weren’t ye?”, asked Duncan. What should Angus tell him?
- Tell Duncan he wants to look at the dragon and invite him to come along?
- Make up a story as to why he was in the tool shed, and go back to bed.