The dragon came in to land in front of the melted, still bubbling, cottage. The baby chuckled,

 

“I found it just in time! Once I had put the key into the lock, the chains fell away and the dragon’s light returned. Then there was no stopping him!”

 

The dragon bowed his head at the wizard and the wizard bowed back before he climbed onto it’s back and asked,

 

“Where shall we go? Shall we go West? Home?”

 

The baby shook his head,

 

“I’ve always fancied a trip to Egypt myself, to see the pyramids.”

 

“Me too! Let’s go!"

 

With that, the great, joyful dragon swept into the air, carrying his two new friends off towards the horizon on his back.

 

Back in the forest, an American voice could be heard,

 

“Hello? Is anyone there? These bloomers aren’t going to hold out much longer and it’s a long way down! Hello..?”

 

 

 

 

T H E    E N D

Chapter 9

 

After what seemed like several hours of walking, and even more hours of moaning and whining from the baby, the three friends were beginning to approach the lights that had beckoned them from afar for such a long time. The baby had been unable to fly as branches from the thick canopy of trees had on occasion knocked him from the air, sending him spinning to the forest floor like a dead leaf. He had therefore been forced to toddle and had made his annoyance known by asking every few minutes in a dejected voice,

 

“Are we nearly there yet?”

 

In utter relief, as they broke from the trees into a beautiful clearing, the wizard was at last able to reply,

 

“Actually yes, I think we are!”

 

The boys stood and gazed in wonder at the fabulous cottage that lay before them, light shimmered and danced from its multi-coloured roof into the sky above it. The bear shrieked in delight and fell upon the gingerbread that formed the walls, grabbing huge pieces and stuffing them into his mouth noisily. The wizard and the baby voiced a warning,

 

“I’d be careful if I were you.”

 

The bear, however, was too hungry, or too greedy, or perhaps even too stupid to heed the warning and continued to stuff great, hulking pieces of the cottage into his wide open jaws.

 

After a few moments, a shrill, sharp voice pierced the air,

 

“Who is eating my cottage? Who is feasting upon my beautiful cottage?”

 

The bear stopped, frozen in fear. As has previously been stated, he was a very cowardly bear. He slowly raised a thick, hairy paw and used to wipe crumbs from the front of his flowery blouse in a small attempt to remove the evidence of his crime… But it was too late. A gnarled, wooden stick seemed to creep from one of the windows, it moved around a little before it stopped, pointing at the bear. There was a moment of silence…then boom! A tide of fire blasted from the end of the stick and the bear was gone. The wizard and the baby dived for cover. As the smoke cleared, the baby and the wizard scanned the clearing for signs of their new friend.

 

“Look, over there!”

 

Behind the cottage, atop the tallest tree, the bear’s bright, frilly bloomers had snagged onto the uppermost branches. He swung, bottom up, from side to side, like the pendulum of a clock, tick,tock, tick, tock, tick, tock…smoke rippling from his newly scorched behind.

 

“Owww…help…help…”

 

The wizard turned to his baby friend,

 

“Someone was expecting us and they don’t seem very happy to see us.”

 

“No, they don’t. Let me zoom into the air and see if I can see why.”

 

With that, the baby swept into the smoky air and disappeared. The wizard stayed hidden in the gloom of the trees, the bear remained swinging and twirling in the treetop beyond the cottage. Within seconds, the baby was back.

 

“You’re not going to believe this!” he whispered, breathlessly, “But there’s an absolutely huge dragon tied up behind the cottage!”

 

“Really?” replied the wizard, “How come we haven’t seen his dragon light shining?”

 

There's an absolutely huge dragon tied up behind the cottage!"

“We have my friend! The key that you carry contains the dragon’s light. It has led us here by casting the light to its rightful owner, to the dragon. I have spoken with him! Many moons ago, the witch that lives in this cottage tricked the dragon and stole his light. She captured it in a key and hid it in the depths of the ocean so that she, and she alone, became the dragon’s master. She has used him ill since then and he has become the means by which she is able to carry out her wicked plans!”

 

“What can we do?”

 

Before the baby could answer, another wave of fire leapt from the window of the cottage, turning the trees that surrounded the boys into a flaming forest. Quick as a flash, the boys made a break for cover, darting towards the back of the cottage, avoiding the blasts of flame that zapped and chased them mercilessly. Within seconds, the boys were pressed up against the cottage, breath heaving and hearts throbbing from fear and effort. The wizard slowly raised his eyes skyward.

 

“Wow.”

 

He gasped. Looming above him was an enormous dragon; a huge chain dragged his magnificent head down so that he looked dejected, wounded, miserable. Without another thought, the wizard grabbed the key that he had carried for so long and made a move towards the dragon.

 

“No!”

 

In a cascade of black and broomstick, the witch barged into the wizard, knocking him to the floor! The key fell from his grasp as he collided with the ground. The wizard crumpled in pain and shock. Beyond him, the witch was flying round, about to come back for a further assault. The baby had watched all that had happened and was tearing through the leaves on the forest floor, searching desperately for the key. In the air, the whine of the witch’s broomstick grew louder as it gained speed and flew lower in the air. The wizard tried to stretch his aching body out to reach the wand that had fallen from his pocket, his fingers scrabbled at the dusty earth. Above him he heard a cackle,

 

“Too late boy…too late, I have you now! “

 

He closed his eyes, anticipating the impact…but instead came the loudest roar he had ever heard. His eyes widened in surprised but then had to close immediately as shards of light illuminated the sky, too bright to bear. His other senses went into overdrive. He could hear the flapping of huge wings, feel blasts of hot air as they rolled over him, taste cinders on his tongue and smell the most fabulous fragrance…of melted chocolate, boiling sugar and toasted marshmallows…despite himself, his tummy rumbled.

 

He lay, not daring to move for what seemed like an eternity, but was probably only a few minutes before he heard a familiar voice shouting,

 

“Wizard, look up! Look up!”

 

He raised his eyes to the sky and against the outline of the sun could see the shadow of a dragon in mid-flight. He gasped in astonishment as the dragon swept towards him and he could see it clearly. The dragon was glorious in hues of blue, purple, gold and green. Astride it sat the baby, grinning his wide, toothless grin.

 

“You found the key!”

The dragon came in to land in front of the now melted, still bubbling, cottage.