I wrote this for a competition a few years back. It had to be 500 words or less and had a specific theme which I didn’t specifically mention in the story. I guess that’s why I didn’t win.
GEORGE MAKES A DIFFERENCE
George wasn’t a saint yet. But he was looking for a way to become one. All he had to do was perform a miracle and millions would love him. Problem: miracles were kind of thin on the ground and how to books hadn’t been invented yet. Bother!
However, George wasn’t going to let a silly thing like lack of instructions get in the way. When he was a child he would cry until he got what he wanted or until he got a smack. As he grew older he learned to ask for things and sometimes he still got a smack. Well, he couldn’t cry for a miracle so he decided that asking the nearest village if they needed a miracle was his best course of action.
In the winter-struck village of Putapon, he was told about a nasty dragon that needed to be shown the door. “We can’t go out at night anymore!” they all cried. “We can’t get any firewood and it’s freezing!”
George was given directions to the monster’s cave and he made his way there promptly. “All right dragon, it’s time for you to go!” he yelled.
“I’m not going anywhere.” said a deep, booming voice.
“You have to go. The villagers can’t go out at night and they can’t get firewood.” said George confidently. Then the dragon came into George’s sight. My, but he was big! And scaly! And green! And had gigantic teeth! Not so confidently George said, “Please?”
“This is my home too. Do you think I can go out at night without having some moron shoot an arrow at me? Or throw a spear? I can’t even go out in the daylight which stinks because I love the sun. My scales have never been so pale. If I couldn’t breathe fire, this cave would get awfully cold.”
“Have you told them that?” asked George.
“I never get the chance.” said the dragon, looking sad. George knew what that was like; he had four older sisters. “Have you a length of rope?” asked George.
The villagers were very surprised to see George return. They were even more surprised when they saw that he was leading the dragon by a leash. Surprise quickly turned to fear. George waved to them and shouted out, “Fear not brothers and sisters! I bring you a friend!”
“You’ve brought a monster!” cried the people. George told the residents to gather wood and pile it up in the village square. When this had been done, the dragon lit it up with a glorious blast of fire. It didn’t take long for the villagers to feel the warmth. “We never thought of that!” they said. “Thank you George and thank you dragon.”
Over the years the story got changed and George eventually became a saint. But he never forgot how he helped the dragon find a new home and how he helped the village of Putapon change its name to Haven. All was well.
Neil Klotz 