by Rosemary Gemmell –
Princess Poppy was tired of being a pretty little girl with long curly hair and frilly dresses. Her big brother, Prince Percival, attended sword fencing classes. Percival and his friends also learned how to shoot a bow and arrow.
“Why can’t I learn to fight?” Princess Poppy asked every day.
“You’re only a little girl. You can’t fight dragons and ogres,” Percival said.
Poppy hid behind a tree and watched the boys pretending to fight dangerous dragons.
“Take that!” Percival shouted as he lunged forward with his short sword and pierced the sack hanging from a hook.
Poppy didn’t think much of the boys’ fighting skills. A fire-breathing dragon wasn’t likely to stand still. They wouldn’t get close enough to use the sword, and they couldn’t shoot the arrows far enough. She tried to tell her brother.
“Your small arrow won’t harm a thick-skinned dragon,” Poppy said.
“What do you know about it?” Percival answered. “Girls don’t know how to fight dragons and you’re a princess. You need strong boys to protect you. Like me and my friends.”
Poppy laughed at them and walked away. She knew more about animals and magical creatures than any of the boys. She liked reading the books in the palace library and knew about the kind of herbs and plants to heal wounds. But Percival thought books were boring.
One day, a knight rode into the palace courtyard and called for the king. Poppy listened as the knight told her father about the fierce dragon in the next village.
“Has the dragon killed many people?” the king asked.
The knight rubbed his nose. “Well, no, Your Majesty, although the dragon is big and fierce.”
The king frowned. “You mean none of the knights has tried to kill it yet? What’s wrong with you?”
Poppy watched the knight kneel in front of her father. “If you please, Your Majesty, most of the knights are away fighting a war in another land.”
The king sighed. “You’re all useless. Even my son and his friends are braver than you. Go and find me some men brave enough to tackle the dragon.”
Poppy stood still until the king dismissed the knight, then she crept up to her brother’s room. She would show them how to catch a dragon. She found Percival’s sword under the bed while he was at his counting lessons. Poppy lifted it up, surprised to find it quite heavy. She borrowed her brother’s spare tunic and thick tights and hurried back to her room.
Standing in front of the mirror, Poppy fastened a strong belt around her waist and stuck the short sword through it. Then she tied her long hair up and covered it with a hat before pushing her feet into her sturdiest shoes. She was ready to go hunting. Before leaving, she remembered to put some of her best healing ointment into a little bag tied to her belt.
Poppy crept away from the palace, hoping no one would guess she was the palace princess. Soon she was on the green hillside. Her legs felt lighter in the tights with no silly dress tripping her up. This was fun! She forgot about dragons and ran over the hills and through the glens until she heard groaning and moaning coming from behind the next hill.
Making sure the sword was ready to pull from her belt, Poppy crept forward to see what caused such a noise. As she reached the top of the hill, she took a deep breath then peeped over the edge.
A small dragon lay on the ground, moving its big head from side to side while groaning and growling. “Waaaargh! Grrrrrwl!”
Poppy had never heard a sound like it. She watched, expecting to see a blast of fiery breath. But none came. She frowned. What was wrong and why didn’t it fly away?
Suddenly, the little dragon turned its head in her direction and looked straight at her with big almond-shaped eyes. Poppy gulped. Now its fiery breath would appear.
The dragon tried to stand but kept falling back onto the ground. Very strange, Poppy decided. The dragon looked fierce with its scaly body, big head, and long snout, and she could see those large teeth when it groaned. But even though it had two small wings, it made no attempt to fly away.
The moaning and groaning got louder as the dragon stared at Poppy again. Maybe she was imagining it, but the dragon’s eyes seemed to be pleading with her, as though it tried to tell her something.
Poppy grasped her sword in one hand and edged toward the dragon. Since it was only a little one and she hadn’t seen any fire, surely it wouldn’t hurt her? Swallowing the lump in her dry throat, she took another step closer.
The little dragon continued to moan. Soon, Poppy almost reached its side. Then she noticed what was wrong. One of the dragon’s feet was caught in a horrible trap.
Poppy gasped. No wonder the poor little dragon seemed in pain and couldn’t fly away. Could she help? Poppy crept up close to the dragon and whispered softly to it.
“Don’t worry, little dragon, I’ll set you free. But you must stay still. I won’t hurt you.”
At the sound of her voice, the dragon stopped groaning and listened, as though it understood. Poppy kept whispering while she bent down to see how to free it. The trap’s iron teeth had snapped shut to grip the foot. Poppy thought for a moment. She pulled out the sword. The short blade looked sturdy enough. Pushing the tip of the sword into the trap, and careful not to touch the dragon’s foot, she twisted the blade this way and that. The trap was stuck fast.
“Waaaargh!” the dragon moaned again. Poppy nearly fell over.
“Stay still, little dragon,” she soothed. Using both hands, Poppy pushed the sword between the iron teeth and pulled with all her might. Suddenly, she fell back. Maybe the sword had broken!
She looked at the trap to find it edged apart. Careful not to get her hands near the iron teeth, Poppy pulled at the trap with her sword. The dragon moved. Poppy stopped. The foot was loose enough to get free.
While she kept the sword in place, little dragon dragged its foot away until clear of the trap. Poppy removed the sword. “Snaaap!” The trap sprang shut again. But little dragon was free, although it had lost a few of its scales. It still seemed in pain, so poppy knelt beside it and opened the small bag attached to her belt. Her pot of herbal ointment was good for cuts. Maybe it would help the dragon’s foot.
She put some ointment on her fingers and started talking to the dragon again. “I’m just going to rub a little of this good ointment on your foot. I promise it will help.” The dragon listened and watched. Very gently, Poppy smeared some ointment on little dragon’s cut. The dragon softly moaned but didn’t pull away.
“That’s good. Nearly finished,” Poppy said, in the kind of voice the royal nurse used when Poppy hurt herself.
Poppy sat back on her heels. “There, all done.” She had done everything she could to help. She put the ointment back in her bag and for good luck, she added the dragon scales lying on the grass. And now she’d better hurry away in case little dragon turned on her now that it was free.
As she stood up, Poppy heard a huge “whooshing” sound and looked up toward the hill. A very large dragon with green and black scaly skin stared back. It opened its huge mouth and a long lick of red and yellow fire shot out.
Poppy was about to run when she felt something touch her leg. She looked down to find little dragon’s head resting against her and a soft little “turuck, turuck” sound coming from it. Little dragon was trying to thank her!
“What about your father?” Poppy asked. “Or is that your mother or maybe your big brother?” Poppy gently moved away from the little dragon, keeping one eye on the large dragon on the hill. But little dragon started to follow her!
Now what could she do? As Poppy stood still, the large dragon inched closer. But it didn’t breathe out any more fire. And suddenly, it bent its front legs and knelt on the ground. Poppy stared in amazement as little dragon joined its parent on the hill. The big dragon kept looking at Poppy. Did it want her to do something? Why was it kneeling before her?
A strange idea entered Poppy’s head as the two dragons continued to stare. As if she could understand them, Poppy approached the big dragon. Still looking at Poppy with gentle eyes, the dragon’s huge wings began to flap slightly, and Poppy knew what to do.
Pushing the sword into her belt, Poppy climbed onto the scaly back of the big dragon. Slipping and sliding a bit, she felt the little dragon push her gently into place with its snout. Gripping the dragon’s neck, Poppy waited. Then very slowly, the big dragon spread its wings and gently ran over the hillside until it took flight. Poppy gripped even tighter and closed her eyes. Then she heard a whooshing sound and opened her eyes to see little dragon flying beside her.
Poppy enjoyed the ride. “Whee!” she cried, and laughed as she flew through the air on the back of a dragon. “Turuck!” cried little dragon beside her. Over the hills and under the wide blue sky they flew until Poppy saw her father’s palace come into view. The big dragon was taking her home.
Down on the ground, she saw tiny figures running out from the palace. And as the dragon flew a little lower, she spied her brother and his friends shouting and pointing, swords ready in their hands. Poppy waved and hoped the dragons wouldn’t get too close to the palace in case the knights had returned. But the large dragon slowed down and glided gently to a halt behind one of the hills.
As Poppy climbed down, she heard voices in the distance. “Who has mastered the dragon? What manner of knight is he?”
Poppy smiled. She’d forgotten she was dressed in her brother’s clothes. But she was worried about the dragons. They must get away before anyone came upon them with swords. “Thank you,” she said to the large dragon and dropped to a curtsy. It seemed the right thing to do.
The dragon bowed its head and little dragon made his funny sound. Then both dragons soared into the air and away in the other direction from the palace.
Poppy stared after them, hoping she would see them again one day. At least she had saved little dragon from the trap. She was almost at the bottom of the hill when her brother Percival, his friends, and some of the men came running toward her.
Percival stopped dead at the sight of her. Poppy put her hand up to her head. She had lost the hat while flying on the dragon’s back and her hair was tumbled down her back.
“Poppy? What…? How…?” Percival stopped trying to talk as he stared in disbelief.
As they walked back to the palace courtyard, the other boys asked her questions, unable to believe Poppy had ridden on the back of a fierce dragon.
“But how did you get on its back?” asked Alfred.
“Why did it not eat you?” asked Malcolm.
Percival seemed to have lost his voice and listened in amazement as Poppy told her story about the trap. She didn’t care if no one believed her. It was the most exciting adventure she might ever have.
Then Percival laughed and they all stopped walking. “Ha, ha, that’s a good story, Poppy. Did you read that in one of your books? And why are you wearing my clothes and carrying my spare sword?”
Poppy looked at each of the boys in turn. Percival’s words had made them all laugh. Then she remembered what she had in the bag at her belt. Untying the string, Poppy pulled out a piece of light green scale and held it up.
“Here’s my proof, Percival. Some of little dragon’s scales came off when its foot got caught in the trap. Would you like one for good luck? It might keep you safe from the bigger dragon.”
While Percival stood with open mouth, his friends clamoured for a dragon scale. “Yes, please, Poppy!” Me, please, Poppy!”
Poppy smiled. They believed her now. She looked at her brother. He looked at her.
“Can I please have a dragon scale, Poppy? And you can keep my spare sword,” Percival said.
Poppy thought for a moment. If she was bored one day in the future, she might borrow her brother’s clothes again and go on another adventure.
“You can have a dragon scale, Percival, but I don’t want your short sword. I’m going to find a bigger one. But I’d like to keep your spare clothes in case I have to ride on the dragon’s back again.” She smiled at their expressions. “And don’t worry. I’ll protect you all from its fire.”
Poppy tossed back her golden curls and marched back to the palace in front of the boys, feeling like the bravest knight in the land.
the end.
Question Time:
1. How did the boys treat Princess Poppy?
2. Why did she decide to go on an adventure?
3. How did she help the little dragon?
4. How did the boys treat her once she returned?
