Charlotte Maximo Ruby McDrew was a rather unusual child.
Of all the things that would interest her most, were creatures both wicked and wild.
Day in and day out she would love to read books about fairies, witches and monsters
Zombies, dragons and magical spells and creatures with claws like a lobster.
She loved all these creatures and all their grim features and wished she could meet them for real
To see where they lived and the things that they did and the things that they ate for a meal
When she got a new book she would gobble it up, she was eager for more to discover
She would curl up at night near her bedside light and read it from cover to cover
When she finished the book, the magic was gone, the fantastical story had ended
There were no mysterious mythical beasts no matter how Charlie pretended
Or were there????
………………………
It all had begun when her family had moved to a rickety, rambling mansion.
Although it was desperately needing repair it held an unusual attraction.
Half of the roof was grown over with leaves, some windows were covered with boarding
Most of the house was in much disarray, requiring some urgent restoring.
Despite all these problems the house was just right and Charlie would never get bored
Of all of the things that she liked to do most, her favourite was to explore…
The untended garden with many tall trees, the bushes grown into each other
A lawn like a jungle, a tumble-down shed, the garden had much to discover.
……………………….
One day when Charlie was going to school, she noticed that something was funny.
She had everything that she needed for class but her wallet was missing some money!
The notes were still there but the coins were all gone, the coppers, the silvers, the pennies.
She looked for the coins on the floor, under tables, but poor Charlie couldn’t find any.
But when she got down on her hands and her knees she found something under her bed
It looked like a scale from a small lizard’s tale, but lizards are green - this was red!
Before she could give it a closer inspection her mother called up in a fuss.
“Charlie”, she cried, “you are going to be late. You’d better run now for the bus.”
She paid for the bus with a single green note. The bus driver gave her some change.
She put the coins into her pocket and thought, “something about this is strange...”
At school she pondered the puzzling scale, the questions would constantly loom.
Where had it come from? Why was it there? What creature had been in her room?
Later that day when her homework was done, and Charlie’s day came to an end,
Her Mother and Father were getting dressed up, to go out for dinner with friends
“Charlie,” her mother cried, “please will you help? My jewelry seems to be gone!”
But when Charlie ran to the bathroom to look, she noticed that something was wrong!
The jewelry box was right where it belonged, in the place where it always had been.
But on close inspection, the jewelry collection was nowhere at all to be seen!
Next to the box was another red scale! But stranger than that was the smell.
A bit like a fire or burnt piece of toast, but what it was she couldn’t tell.
“Hmm”, pondered Charlie. She looked at the box and noticed burn marks on the wood
“What could have done this?” she muttered aloud “Something is up to no good!”
“Charlie,” her mother called “we’re running late. Let’s look for it some other time.
We’ll be ‘round the corner at Harold and Kate,. We’ll be back at quarter to nine.”
“There’s food on the table, and juice in the fridge. If you need us then you can just phone”
With a hug and a kiss Charlie’s parents departed and now she was left all alone.
She sat in the lounge and relaxed with a book about Beasts from the island of Creckish
She read for a while about creepy reptiles but soon she began to get peckish.
She stood up and stretched, but then paused when she heard a cacophonous bashing and banging
It sounded like all of the pots and the pans had fell down with a clashing and clanging
She ran to the kitchen to see what was wrong but then wisely she stopped at the door.
She got such a fright from a startling sight! You’ll never believe what she saw!
Jumbling around through the knives and the forks was a dragon the size of a crow,
With shiny red scales and two leathery wings, and smoke drifting up from its nose
With gleaming red eyes and small horns on its head, it smelled like an old barbecue
It had, unlike dragons that Charlie imagined, a pouch like a small kangaroo.
It clearly had not noticed Charlie was there and continued to rummage around
Then it held something bright and it roared with delight at the shiny spoon that it had found
It dropped the spoon in its small pouch with a plink and patted it with satisfaction
Not believing her eyes Charlie let out a cry and the dragon looked in her direction!
It spread out it’s wings with its eyes burning bright and let out a frightening roar
And then came the fiery breath from its jaws - Poor Charlie collapsed on the floor
Through smoke and haze, Charlie gasped, quite amazed. The fiery breath barely missed
She got to her feet and ran off down the hall and the dragon gave chase with a hiss
She sprinted as fast as she possibly could while the dragon was drawing a breath
“Oh no!” Charlie cried. “I am doomed! I am toast!” as she pondered her fiery death
The dragon breathed out with its great breath of fire and this time it came even closer
But Charlie ducked down again just as it roared and slid herself under the sofa
She lay perfectly still as the dragon swooped in. It had not seen where Charlie was hiding
She couldn’t observe it from under the couch, all she heard was its flapping and gliding
It whiffed through the air and it sniffed everywhere and then snorted with dissatisfaction.
She trembled with fear, as the dragon came near. How she struggled to hide her reaction
The flapping had stopped! The dragon had landed! She heard its claws scratching the surface.
She saw its two wings and its dangerous claws and its jaws like a tyrannosaurus.
It was searching and creeping and peeping around, shuffling nearer and nearer
The dreadful fate that poor Charlie awaited was becoming clearer and clearer
She shuddered and quivered and groaned and shivered as the dragon came close to the couch
But then something gave her a clever idea - a strange noise from inside its pouch!
A pinkling, tinkling and jingling sound like cutlery inside a kettle
The coins and the jewels and the knives and the forks it had stolen were all made of metal!
“That’s it!” Charlie thought, “I know what it desires. I know what it wants for its pleasure.
Just like the dragons in stories and tales it needs a collection of treasure”
She cried out in joy and remembered the coins that she’d pocketed earlier that day
She fished out the money with no time to spare - the dragon was looking her way!
She looked at the jaws and the dangerous claws of the fearsome and terrible beast
“Oh no!” Charlie thought “I’m about to be grilled. This dragon will make me his feast”
She had to think fast or be burnt to a crisp! She desperately needed a plan!
She stretched out her arm to the dragon to show it the coins in the palm of her hand
The dragon stood still …….
and lowered its head…….
To inspect the shining treasure……
Then it opened its mouth…..
With its razor sharp teeth……..
And began to ROAR with pleasure!
It collected the coins with its spindly claws, they dropped in its pouch with a plink
And after the dragon had gathered them all it looked up at Charlie and winked
It patted its belly and opened its wings, preparing itself to take flight
Then it looked at the girl with a hint of a smile and flew away into the night.
QUIZ TIME! 📚🐉
Question 1: 📖 What did Charlotte Maximo Ruby McDrew love to read about the most?
A) Pirates and sailors 🏴☠️⚓️
B) Fairies, witches, and monsters 🧚♀️🧙♀️👹
C) Robots and aliens 🤖👽
D) Superheroes and villains 🦸♂️🦹♀️
Question 2: 🔍 Where did Charlie find the red scale that started all the excitement?
A) Under her pillow 🛌
B) In the kitchen drawer 🍴
C) Under her bed 🛏️
D) In the garden shed 🏡
Question 3: 🐾 What did the dragon have that surprised Charlie?
A) A magic wand 🪄
B) A pouch like a kangaroo 🦘
C) A crown on its head 👑
D) Glasses on its nose 👓
Question 4: 💰 What did Charlie figure out the dragon liked the most?
A) Spicy food 🌶️
B) Treasure like coins and jewels 💰💎
C) Books about dragons 📚🐲
D) Fancy clothes 👗👔
Question 5: 🛡️ How did Charlie solve the problem with the dragon?
A) She asked her parents for help 🙋♀️🙋♂️
B) She hid under the sofa 🛋️
C) She offered it a collection of metal items 🗝️🔗
D) She sang a magical song 🎶✨
Answers:
B) Fairies, witches, and monsters 🧚♀️🧙♀️👹
C) Under her bed 🛏️
B) A pouch like a kangaroo 🦘
B) Treasure like coins and jewels 💰💎
C) She offered it a collection of metal items 🗝️🔗
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