Manon says, “Come in, Blejan Meraud, and you girls.”
They go into the living room. There they find the king and queen.
Béatrice says, “Have you got the games?”
Manon answers, “We have the games ready to play; don’t worry yourself.”
Élise says, “It’s better if Blejan Meraud returns to the forest.”
***
A few days later Jago Jory goes out to draw a map showing where the camp is situated. Using a piece of coal, he draws the road to the camp; it goes straight first, then turns left to the south, then goes straight again and finally goes right. And there stand the tents in the camp. But he also draws the flowers and the trees; the large and the small tents; the blue sky, the yellow sun, the birds and the meadow.
After getting closer, Jago Jory sees the knights and the soldiers.
The wren comes down from the sky and the other birds keep flying across the sky. The wren sits on a branch and says, “How beautiful; the sun is shining, the sky is azure blue, the birds are flying in the sky. And it’s hot. But look out; the dragon’s coming back.”
And the wren flies into the sky. Jago Jory keeps going and he meets the dragon; Jago Jory doesn’t look the dragon in the eye, but continues on his way.
Jago Jory gives Blejan Meraud the map. “You have to go to the camp. If you don’t know the way, then stop and look at the directions to the camp on the map.”
Blejan Meraud says, “Okay, I’ll go to the camp and I’ll go now. Is that alright with you?”
Jago Jory says, “Yes, go.”
She puts the map in her pocket.
Blejan Meraud goes and as she walks, she takes the map out and looks at it. When she reaches the camp, she sees the soldiers and the knights.
Blejan Meraud asks to speak with their captain. She asks, “Why is the dragon frightened?”
Scott answers, “We wanted to catch the dragon.”
Giuseppe says, “We set a trap for him.”
Blejan Meraud says, “But you didn’t catch him then.”
A soldier says, “He’s too big for us.”
Blejan Meraud says to the knights, “He’ll go away on his own – one day.”
A soldier says, “But the princess is right to be scared of the dragon.”
Another soldier adds, “If we can’t catch him, we have to kill him.”
Blejan Meraud looks them all in the face; the knights seem to have their doubts. So she says, “Won’t you help the dragon?”
Then she leaves the camp.
When the wren flies down from the sky, he sits on a branch and says, “How beautiful; the sun is rising, the sky is azure blue, the birds are flying in the sky and it is hot.” The wren flies up into the sky and away.
Blejan Meraud goes to the castle.
When she gets to the castle, Joffrey comes into the courtyard and sees Blejan Meraud.
Blejan Meraud says, “Do you know that the soldiers want to catch the dragon?”
Joffrey says, “Yes, but the dragon hid behind the rocks.”
Blejan Meraud says, “They scared him a lot.”
Joffrey says, “The soldiers set a trap for him. But he just wanted to share his hoard of gold.”
Blejan Meraud says, “Why is the dragon sharing his gold?”
Joffrey says, “The dragon wants to help the poor.”
The next day, the elves go into the mountains. They meet the dragon there.
Blejan Meraud says, “We heard that you’ve been helping the poor. Is that true?”
Puff answers, “Yes, I’ve been helping poor people.”
Jago Jory asks, “How do you help them?”
Puff says, “I share my hoard of gold. But now I’m scared to show my face.”
So Jago Jory suggests, “If you like, we’ll take your hoard of gold to the poor in the villages.”
Then Jago Jory goes into a village. The elf gives the farmers he meets lots of the hoard of gold.
Afterwards Jago Jory gives what’s left over back to the dragon.
Then the elves go to the camp.
When they get to the camp, a soldier stops them. He says, “What are you doing here?”
Jago Jory says, “We want to speak with Scott.”
Scott says, “Okay, but first we’ll sit in the meadow.”
The knight Giuseppe comes with them too and they all sit.
Blejan Meraud says, “The dragon is good because he gives his gold to the poor in our kingdom. So don’t chase him away, alright? One day the dragon will go on his own to the mountains, where the other dragons are. And he’ll stay in the mountains.”
Scott answers, “I must carry out the princess’s orders.”
Giuseppe, however, wears a thoughtful expression.
***
But Puff is still scared of the soldiers. So he decides to go to the kingdom belonging to King Frédéric’s enemy, Duke José.
Puff crosses through the forest and the mountains until he reaches the enemy’s kingdom.
Puff asks Duke José, who rules the enemy kingdom, “Will you help me?”
The duke says, “Yes.”
So Puff gives him the rest of the hoard of gold.
Now Duke José can go and buy weapons to attack King Frédéric’s kingdom. In the meantime, Puff stays in a forest near Narbonne.
***
Frédéric’s knights go to the castle.
The steward comes to the castle gate. “What do you want here?”
Giuseppe says, “We want to speak to the princess. Will you let us come inside?”
The steward says, “Okay, I’ll let you in.”
The steward opens the castle gate and the knights come into the courtyard. A stable boy takes the horses to the stables.
They enter the princess’s tower.
The princess receives them on the balcony. Manon says, “What do you want here?”
Giuseppe answers, “We’ve heard that the dragon has gone to another kingdom.”
Manon says, “Has the dragon really gone?”
Giuseppe says to the princess, “The dragon has gone. He won’t come into our kingdom anymore.”
Manon asks, “And how can we be sure that the dragon won’t come back?”
Giuseppe answers, “Rest assured. The dragon is living in their mountains now. Don’t worry.”
Manon answers, “You haven’t done what I wanted. But it’s still okay. Now I can sleep and I don’t need guards.”
The stable boy brings the horses; the knights leave the castle.
A knight says, “Ready to ride to the camp.”
When they get to the camp, they dismount their horses. And put them in the paddock.
The soldiers and the knights go into their tents and rest.
They sleep until the sun rises; the sky is azure blue.
***
One week later, Jago Jory returns to the castle to meet Manon.
Manon says, “What are you doing here?”
Jago Jory answers, “I have to speak with you.”
Manon says, “Why?”
Jago Jory answers, “The dragon is gone.”
Manon says, “I know. What’s the problem that we have to solve?”
Jago Jory says, “The problem is: The dragon has gone to Duke José’s kingdom. He took the rest of the gold and gave it to the duke. So Duke José can buy weapons to attack our kingdom.”
Manon asks, “What should we do?”
Jago Jory answers, “You mustn’t start a war with the dragon. Come, we’ll go to the king.”
Frédéric also asks, “What are you doing here?”
Jago Jory says, “I have to speak to you because the dragon is helping Duke José now. So you must make peace with your enemy because, fighting together with the dragon, he’ll certainly win.”
Frédéric says, “No, we must prepare for the war against José.”
In the following days, the soldiers and the knights go to the villages and speak to the men.
The soldie
rs say to them, “We have to prepare for the war against the dragon and Duke José.”
The knights say, “Come with us.”
The men answer, “We’ll come, but first we need weapons.”
A man asks, “Do we all have to come?”
The knights say, “Not everyone.”
The soldiers say, “A few, yes.”
The knights and the soldiers help the men to prepare their weapons: They forge swords and sharpen them to a fine point. And they give them chain mail. The men put arrows in bags and swords in sheathes; they take bows and arquebuses, and when everything is finished, they go to war against the dragon and Duke José.
Other men stay in the villages because they have to work in the stables and the fields.
But because the elves gave the dragon’s gold to the poor, some of the new soldiers desert. They join Puff and José.
***
José’s army crosses the forest and the mountains. When they reach King Frédéric’s castle, José deploys his soldiers around it.
The castle's guards load the cannons and shoot. José’s army flees. They march through the forest, where they meet the dragon.
Giuseppe says, “We have to chase Duke José, at least across the border.”
Scott answers, “It’s going to snow soon. If we’re successful in chasing him away now, then we'll live in peace until spring.”
And so they march toward the border.
José notices that he is being chased by King Frédéric’s troops. He asks the dragon, “Do you think that we have to wage another battle?”
Puff says, “Yes, it is important for us, so that we can survive. The soldiers can find everything they need to live in a raid before we return.”
So they stop in the city of Carcassonne, plunder it, and then prepare for the battle.
The next day, King Frédéric’s army catches up to them.
Who wants to throw oneself into battle? The knights come first, and then the soldiers, on foot.
José’s army, together with Puff, march to meet them. They form a row and Puff walks to the middle. Puff breathes fire over the city, over the soldiers and over the knights. In the evening it finally begins to rain; the rain extinguishes the fire.
The soldiers try to catch the dragon, but the dragon manages to flee. They want to chase the dragon, but José attacks them again. They have to retreat.
The soldiers and the knights who have survived return to the camp to rest. The day of battle was a little tiring.
Scott asks his soldiers, “But where is the dragon?”
One of the soldiers says, “The dragon has gone to the village. But what is the dragon doing in the village?”
Giuseppe answers, “I don’t know.”
***
In the morning the soldiers and the knights return to the castle.
Frédéric asks Scott, “What are you doing here?”
Scott answers, “We lost the battle.”
Manon says, “So we need guards.”
Frédéric asks, “What has happened?”
Scott says, “We can't win against the dragon. The enemy is advancing and is nearing the castle.”
Manon says, “But this time we need to take the girls to safety.”
Frédéric suggests, “They can hide in the forest.”
And Fanny escorts the girls into the forest.
But José and his army aren’t pursuing Frédéric’s army. Instead, he has decided to free himself from the dragon. The duke’s soldiers and knights descend the mountain.
José says, “We will catch the dragon together because he’s large. We’ll kill him.”
They find the dragon in the forest, which he had returned to.
All of them launch themselves on the dragon. The soldiers and the knights strangle him and hit the dragon with their weapons. They throw him to the ground.
Puff hurts his head. That makes Puff angry; he turns and breathes fire. He lifts his paws to snatch José.
José begs for forgiveness. Puff lets him go. José promises to never come back.
Puff takes him to the border.
***
In the evening the girls still haven’t come home. The princess has a dream: she dreams that the girls have gotten lost in the forest. As night ends and the morning comes, the girls aren’t here. The princess is scared because she thinks that they’ll never return to the castle. So Manon runs to the king. She says to him, “The girls are scared of the dragon.”
Frédéric says, “We’ll call the elves to look for the girls.”
So Joffrey saddles his horse and goes into the forest.
He gallops to the lake. The elves have hidden in their house for the duration of the war.
He meets Blejan Meraud and asks her, “Have you seen the girls?”
Blejan Meraud says, “No, I don’t know where the girls are.”
“Can you help to search for them?”
Blejan Meraud says, “Where should I look for the girls?”
Joffrey says, “In the forest.”
Blejan Meraud looks for the girls in the bushes and Joffrey returns to the castle. “Blejan Meraud is looking for the girls.”
***
In the meantime, Élise climbs a tree and sees the light coming from the castle.
Béatrice says, “We’re saved!”
And when the girls come out of the bushes, they see Blejan Meraud.
Élise says, “We’re happy to have found you.”
Blejan Meraud answers, “The princess is waiting for you.”
The girls tell them that King Frédéric’s soldiers lost the battle because the dragon helped Duke José.
Jaro Jory asks, “Where is the dragon now?”
Blejan Meraud says, “Do you want to help the dragon?”
Jago Jory says, “Yes, what about you?”
Blejan Meraud answers, “I’ll help the princess. That way, we don’t have a war with the dragon.”
Jago Jory says, “Why?”
Blejan Meraud answers, “The princess is scared of the dragon.”
Jago Jory says, “We have to help the dragon.”
Blejan Meraud disagrees, “No, we have to help the princess.”
Jago Jory says, “But the dragon is gone.”
Blejan Meraud pleads, “Please, we have to do something, because Duke José is coming with his soldiers.”
Jago Jory says, “Okay.”
Béatrice butts in, “Please, let’s head to the castle.”
When they arrive at the castle, Manon looks out of the window and says, “Look, the girls are here.” And she goes to the courtyard.
The girls run to the princess. Élise says, “Let’s go into the living room.”
Blejan Meraud approaches the princess.
Manon says, “Thank you.”
Blejan Meraud asks, “Where is the king?”
Manon escorts Blejan Meraud to the king.
Frédéric says, “What are you doing here?”
Blejan Meraud answers, “I have to speak with you.”
Frédéric says, “Why?”
Blejan Meraud says, “The dragon is gone.”
Frédéric answers, “Yes, however... But... The princess is scared of the dragon.”
Blejan Meraud says, “I know that she’s scared of the dragon.”
Frédéric says, “What should we do?”
Blejan Meraud says, “Don’t do anything to the dragon. Leave him in peace and he’ll go away on his own.”
***
A woad merchant from Languedoc comes to Marseille because there are weavers in the town. He says that the people near Narbonne have seen a dragon.
So Scott says, “Therefore, that’s where we need to search for the dragon.”
Giuseppe says, “We’ll head to the sea.”
The soldiers say, “We’ll break camp. We’ll fetch the things from inside the tents and take them down. We’ll leave the poles in the forest near the meadow.”
The knights say, “Okay,
we’ll do it now.”
Soon the knights begin to take down the tents and clear the things away.
When everything is done, the soldiers and the knights take the things and proceed to the sea near Cap Leucate. There they pitch their tents.
Near the beach there are swamps and, a bit further away, cliffs that stretch out to sea.
The soldiers and the knights look for the dragon, first in the swamp and then near the sea. Scott says, “Where is the dragon?”
One of the knights says, “He could be hidden on an island.”
Giuseppe says, “He might have run further away.”
The soldiers and the knights search for the dragon’s tracks. They search and have a look around; they run a little faster. They don’t find any tracks.
In the afternoon, Giuseppe says, “It doesn’t make sense for all of us to search in the same place. We have to split up.”
Scott answers, “Agreed.”
Giuseppe says, “You go left.”
The soldiers say, “Yes, and you?”
Giuseppe says, “I’ll search to the right.”
The soldiers go left and Giuseppe goes right with his knights. When they are out of sight of the soldiers, Giuseppe says, “I’ll go west alone to search for the dragon. You go east, instead. And have a good look around.”
Still, they don’t find a single track.
The next day, early in the morning, Giuseppe goes out alone. He doesn’t say a word to anybody. He’s made a pact with Blejan Meraud.
When he arrives in the forest, he looks for the dragon and searches around.
He says to himself, “The dragon could be hidden behind some rocks. Maybe the dragon’s gone further into the forest.”
Finally, Giuseppe finds the dragon’s tracks. The dragon’s tracks follow the road which crosses through the forest and leads to the mountains.
By sunset he finds the dragon at the foot of the mountains.
When he finds him, Giuseppe says, “I’ll help you.”
Puff says, “Thank you.”
Giuseppe says, “I’ll save you.”
Puff says, “How will you help me?”
The Dragon and the Princess Page 2