About a week later, Gerald woke from a nap and stretched with a big yawn. He felt happy. The forest was quiet once again. “The corn tastes so good,” he said, “I think I’ll have some for dinner.” So he set off on the trail to the cornfield. Before he had gone far he heard the Squirrels chattering in the trees.
“Hello, everyone; how are you this fine afternoon?”
“We’re all just great, Gerald. How are you?” asked Mr. Squirrel.
“I’m fine, just fine.”
“We heard the Ogres left the forest right after they met you. They all headed off across the Prairie,” said Mrs. Squirrel.
“Oh good, we don’t want anyone causing trouble in our forest, do we?”
“No, Gerald we certainly don’t,” said Mrs. Squirrel.
While Gerald was talking with the older Squirrels, he noticed Jennifer climbing the tree near the trail. She made her way carefully along a branch. Very quietly she waited. Gerald almost laughed when he saw her. Jennifer must be trying to surprise me, thought Gerald. He took a few steps forward. Suddenly, Jennifer sprang out at him. She landed on his neck and yelled, “Boo! I’m an Ogre!”
“Oh my,” said Gerald acting frightened. “Please don’t hurt me.”
“I won’t,” she said, “as long as you fly me around the forest.”
Gerald looked at Mr. Squirrel to see if it was all right to take Jennifer for a ride. When he nodded yes, Gerald said, “Okay, I’ll take you for a ride, just don’t hurt me, please.”
“Oh Gerald, it is me, Jennifer, not an Ogre.”
“Wow, Jennifer,” Gerald said laughing, “you sure had me fooled.”
So Gerald told her to hold on tight and sprang quickly into the air. With a few beats of his wings they were soon high in the sky.
On the North side of the forest, Gerald looked across the Great Prairie toward the Black Mountains, where the Ogres had come from. He noticed a path of sorts crossing the Prairie. He wanted to take a closer look, so he landed near the path where it entered the forest. Jennifer jumped down from his neck.
“Oh Gerald, that was fun! I love flying with you,” she said. “Thank you so much.”
“I like flying with you, too,” said the Jolly Dragon.
“May I go take a look around in the woods? I have never been in this part of the forest before,” Jennifer asked.
“No. I don’t think so. Besides, we won’t be here long.” Gerald had a serious look on his face. “I just want to look at this.”
He walked over to the path and saw the grass had been trampled down. It looks like this is the way the Ogres came, thought Gerald. But it looks fresh and it was made by quite a lot of Ogres! That means...the Ogres are back!
Gerald knew he must get Jennifer home right away. He had to find out where the Ogres were and he had to find out fast.
“Come on, Jennifer,” he said, “we have to go now.” Gerald looked around for the little Squirrel. She was gone! He yelled her name. “Jennifer!” He had a scared feeling in his stomach.
A tiny voice answered from the woods. “I’m over here, Gerald.” She scurried to where he stood.
“I told you not to go into the woods,” said the now not so Jolly Dragon.
“I’m sorry,” said the little Squirrel. “Please don’t be angry with me.”
“I’m not angry. I was just worried about you,” he said. “We need to get back right away. Hop on.”
Jennifer got back on top of her friend’s neck and held on tightly. Gerald flew Jennifer right home. After leaving Jennifer with her parents, he flew slowly over the forest looking for any sign of the Ogres. But, he saw nothing. Gerald was worried. The Ogres were back. He wanted to find them right away.
After searching for a long while and finding nothing, Gerald felt hungry. He decided to go to his cornfield for a snack. As he flew over the trail, Gerald felt uneasy. What am I missing? They must be here somewhere. He was almost to the cornfield when Gerald noticed something funny. Up ahead, in the sky over the cornfield, he saw a flock of crows flying in a circle. Those crows are usually helping themselves to my corn, thought Gerald. I wonder why they are not eating.
Suddenly he knew why. The Ogres must be there! They were hunting him! Gerald turned quickly to his right and flew to his lair. “They must have set a trap for me at the cornfield,” he said out loud. Gerald felt afraid. But when he thought about what the Ogres might do to his friends, he knew he must think of something. Gerald paced around his lair. Later, he sat in the doorway just staring into the distance. After a while he had an idea. Soon he began to laugh, “Hee, hee hee...ha, ha ha.” The Jolly Dragon had a plan!
Gerald went to talk to Mr. Squirrel. When he told his friend what he wanted, Mr. Squirrel quickly scurried out of sight.
When he returned he said, “You were right, Gerald. The Ogres are in the cornfield. They have set a trap for you. Just as the trail reaches the cornfield next to the big blackberry thicket, there is a large hole covered with branches and leaves. The Ogres are hiding in the cornfield waiting for you to fall into their trap.”
“Hmm... just as I thought,” said Gerald. “Thank you for your help, my friend.”
Gerald thought about what Mr. Squirrel had said and without another word he sprang into the air and set out to find a big rock that was just the right size. Then, Gerald waited until it began to get dark.
Grasping the rock firmly in his claws, Gerald took off. Flying with a heavy rock was hard but he pumped his wings faster. He flew low over the treetops and approached the cornfield carefully. As soon as he reached the blackberry bushes he turned right above the trail where the Ogres set their trap. He knew the timing had to be just right.
He dropped the rock on the branches that covered the hole. Crash! The rock made a loud noise when it fell. Gerald landed in the blackberries. It was a great place to hide. The thorns couldn’t hurt a Dragon. So far so good, thought Gerald. He screamed loudly the way a hurt, frightened Dragon might and waited.
At the sound of the rock crashing in the hole and the scream of the Dragon, all the Ogres jumped up from where they were hiding. Since it was almost dark they hadn’t seen Gerald drop the rock and hide in the blackberries. They had waited all day for this moment. Together they rushed toward the trap to finish off the Dragon.
Gerald waited until they were very close. Then he rose up and with a mighty roar, greeted the oncoming Ogres with a wall of fire. Surprised and scared, they all turned and ran back into the cornfield. Gerald followed them. “Go back to the Black Mountains and don’t come back!” he roared. A steady stream of fire chased the Ogres as they ran.
Then, some of the corn began to pop! The Ogres became even more frightened. They ran and they ran, followed by Gerald until they were all well onto the Great Prairie. Gerald flew low, breathing fire at the Ogres as they ran. When he was satisfied that they would not return, he pulled up and yelled after them, “Don’t ever come back or I won’t be so easy on you!”
Gerald started back to his forest. As he flew, he laughed loudly. He remembered the sight of the Ogres in the cornfield when the corn started popping. They seemed to jump with every pop. Gerald laughed again. He liked popcorn. Maybe he and the other animals would have a party tonight.
“We certainly have enough popcorn,” laughed Gerald. He felt just as jolly as ever.
The End
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