What would you do if your townspeople suddenly turned into dragons right before your eyes? Brando Pendragon is not your average kid. No Sir! He's a descendant of King Arthur himself.

This story by j.c. Pink & Brando Staton

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A state of pandemonium rested over the small town of Cedarville on Saturday morning.

"Go away!" A group of people shouted from the sidewalks.

"Save the trees!" A group of protesters held signs high in the air.

Brando Pendragon drew a deep breath, and slid his hand through his short dark hair. "I'm only nine years old for pete's sake. I need a library," he said. But, would he ever get one?

Two days ago a group of protesters stationed themselves at the construction site of the new town library. The protesters had it in their heads that more trees would be cut down to produce books for the library. Brando flopped down on the ground, and rested himself under the huge oak tree in Staton Park. The warm Virginia sunshine felt good on his face.

"Heck, this is America, and this town ain't never had a library. Why don't those fools go home," he said. Parzival, Brando's black German Shepard, lay down next to his master, and heaved a sigh.

Brando opened the book he held to yet another Arthurian legend. The boy had always felt a certain kinship to King Arthur, but he couldn't explain it - not even to himself. However, his mother did claim they were descendants of the great king.

"Heck, this ole blue book is still in pretty good condition, considering it was my great- grandfathers," Brando said, as he opened to the first chapter.

The words were tiny, not as big as they are in modern books, but he'd manage. Parzival  barked loud at something behind the oak tree.

"What the heck is it now Parzival," Brando asked. He lay the book down and rose to his feet.

What he saw next made him swallow hard, and his eyes grew big as the moon.

Inside the tree trunk rested a long mighty sword, sparkling with precious stones. It sparkled so bright the tree trunk turned different colors of ruby, emerald, diamond and sapphire. Brando shook his head in disbelief, and blinked his eyes. For sure, he'd been reading too many books about the once and future king.

"It looks like ... he touched the sword's handle with his shaking hand.

"It's - it's Excalibur!"

Out of nowhere thunder roared across the morning sky, and dark clouds covered quickly. The twinkling jewels in the sword lit up the whole ground underneath the boy's feet.

Brando didn't know why, or what force made him do so, but he pulled the sword from the tree as easy as removing his pencil from its  sharpener. He looked back at the grumbling crowd, still screaming and shaking their fist boldly. The thunder crashed in the crisp air above them.

Brando held Excalibur high in the air - as if he had a right to - and suddenly the protesters turned into dragons right before his eyes. All of them stood at least five - maybe six feet tall. "Short dragons, but dragons just the same," Brando declared.

For some bizarre reason every dragon turned, and looked at the Oak tree. All eyes feasted on Brando, Parzival and Excalibur. What a fine breakfast we would make, Brando thought, swallowing hard. The dragons puffed green smoke from their huge nostrils, and stomped their big claw feet, shaking the whole ground as they moved. "Geez!"

At that moment it was as if Brando had stepped inside an Arthurian tale. He felt as gallant as any knight must have ever felt, and he was suddenly decorated in a full suite of armor. "What magic is this?" he asked himself. Then, he felt even braver and more powerful.

"To the Knighthood!" Brando shouted.

"Gr-gr-gr!" Parzival ran up to each dragon, and growled bravely. With his sharp teeth, he nipped a chunk off their long heavy tails, and then spit them out on the ground.

A loud clap of thunder shook the earth. Brando ran fearless toward the dragons, swinging Excalibur this way and that. He approached each one of the freakish beasts, and hit them with the powerful sword, causing them to collapse dead on the ground.

Brando jumped for joy. "Wow, I always wanted to do that!" When all the dragons lay dead, the thunder stopped, and Brando and Parzival ran back to the tree. The brave little knight knew what he must do. He placed Excalibur back inside the mighty tree trunk.

"This can't be real, it must be a dream!"

Then the boy sat down, and opened his book.  "If I read some more maybe -just maybe, I'll fall asleep, and wake up." For some reason, he opened the old book at the back instead of the front, and found some writing inside.

Whoever reads this book will have great adventures

- Carlton Pendragon.

"My great-grandfather." Brando looked around. The dead dragons were all gone, as if they had disappeared in a puff of smoke. A few protesters remained behind, looking discouraged. The little knight smiled to himself, for he knew the words of his great-grandfather were true . Soon, Brando's town would have a brand-new library full of books and adventures.

He leaned back on the tree trunk, and crossed his hands behind his head. The sun was warm again on his body. A large smile  spread across his face. Parcival gave a loud bark, and lie down next to his master, closing his eyes for a quick nap.

Brando Pendragon could barely wait for his next book adventure. And he knew that Parcival, his faithful Sheppard felt the same way.

© 2000jpinkerton

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