Lauren S. Pfiefer

Barbara Sloan's 3rd Grade
Oak Grove School, Libertyville, Illinois

Once upon a time, there lived a young princess that was locked up in a cellar. Now this princess dreamed of someone to rescue her. But guarding the cellar was a very, very, very big dragon. Anyone who tried to rescue her failed.

One stormy night, the dragon heard a very strange sound coming from the woods.

"Someone is trying to steal my princess!" he thought. Suddenly, he heard more and more strange sounds circling around him. "It must be an army!" he thought. Before he could do anything about the noises, he woke up to the singing of the blue birds. "Ahhhhh!" the dragon screamed. "Good thing it's only a dream!"

Pretty soon, the dragon got very hungry. (Because no one had tried to save the princess in a couple ofweeks.) Just then, a sly old fox came out of the forest.

"Hey, dragon! I have a dare for you," the fox said.

"Okay. What is it?" asked the dragon.

"I dare you to ask Sally if she -wants to guard the cellar," dared the fox.

"Why would I do that? Sally is the dumbest dragon ever!" said the dragon.

"But if you do, you can fly over the valley and get the ripest berries in the world!" the fox said in a sneaky way. "Also, they have gardeners," said the fox in that same sneaky way.

"Gardeners? They have gardeners?" asked the dragon, dreaming off.

"All you have to do is ask Sally if she wants the job, and then fly over the valley," said the fox.

Then the weirdest thing happened. The dragon began to pack!

"Clean underwear. Check! Mud boots. Check! A rubber ducky. Check!" said the dragon.

"Great! It's all working for my plan," said the sly fox, watching the dragon.

"A note to Sally on what to do. Okay. I guess I have to -write it then. And here is what it will say!" said the Dragon to himself.

Dear Sally,

Thanks a lot,

After the dragon finished packing, he waited three hours for Sally to arrive to guard the cellar. Finally, a gust of wind came whizzing around the corner of the forest.

"I'm here! I'm here! I'm here!" yelled Sally, out of breath.

"You're late. What a surprise," the dragon said with a bored look on his face. "I'm sorry, but my Mom told me that I had to clean my room before I could come," Sally said with a sad look.

"Forget it. Oh, here is a note to help you guard the cellar," said the dragon.

"Note-Boat. I can do this job with out this note," Sally said as she tore the letter up.

Meanwhile, the fox went through the woods, over the hill, and past through the village, stopping at the bakery.

"Hey, boss!" the fox said to the baker. "Our plan is working. Sally is guarding the cellar. You will have no trouble getting passed her. The dragon is going over the valley, to the tumbleweed forest."

"Now, all I need is to sneak in the back door! And that's all!" the baker said jumping all around. "I wonder what the princess will look like? I wonder if she will like me? I wonder if, if, if..."

"... your nose falls off," said the fox, interrupting the baker. "Now, I kept my promise, so you better keep yours."

"Okay. You 're right. Follow me," said the baker, leading the fox to a cage in the forest.

Meanwhile, the dragon walked 500 miles before he reached the valley. "Just like the fox said, all I have to do now is fly over this valley, " said the dragon.

So with that, he took a running leap, and flew over the valley. When the dragon got there, all he could see was tumbleweed.

"Maybe I need to walk some more," the dragon thought. So, he walked about two miles before he realized that there were no berries and there were no gardeners to eat.

"That sly old fox tricked me," said the dragon. And with that, the dragon took off back to the cellar.

At the cellar. Sally was doing her nails and curling her hair.

"I have to look my best. So when the dragon comes back, he will see me and I will be so beautiful," said Sally. "Gosh, is he a wonder boy. Let me just take my nap, " said Sally, falling asleep.

In the forest, the baker let out a lovely red female fox, just like he promised. As the fox and the female fox went back to the little den, (that the fox made) the baker was getting his armor on.

"Today is the day I will rescue the beautiful princess," said the baker proudly. And so the baker passed through the village, over a hill and through the woods. He slipped through the back door of the cellar, and called for the princess.

"Hey, princess! I'm here to rescue you," called the baker. And he carried the fair princess past the sleeping Sally, back to the bakery.

Huffing and puffing, the dragon returned to the cellar. He found Sally sleeping and the back door to the cellar open.

He woke Sally up and yelled, "What do you think you are doing? You're supposed to be guarding the cellar!"

"I'm sorry, but I got a little bit tired," said Sally. Just as the dragon got ready to yell some more, he saw Sally's beautiful eyes and did not say a word.

Finally, the dragon looked deep into Sally's eyes and said, "You are the most beautiful dragon I have ever seen."

So, the dragon and Sally, the baker and the princess, the fox and the female fox lived happily ever after.