Moving On
Learning to let go was hard but if she was going to get anywhere in her new profession, she’d have to learn fast.
Still it served Sandy right.
Nobody had forced her to leave her cosy job in admin. She had been longing for years to be free and feel the wind in her hair again. She'd had enough of just living for the weekends and holidays.
So she walked, much to the surprise of her colleagues and disapproval of her family. Sandy wondered if her usually placid mother would ever stop going on about it.
Now was the moment of truth though.
It was time to let go.
If she was going to teach bungee jumping for a living, she'd best get on with it.
A Questionable Choice
It was a grim day in the magical realm when the Dark Lord decided to appoint an accountant. This was not the way things were done here. The Dark Lord was supposed to rob and plunder and then spend his ill-gotten gains in a frenzy. The appointment even made the headline news. People dared to question what the Dark Lord was doing and ask what would happen next.
Time For A Change
The dragon yawned. Faced one idiot with a sword, faced them all. The latest one matched the usual profile. He was young, handsome, and looked keen. No doubt the fool had been promised a king's ransom.
The only problem with that, the dragon thought, is you have to live to collect it. I know nobody has in all the years I've been here. This is so boring. Still, one quick blast will take care of this and then maybe, just maybe, I'll get to live in peace for a bit. I wish they'd leave me alone. It's all I want. I don't eat their women. Just the odd sheep or cow every so often. And humans eat them so they can hardly moan at me!
The dragon stared. The young man had not rushed towards him. Indeed the human was pointing some sort of box at him. There was a click, a quick flash of light, the dragon blinked and then saw the man beaming.
‘I hope that didn't startle you. You are a magnificent specimen. The noblest dragon, yes?’
This made a change. The dragon had not come across flattery before: abject fear, yes, tremendous courage, yes, but not this. The dragon padded slowly to the human. The human stayed still. That was different too. Some of them could run at an impressive speed for bipeds. Not that any could outrun flame.
‘I know you can understand me,’ the young man said. ‘I've studied all of the legends about your kind. You can talk?’
The word ‘Yes’ left the dragon's mouth before he could stop it.
The young man smiled. ‘Look, we could do a deal here. Can you see the crowd on the hill behind me?’
The dragon nodded. He'd smelt them first. Some humans didn't like soap much.
‘They need to see me chase you away. I know a place where you can live in peace, away from them, with plenty of water and food. Deer, that kind of thing? I would like to study you in detail. I'm a naturalist, see.’
The dragon didn't see. The chap still had his clothes on.
‘I like to understand animals, plants, and birds. See how they live. Try and persuade my lot to treat you better.’
‘You've got your work cut out there,’ the dragon said quietly.
‘Money helps. Our lot can be bribed to do the right thing sometimes. Course you could just kill me now. I only brought the sword to look the part of those you usually face. I couldn't tell the king what I've just told you.’
The dragon nodded. This sounded good and if the guy lied, he'd die. ‘You get the reward and come back to this place you spoke of?’
The man nodded. ‘Up for this then? I'm afraid I will have to wave the sword about just for the look of the thing.’
‘Naturally. On three, you shout, I'll run, and game on. What's your name?’
‘Attenborough, the name's Attenborough.’
A Rotten Day
The fairy godmother trashed her wand.
None of her spells worked properly. She’d only just stopped the village cars crashing when one charm sped these new-fangled contraptions towards the nearest walls.
Standard wand checks revealed no faults. Nor could she detect she’d been cursed (though she wouldn’t have been surprised if the drivers cursed her in that way humans had of thinking bad language would somehow make things better. They didn’t influence her).
The fairy godmother retrieved her wand.
If there was nothing wrong with that, she would have to take herself in for an MOT!
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