THE WIZARD WHO COULDN'T COUNT
Once, long ago, there lived a Wizard. He wore grey woolly
moccasins, coloured by the dust of the cave which had come to
be his home. It was at the foothills of the mountains. His beard
was long and tatty. After tying into three knots, it came to rest
just above his knees. He was pot bellied, of joyous character...
and he liked to sing.
The townsfolk wore similar shoes on their feet, except for the
colours, which were light blue and lilac. Not faded by the mist of
toil or time. They knew of the Wizard. He was famous round
about. He made himself invisible at times, so as to come and go
amongst the townsfolk without too much fuss.
Halfway up the mountain, there was a lake, and from the top of
the mountain ran a stream, descending through the rocks, the
waters cascading onto the trees, coming to rest in the lake.
Foliage and plants grew abundantly in and around the lake. The
scenery was magical.
Hidden away, tucked behind the greenery, there lay a
small dragon. His name was Peter. He was no ordinary dragon,
you see, he used to be a Prince. A very handsome Prince at
that. Perhaps too fond of his looks - had come from far off
lands where, many years ago his mother, Queen of the Golden
Castle, had asked the Wizard, in despair, to 'tame' her
wandering son.
Now, the Wizard couldn't count. And in using a spell - its
purpose, to give the Prince a haggard look, (just for awhile) -
the Wizad had chanted and chanted until he reached ninety nine.
Or so he thought... In actual fact he had come to one hundred.
So instead of ageing, the Prince had shrivelled and twizzled,
coughed and spluttered - until he became...
A Dragon!
From thereon he had hidden in the waters of the lake, knowing
of, and secretly loving the Princess. She lived in the cave at the
top of the mountains; the Wizard felt a deep sense of sadness
and regret, because every tine the Princess came to sit by the
lake, Peter the Dragon would hide, too ashamed for her to know
his fate.
Ironically, the only way the spell could be broken would be for
the Princess to kiss the little Dragon. Sadder still, she had
absolutely no idea he was there, hidden in the lake which she
frequently sat by in the afternoon sun.
One summer's day the Princess had friends come to visit. They
journeyed long, and were hungry now to see their beautiful
friend. Climbing through the foothlls to the mountains, they
headed upwards. As they neared the lake a little girl skipped
from amongst them, towards the waters. It was too late, Peter
the Dragon had been bathing lazily and was unprepared. The
little girl shrieked with joy as she saw him.
"Oh look at the tiny Dragon..."
The whole group of people moved towards the lake as Peter
headed for the greenery. Just at that moment the Princess ran
down towards the lake, and the guests. She too, saw the
Dragon, She stood silently. Amazed.
"This isn't happening," Thought Peter to himself - "not to me,
so ugly... to be seen by a woman as beautiful as she. Worse still,
my love for her is stronger now than I had ever known..."
What Peter had not realised, was that every single thought of his
could be heard aloud. The little girl giggled. The crowd were startled.
The Princess screamed, turned back on herself and raced off up to the
mountain top.
Meanwhile the Wizard, who had been shopping in Safeway's downtown,
had heard the Dragon's thoughts, as well as the Princess scream.
A flash of embarrassment made him instantly visible in the middle
of the aisle of the store. (He had forgotten to bring his magic wand
which would stop this happening.) A delighted shopper stopped to ask
for his autograph.
Just then, and most unexpectedly, a film crew appreared. Out of nowhere!
Closing swiftly in on him, they hastened forward bombarding him with
questions.
"Oh no," Whispered the Wizard to himself, "I'd better make myself
invsible again."
He concentrated hard. Ping. He was gone. One of the film crew
picked up a can of spray paint from a nearby shelf.
"I'll catch him, just watch -"
Spray moistened the air in the gangway, catching the Wizard's eyelashes,
his mouth and his knees.
"Oops," He thought, "Oh dear."
No wand and far from home, he dodged in and out of different aisles,
trying to evade the crew and shoppers. They were keeping good tabs
on him though... But he had an idea.
He stepped slowly backwards, pigeon stepping, one foot at a time,
with invisible hands behind him. He was reaching out for a paint remover
called 'Vanish'; accidentally taking hold of something else, the store's own
brand os something in a similar looking bottle, his fingers pressed down.
No sooner had he sprayed than -
Whoosh! He was up in the air, rapidly inflating into a helium balloon.
Wizard shaped, of course! He drifted up and away from the astonished
film crew and shoppers, up toward a skylight in the roof. And out of
the building.
"What a relief." He said to himself, as a gust of wind blew him straight back
to the top of the mountain. He hovered above the trees, unable to latch
onto any branches.
Many of the visitors by the lake had seen the balloon floating by. Their gaze
was taken upwards. The Dragon sneezed. Air shifted the balloon closer
to the tree tops. Grabbing hold of a branch, the Wizard eased himself
to safety, making his way quite conspicuously down the trees.
The little girl, whose hair was filled with spiky hairpins, reached out to
hug the balloon. Bang. There was nothing there. She screamed and screamed
hysterically as her parents flocked around, cooing to comfort her. Only
a pair of eyes, a mouth and two knees remained visible, shielded somewhat
by the undergrowth. The Wizard hardly dared move, as the girl and her parents
searched for remains of the balloon.
"Aa a a tis shoo...!" A thunderous sneeze sent flames roaring from the Dragon's
mouth up into the surrounding sky. Everyone's gaze was held up at the sight
this time. And with that, the Wizard made a swift exit, slipping slyly down
through the rocks, to his own cave at the bottom of the mountain.
Back in his cave he remembered to pick up his magic wand. He knew he'd be
needing it shortly, as he was making plans to undo a certain spell.
Ping. He wizzed off to the lake, stopping to pop the small Dragon into his rucksack.
Then up to the Princess's cave.
Footsteps were moving closer to the top of the mountain. The Wizard knew he
had very little time to explain his story, of the spell he cast so long ago,
to the Princess:
This was Prince Peter. Newspapers had reported him missing all those years
back in time, but only the Wizard and the Prince's mother had known the
awful truth.
"How can it be true?" Shrieked the Princess in disgust. "I cant kiss that thing..."
She was distraught.
The secret was out. This Dragon. That Prince. The very same Prince... The Princess
had known of him, held a secret admiration for him. But the same Prince she so
secretly adored...?
"That thing? That thing? - If you could just understand." Scolded the Wizard.
The Dragon whimpered, as only a Dragon who used to be a Prince and was
now a Dragon in this situation could.
"Oh alright," Said the Princess, "I will try. Just one kiss though. But you'll have to
turn your back."
The Wizard closed his eyes, turned his back, then clasped his wand between
both hands, mumbling, as if in prayer.
The Princess took one step, two steps back, a larger step backwards, then
closed her own eyes as she awkwardly weighed up how to approach and
kiss the Dragon.
Her lips met his.
"Thank you." The handsome Prince Peter bowed to his most beautiful Princess.
His smile shone before her, the only woman he had ever truly loved.
Just at that moment a crowed clapped, cheering at the opening of the cave.
They were married there and then. Celebrations rang out across the mountains
for hundreds of years.
The Wizard cheered. The crowd cheered. The film crew re- appeared, cheering.
And the townsfolk cheered.
Everyone was happy.