Digory The Dragon Slayer

see your friendship with the... um... um... you know... the spiky-tra-la-la...’ Enid turned so that her father could see her label. ‘Ah, yes, Enid. That’s it, my darling. Pretty name, pretty name...’
    The Queen coughed to remind the King to get back to business. Digory had a heavy feeling in his heart.
    ‘Well now, the thing is, we never had a boy of our own,’ the King continued, ‘and you’ve been like a son to us this summer. We’d miss you frightfully if you went off to do good deeds anywhere else...’
    Digory knew the next word would be ‘but’.
    ‘So,’ said the King, ‘we would like you to stay with us and be our prince — you’d make a jolly good one.’
    Digory thought he must have misheard the King. He was so astonished that he couldn’t reply.
    The King bent close to whisper in his ear.
    ‘Actually, it was Enid’s idea,’ he said. ‘Don’t disappoint her, Diggers. We all want you to stay.’
    Digory still couldn’t speak, but he nodded his head again and again until Enid pinched the end of his nose.
    ‘Your silly head will drop off, Prince Digory!’ she laughed. ‘Let’s go and celebrate with some fireworks!’
    And that was that.

NOT Q UITE...

    Well, of course, that is never really that, you know, especially in stories - there is always something else ...



HAVE WE FORGOTTEN SOMETHING?

    D igory was thrilled to be able to stay with his best friend, Enid. He wasn’t sure if he wanted to become a prince, but he was certainly glad he’d no longer have to roam aimlessly around looking for damsels and dragons and chivalrousness. I’ll write to my mother straightaway, he thought to himself, and tell her 1 am going to live happily ever after. Maybe she will come to visit.
    But just as Digory sharpened his quill pen, King Widget knocked on his door.
    ‘Sorry to disturb you, old chap,’ said the King, scratching his head. ‘There’s a small thing I seem to have forgotten.’
    Digory hoped this thing wasn’t going to take as long to remember as the pair of slippers.
    ‘There is something I had to ask you...’ King Widget mumbled.
    ‘Was it about lutes?’ guessed Digory hopefully.
    But the King had completely forgotten and couldn’t give him a clue. Digory suggested everything he could think of from A to Z but still the King was stuck, so they sent for the Queen and Enid. Together everyone tried to jog the King’s memory.
    ‘Did you want to know his crown size, dear?’ suggested the Queen.
    ‘Or maybe you wanted to play noughts and crosses?’ tried Enid.
    But the King shook his head firmly. It definitely wasn’t anything to do with crowns or criss-cross. The chamberlain was summoned and the jester too. Even the cook tried to guess what the King had forgotten. They guessed all afternoon until way past teatime. It was much worse than the slippers.
    ‘Well, what sort of thing was it, dear?’ sighed the Queen, who’d been taking a bath when the King called and could feel a sneeze coming on.
    ‘Something... something to do with... snails, I think...’ said the King at last. Then suddenly he laughed. ‘Of course, silly old buffer! It wasn’t anything really important, sorry everyone.’
    They all sighed with relief.
    ‘It wasn’t snails, it was scales !’ laughed the King. ‘I had just forgotten to tell Digory here about the dragon!’
    ‘I’d just forgotten to say that, as he is going to become our prince, he will have to slay the dragon,’ said King Widget. ‘It’s the usual knightly thing. No problem for a dragon slayer like yourself.’
    Digory went weak at the knees and had to sit down.
    ‘But... but... but...’ he stammered, like a dripping drip.
    ‘Aaatishoo!’ interrupted the damp Queen. ‘What a lot of guessing over a dragon!’ and she shivered off to her bath.
    Digory took a deep breath.
    ‘Which... particular dragon might that be, Your Highness?’ he asked feebly, as his voice came back.
    ‘There’s a dragon in a cave at the edge of our forest,’ explained the King. ‘He’s called the Horrible Gnasher Toast’em Firebreath. Now that you are going to be our prince you won’t mind killing the dragon, will you?

    Otherwise we shall have to find another knight, which seems rather silly as we have you here.’
    ‘We think there’s only one dragon,’ said Enid.
    ‘Quite right, my dear,’ said the King, shaking Digory’s hand. ‘There’s probably only one... at least there aren’t usually more than two, don’t you find? Well,