Bugley, the Ugly Bog
PART III
Suddenly, Bugley and Ferdinand were standing in snow, high atop a mountain peak. The wind was cold, and the flying snow stung their eyes. There was so much snow flying everywhere that they couldn't see a thing, and had to hold onto each other to keep from being separated.
"I don't think we should just stand here and freeze to death!" shouted Bugley into the howling wind, "but I can't see well enough to know where to go." "Maybe I could fly up and get above the storm to see where to go!" shouted Ferdinand. "NO FERDINAND! It's too dangerous. The wind is too strong!" cried Bugley.
Snow began to pile up around them. Soon they would be buried in it if they didn't act quickly. Ferdinand turned loose of Bugley for only a second to wipe the snow from his eyes, and the wind swept him away like a kite. His wings acted like sails as he struggled to gain control. Head over heels, Ferdinand twirled in the air. All around him was nothing but white and cold wind. He didn't know it, but he was falling straight down into the crack of a glacier on the south side of The Mystic Mountains. In seconds, the wind had taken Ferdinand several miles away from Bugley, who was standing there on the mountain-peak, horrified at what had just happened to his little friend. Bugley didn't have time, however, to grieve for Ferdinand, for he had to find a way to save himself! Bugley's first instinct was to dig a hole and crawl into it—and that's just what he did. His powerful claws dug deep into the snowdrift and in seconds, he was safely curled up inside his self-made cave.
Poor Ferdinand was not so lucky. The icy wind had frozen his wings so he couldn't use them to break his fall into the still silence of the huge ice crevasse, although he was fortunate to land on a ledge only a short distance from the top of the opening instead of falling to his doom thousands of feet below. If he had not been knocked silly when he hit his head, Ferdinand would surely have been grateful.
Back on the peak, and as soon as he heard the winds stop howling, Bugley dug his way out of his hole. Now the snow fell softly on Bugley's nose as he sniffed the crisp, cold air. It was very strange to feel such cold, for Bugley had never felt too cold or too hot before, and was glad to have such a thick fur coat to keep him warm. Though he could not see very far, Bugley spied a trail that went down the steep mountain. Now that he had time to think about Ferdinand, Bugley cried as he walked slowly down the trail. He wondered if he would ever find his little dragon friend in this vast, frozen place. He blamed himself for not holding onto Ferdinand more tightly. "I will have to have faith that I will find Ferdinand somehow, and that when I find him, he will be all right."
"Why am I shaking?" thought Ferdinand as he woke up shivering. He had never been cold before. All the lands north of the Great Mystic Mountains were free from extreme temperature changes like this. Ferdinand had also never experienced pain before, but suddenly felt a HORRIBLE feeling in his wings. He turned to look at them to see what was the matter, and was horrified to find that they WEREN'T THERE! Ferdinand frantically looked around to see where they WERE, and only then realised the predicament he was in. Many hundreds of feet below he saw two tiny pink objects drifting to and fro like little feathers. "MY WINGS!" cried Ferdinand. "My beautiful wings are gone!" The freezing wind had snapped Ferdinand's wings off like twigs. He was helpless to escape without them. If Bugley did not find him, Ferdinand would certainly be doomed.
Ferdinand began to cry. At first, he just whimpered quietly, but then he got louder and louder, and was soon wailing and howling. The mournful noise echoed back and forth down the walls of the crevasse and back up again, until it sounded like a whole family of dwarf dragons wailing away.
All of a sudden, the sound caught Ferdinand's attention and he stopped crying. He listened to his own voice float back to him in full chorus. It was quite fascinating to Ferdinand... so much so, that he was distracted from both his pain and his predicament. "Yoo-hoo!" he called. "Yoo-hoo, yoo-hoo, yoo-hoo-hoo-hoo-hoo," the voices called back. "Hullo, hullo, hulo-oh-oh-oh." Ferdinand was DELIGHTED by his new discovery. "Tra-la-la-la-la-la-la," warbled Ferdinand. "Tra-la-la-la-la-la-la-la-la-la-la...," echoed the voices. Ferdinand began to sing:
The simple melody soon became an intricate blending of harmonies bubbling up and down the crevasse walls. Ferdinand sang the song over and over and over. The beautiful harmonies soothed and comforted him until he began to feel sleepy.
Suddenly, one voice sounded out of time from the others, and was MUCH deeper. Ferdinand stopped singing and listened. Finally, he heard very clearly, "Hello down there... down there..." Ferdinand looked up to where the voice was coming from and called, "I'm down here... here... here... And I can't get out... out... out..." "Stand back against the wall... wall... wall..." called the voice from above. A flash of white zoomed by Ferdinand, and there in front of him stood a beautiful, noble, majestic creature with nonehue fur and turquolene eyes. "I am Barudas, the snow leaper," said the creature. "Climb on my back and hold on tight."
WHOOSH! In one powerful leap, Barudas had sprung to safety. Ferdinand climbed down off Barudas' back and stood on the frozen ground. "Thank you," said Ferdinand, wrapping his arms around the huge, furry neck of the beautiful beast. "It was my pleasure, little friend," said Barudas as he gave Ferdinand a nuzzle and a lick with his big, rough tongue. "What kind of creature ARE you, little fellow?" asked Barudas. "Why, I am a dwarf dragon," said Ferdinand, proudly. "Oh," said a surprised Barudas. "You are a WINGLESS dragon?" "I am NOW," pouted Ferdinand. "My wings were frozen and they broke off when I fell into that place." "Oh, you poor little fellow! I am so sorry," sympathized Barudas. "What are you doing up here so far from home?" Ferdinand's face fell... "My friend the Gatherer and I were going to Gargantua to save Princess Angelina, but I will NEVER get there now!" Barudas smiled and said, "Of course you shall... I will be happy to take you."
Inside the Great Castle by the Port of the Silvania, Princess Angelina was lying on a huge swan down bed with satin covers all swirled about her. Her once strong, playful body had become limp and frail.
Angelina had been taught all her life that she was never to eat anything or drink anything that Poppie, her nurse, had not tasted first. This was because of the prophecies that warned against the evil Fruit of Desire that might find its way to the lips of the princess. The GREAT BOOK said:
A few days earlier, Angelina and Poppie had gone to the harbour and sat on the big floating raft where the sailors unloaded their bundles. They dangled their bare toes in the Forever Waters as they watched all the ships come and go. Everyone loved the little princess, and would always give her something from their bundle as a gift. On this particular day, Angelina was given a beautiful sea shell, a lovely, long feather, and a pouch full of coloured glass balls. As Angelina was enjoying her treasures, she spied something that had fallen out of the bundle of an old Sea Beard who walked with a limp. She hurried over to pick it up, and saw a round black fruit. She was fascinated by the fruit with its bright red spots. She picked it up and called out, "Old man! Wait!" but when she looked up again, he had vanished.
Poppy said, "Do not bite into that, child, not until Poppie has tasted it first!" "I don't want to eat it—it's too pretty to eat," replied Angelina. "I shall keep it with my treasures for a few days."
Late that night, Angelina was looking at her beautiful treasures when she became curious... "What would such a lovely fruit taste like?" she wondered. "I know I mustn't eat it without Poppie tasting it first, so I'll just SMELL it." It's smell made her almost dizzy with delight. "I could smell this fruit day and night, and never grow weary of its sweet fragrance," thought Angelina. NOW, all she could think of was how GOOD the fruit would taste, so she ran to find Poppie.
Angelina was running at top speed down the palace hallway when she slammed right into her father. "A princess should not race down the palace halls like a wild horse," scolded the King. "Yes, Father," she said breathlessly. "I'm looking for Poppie. Have you seen her?" "Yes," said the King. "Poppie went with the Queen in the royal coach to help with your cousin's new baby." "When are they to return?" gasped Angelina. "At second sunrise tomorrow. Child... Why do you look so distressed?" asked the King. "Ohh... I just wanted her to read me a bedtime story," lied Angelina. It was the only time in her life that she had ever lied to her father, and she almost started to feel guilty, but then smelled the sweet fruit, and forgot all about it.
"Just this ONCE it couldn't hurt to have one little TINY bite of something before Poppie tasted it," reasoned Angelina. She was overcome with the desire to taste the fruit, and so she took one small bite. It was the MOST delicious thing she had ever tasted in her life! One bite was all it took to make her want more. She said aloud, "I shall count to ten, and if I do not fall ill, then I shall take just one more small bite. 1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-10," blurted Angelina in the time it would take most Gargantuans to count to three. "Well... I do feel quite fine, indeed. One more bite could do no harm." Angelina continued to eat the fruit in this manner until it was all gone.
By the time Angelina had finished the fruit, all seven moons had risen in the midnight sky. She felt quite satisfied and rather sleepy, so curled up in her pillows and fell fast asleep. Just before dawn Angelina awoke with a fierce craving for more of the black and red fruit that had tasted so wonderful only a few hours earlier—but alas! There was no more!
Angelina ran down to the kitchen and asked Cook if she had seen any strange fruit with black skin and red spots at the marketplace, but Cook only shook her head and rolled her eyes, as if she thought that Angelina was playing a trick on her. Cook offered her a bowl of freshly-picked lollyberries, but when Angelina tasted one, she spit it out, for it tasted DREADFUL! "Cook," scolded Angelina, "these berries are spoiled." "But your Highness, I picked them myself only this morning," cried Cook. "Here—let me taste one. Mmmm... delicious, I'd say. Maybe you're just not in a lollyberry mood, dear. Here... try a slice of Prairie Loaf with butter and some Mox cheese." The result was the same. Angelina spat out every morsel, for NOTHING tasted right. "Oh, dear," cried Cook. "You have a touch of the Queasies." "No I haven't!" protested Angelina. "I would be happy to eat anything at all, provided it did not taste like mold!" and with that, stomped out of the kitchen, leaving a very bewildered Cook behind.
Hours passed... then days... and still, ALL the princess could think of was the black & red fruit. Nothing else would pass her lips. What Angelina did not know was that the invisible seed of Desire had made its way into her very heart, and ruined her taste for all the good and wholesome things of Imaginaria.
So now poor Princess Angelina lay on her bed starving. She cursed the fruit she had longed for only a few days earlier, but it was no use. The invisible seed was growing inside her, and if The Gatherer did not arrive before the seven moons became full all at the same time, she would be gone.
As Bugley descended the Great Mystic Mountains he kept a sharp eye out for his little friend, but all he could see were the glistening snowflakes covering everything—everything, that is, except the trail right before him. It was as if someone had moved the snow aside just ahead of him, for when he looked into the far distances in front of and behind him, Bugley saw no trail. He felt very comforted by this, for he knew it must be someone very powerful and good watching over him, and offered a prayer of thanks to the Imaginarian for making sure he could always see his path.
Bugley wound his way down the magical path until he could see fernfoam patches in the distance, and the temperature had warmed up a bit. He thought, "When I reach a clump of grass, I shall stop for awhile and rest and eat a piece of Serpenknight tooth." It took quite some time for Bugley to reach the grass, and he was very tired and hungry. When he came closer Bugley could see that the grass was over his head, and wide as his arm.
"What kind of grass is this?" Bugley said to himself. "I shall have to work very hard just to make a place to sit." After much stomping and trampling, Bugley managed to sit and pull off his pack. He couldn't wait to take a bit of the Serpenknight tooth, but when he looked into his bag, Bugley saw a big hole in the bottom! There was only one chunk of tooth left. "Not to worry," thought Bugley. "One chunk will last for days." He took out the chunk and was about to put in into his mouth when he thought of poor little Ferdinand. "He has no food at all! What if I find him and he is hungry?" Even though he was VERY hungry himself, Bugley would not eat what might later be the only thing to save his friend, so instead, curled up and had a little nap. When Bugley awoke, he used the sturdy grass to reweave the hole in his pack.
The nap helped Bugley regain enough strength to continue down the steep mountain trail. He had gone many miles by late afternoon, and was now approaching the Royal Forest of Gargantua. According to the map he should be arriving at Mystic Lake as soon as he came to the eastern part of the forest's edge. Bugley could see the beautiful fisselfoam tree tops from his trail view so high above. As he came nearer, Bugley discovered that the grass was not the ONLY thing in this land that was extremely large. The trees and the flowers were also ten times the size of anything Bugley had ever seen in the Land of the Whispering Wind. To his delight, he discovered that lollyberries, lemon flutes, blue buds and bagu roots were also ten times their normal size. What a feast he had! Bugley ate until his belly was as big as a Dark Dragon egg. His face and fur were covered with ruybytea, amberlight and azurene juice that made him look as if he'd fallen straight into a pot of rainbow honey. As the juice began to dry, it became stickier and stickier. Bugley was quite uncomfortable with his too-full tummy and his too-sticky fur. He decided that if he could find the lake he might at least remedy one problem.
Bugley waddled and squished through the Giant Forest toward the east, and came upon a poor creature who appeared to be as full and sticky as he. The creature (who was too weary to speak) just nodded with understanding and led the way to the water. Both rainbow-covered beasts continued to waddle and squish all the way to the water's edge. Walking behind the other creature, Bugley had noticed that the other creature had an unsightly lump on its shoulders, also covered in sticky goo.
Bugley pulled off his pack and with a splash, jumped into the clear azurene water. The other creature entered the water with much less enthusiasm. As the creature submerged itself, the lump bobbed up to the surface, and began to splash and splutter, "HELP! HELP!" Bugley lunged through the water and grabbed the unhappy little lump. "BUGLEY!" it cried. "FERDINAND!" cried Bugley. The two friends hugged and hugged!
After plenty of hugging, Bugley and Ferdinand and Barudas all climbed out of Mystic Lake, and they found comfy places to sit along the shore. "You look different, Ferdinand," said Bugley. "Smaller, perhaps." Ferdinand pouted, "I suppose I am smaller without my wings." Bugley gasped, "Oh, my GOODNESS!!! How terrible! Does it hurt?" Ferdinand sighed a little dragon sigh, "It was quite painful at first, but now most of the hurt is here," and Ferdinand touched his heart. "Will they ever grow back?" asked Bugley. "They have never fallen off before, and I have never heard of any dragon losing their wings, so I don't know." said Ferdinand with another sigh. "Well, you may ride on my shoulders all your days, and I shall be proud to carry you."
Barudas spoke for the first time, "You are a true friend, Little Bugley Bog." "You know my name, and that I am a Bog... You must come from the Land of the Whispering Wind. Should I know you?" "No," chuckled Barudas. "The last time I saw you, you were but a tiny cub in your mother's arms."
"Why are you so far from the Land of the Whispering Wind?" questioned Bugley. "Oh... a snow leaper likes to wander... and, of course, we like the high country the best, for we crave solitude," said Barudas. "Will you come with us to Gargantua?" pleaded Ferdinand. "You are already in Gargantua, and it is only a few days' journey to the Port of Silvania, and after that, just a half-a-day's walk to the Castle of King Demitrius. You do not need me any longer—not with such an excellent protector and friend."
"I will never forget you, Barudas," exclaimed Ferdinand. "Without you I would not be here," and a tear came to Ferdinand's eye. He waddled over and hugged Barudas one last time, and so did Bugley. Then Barudas stood up and gracefully and silently bounded away.
Soon Bugley and Ferdinand were on the trail again. "Have you ever seen such big, beautiful fruit?!?" blurted Bugley as he lifted Ferdinand up on his shoulders. "No, never," laughed Ferdinand. "I even climbed inside one of the lollyberry skins just like a caterpillar!" Bugley pondered, "Everything is SO big here... The creatures must all be as big as the one we saw near Mystic Mountain." No sooner had Bugley spoken, than a great, dark shadow swooped over their heads. Bugley and Ferdinand were very frightened, and Bugley ran to hide them in the tall grass. WHOOSH! went the thing over their heads once again. Something fell off of the thing next to them. "Why, it's a giant feather, and that must be a giant bird," said Bugley. "Don't let it take me away, Bugley!" cried Ferdinand. "Why should a bird settle for a crumb when it could have a feast of a very plump Bog," whispered Bugley. "Let us be VERY still. Maybe it will go away."
But the giant bird did NOT go away; instead it landed right in front of them. It was a giant raven with bright amberlight eyes that seemed to stare right through them. It cocked its head to one side, and the to the other, then its great beak opened and it leaned forward as if to grab Bugley and Ferdinand. Instead of grabbing them, though, it spoke: "How do you do?" it said, and gave a deep bow. "May I introduce myself? I am Nero, the Queen's Messenger. I have been searching many hours for you two. We received word that some tiny creatures had reached our borders, and we hoped it might be you. Would you accept my service and climb upon my back so that I may take you straight to the Princess Angelina?"
Both Bugley and Ferdinand were still slightly in shock, but nodded YES. The Raven opened his great tangora beak for them to step inside so he could lift them onto his back. Bugley held tightly to the feathers, for he had never been so far off the ground. Ferdinand, on the other hand, was grinning from horn to horn, and said, "I thought I'd NEVER get to fly again!"
It was nearing nightfall, and the sky was deep middlenight with seven softly-glowing round moons scattered across the sky. One more day and they would all be full. Bugley and Ferdinand could see the Grand Palace glistening in the moonlit night like a sparkling jewel in the distance.
Nero "swooped" them through a big open hole in the castle walls and landed inside an enormous room. The raven lit on top of a big flat thing made out of a dead tree. Parts of the tree had been dug away to form beautiful flowers and leaves, and its branches went down instead of up in the air. "TOO high up in the air," thought Bugley, who longed to put his paws back on the ground. "You must stay up here for now," said Nero. "It is not safe for you on the floor." "Why not?!?" demanded Bugley. "Well," laughed Nero, "You don't want to get stepped on, do you? Wait here while I find the Queen."
Just then, fifteen hideous creatures just like the Princess—only bigger and with different colours of fur coming of of their heads—rushed into the room. "Where are they?!?" one shouted. "The Princess is almost gone." Nero called out, "Over here, over here." The crowd rushed to the table, and Bugley and Ferdinand felt they might be squashed in the excitement, so they ran behind a smooth, colourful stone shaped like a lemon flute.
"Stop!" came a voice. "We're frightening them! Wait here. I will go alone..." The Queen quietly approached Bugley and Ferdinand. "Hello, dear Gatherer. I am Queen Helena. Won't you please climb into my hand so I may take you to the Princess?" Suddenly, Bugley felt completely safe, and stepped into the hand of this kind, gentle-voiced creature. "Yes, yes," nodded Bugley. "Please take us to her."
Queen Helena gathered them both up ever so gently, and pressed her other hand softly over them so that they wouldn't fall out. Between the cracks of her fingers, Bugley saw a long, curvy row of up and ups, with odd-shaped stones fitted together and stacked straight-up and curved to fit the winding up and ups. There were beautifully coloured hanging things with flickering lights draped on them, with lights from above as well. They came through a large opening and into a dimly lit room. There, lying on something that looked vary soft, was Princess Angelina. "Oh no!" cried Ferdinand. "She looks as if she's dying."
Bugley suddenly felt very small and helpless. Queen Helena set him down onto the chest of the dying Princess, and put Ferdinand on a table next to the bed. Without a word, the Queen smiled meekly at Bugley and left them alone.
"Dear Imaginarian," prayed Bugley, "only you can heal this poor dying Princess. Please show me how I can help. Please guide me to the right thing to do." As Bugley prayed, he heard something fall out of his pack onto the gown of the Princess. It was a big chunk of the Serpentknight's tooth—well, big for Bugley, but nothing more than a tiny seed for the Princess. Even so, Bugley picked it up and stretched as high as he could so he could place it in Angelina's mouth. Her mouth began to chew the tiny piece of food. What happened next was the strangest thing Bugley had ever seen. As the Princess chewed, her cheeks became more and more full—as if she had taken a BIG bit of Serpenknight's tooth. She would swallow, keep right on chewing, then swallow again. This happened seven times, and then she opened her enormous azurene eyes and smiled at Bugley. "I knew you would not fail me."
Soon the room was filled with happy Gargantuans. "Blessings upon the Gatherer and his friend!" they shouted. Someone ran to the balcony and called out, "The Princess lives! The Gatherer has saved her!"
As soon as Princess Angelina was strong enough, a great Ball was held in Bugley's honour. He was placed on a tall table, seated on a throne and given an amberlight crown and a dazzling staff with a glitterglimmed handle. A giant makebigger glass was placed in front of Bugley so that King Demitrius and his subjects could clearly see the face of The Gatherer. Gargantuan after Gargantuan came up and said thank you to Bugley. What surprised the furry bog was how each Gargantuan said to the other, "Isn't he BEAUTIFUL?" or sometimes, "What a beautiful face he has." Ferdinand peered at Bugley and said, "Why, Bugley... You ARE beautiful. The Imaginarian must have made you so," not realising that Bugley had been made beautiful by his heart and his brave and unselfish deeds.
In the days that followed, Bugley, Ferdinand and Princess Angelina spent many wonderful days playing Hide & Find in the garden together. Of course, Bugley and Ferdinand were always the ones to hide, since Princess Angelina was too easy to spot, and if she were to walk far enough away not to be seen by the two tiny creatures, it would have taken them many hours to travel the distance.
After visiting Gargantua for a full seven-moon cycle, Bugley and Ferdinand were ready to go home, but not even Nero the raven could take them back over the Great Mystic Mountains. Ferdinand said, "Maybe I'm not supposed to go home after all... I mean... what kind of dragon has no wings?" "A very BRAVE one," answered a gentle, familiar voice. "Lady Crystal Eyes!" exclaimed Ferdinand. "Oh, how I've missed you and my family and the Forever Waters. Will you carry me back, PLEASE?!?"
"No," said Lady Crystal Eyes in a stern voice. Ferdinand began to cry. "No," she said again, this time with a smile, "for you shall fly by my side over the mountains and waters." Then she broke off a small part of each of her two wings and placed them on Ferdinand. A sparkling mist surrounded him as he felt the wings become his own. "Now Bugley," said Lady Crystal Eyes, "you would look quite silly with wings, so you shall ride on my back."
Princess Angelina cried a big Gargantuan tear that got them all salty wet when she said "Good-bye," for she knew in her heart that she would never again see the Gatherer and his little dragon friend again.
It took no time at all to reach the dragon caves—that was part of the magic of traveling with the Dark Dragon. Ferdinand's family was overjoyed to see him, and there were lots of hugs all around. Bugley celebrated with Ferdinand and his family before climbing back onto Lady Crystal Eyes' back. Then he too was headed home.
Bugley was getting so used to flying, that by the time they reached Rainbow Lake, he got excited and almost jumped off while still 200 feet in the air! Lady Crystal Eyes started to circle, and as she did, said, "There is a surprise waiting for you." Bugley said, "I'll be so happy to see my Mama... nothing could please me more than that!" "You'll see," laughed the Dark Dragon.
Finally, Lady Crystal Eyes landed at the opening to Bugley Bog's cave. EVERY bog, and most of the creatures of the Land of the Whispering Wind were cheering: "BUGLEY'S HOME! HOORAY! HOORAY!" Bugley climbed down, expecting to be mobbed with hugs and nuzzles, but instead, everyone just stood still and smiled at him. Then a tiny cub waddled out of the crowd toward Bugley. "Brother, Brother!" she squealed, then turned back to the crowd. "MAMA! See Brother! PAPA! See Brother!"
"This is indeed a wonderful surprise," said Bugley to Lady Crystal Eyes as he picked up his baby sister. "Yes," she said. "Soon after you left for Gargantua, I found your father lost up in the Great Mystic Mountains, so I brought him home."
Now, Bugley's mother and father ran up to his side. "Promise you will always stay near us, and never go far away again," said Tender. "Yes, ma'am," promised Bugley—and it was ever so, for Bugley ALWAYS kept his promises.
The Whispering Wind
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