villagers:
“Gather round, good people of Marfield; gather round,” the Mayor said as he officially opened the meeting.”We presently live in the saddest of times we have yet experienced. We have all lost a loved one and I know that some of you have even lost your entire family in the volcanic eruption. Not content with killing our loved ones, the volcano’s anger boiled their bodies and bones; leaving us only with a scraping of their ashes for remains. So, in memory of our dead, a large urn monument will be erected in the Village Square where their sacred ashes will remain for all time. And upon this urn, all their names shall be inscribed. This monument will become a focal point for our prayers, quiet reflections, our tears and our memories. They shall not be forgotten! Now, please give ear to our wisest and most senior citizen, Granny McNally, who wishes to say a few words to you.”
Granny McNally slowly ascended the platform stage that had been erected and after unfurling her shawl revealing her silver grey head of hair, she addressed the villagers:
“Our hearts are heavy with grief for our dead and our feelings of loss veil the extent of our pain. Even our mental images of their tragic deaths mangle our minds and press our thoughts of confusion into feelings of uncertainty for our future. Today, our skies seem filled with doom and gloom, but believe me, good neighbours, when I tell you that the sun shall shine through again!”
“I have walked this earth for over 90 years. I’ve seen all of you born and have witnessed more deaths than I care to remember. At the risk of sounding arrogant, I’ve forgotten more than you have still to learn, and yet; despite my old age and worldly wisdom, I know so little about the life to be found beneath this green sod or what makes ‘The Angry Hill’ explode in rage and commit such carnage.”
“But this I know with every breath of my being and tell you most truly. I know that sadness suffered in silence grows into bitterness and sours the very soul of humanity. I know that grief denied is grief extended and that bereavement borne alone is a cross too heavy to bear. I urge you all; do not hide away your sadness and grief from your families, neighbours and friends. Share your thoughts, fears, anger and other sad feelings with them; for a burden shared is a weight lessened. Let it out. Let others see your sadness. Let others help you to carry your loss!”
“Do not conceal your pain. There is no shame in sadness, no weakness in wanting, no cowardice in crying and no comfort to be found in silent rage. There is no point in struggling to cope alone when others will help you willingly, and be glad to have done so. This is a time for you to share with family and friends; a time for all of us to rally round and to do the best we can. This is not a time to isolate oneself from the lives of others, but a time to take part in all around us.”
“Do all of this, good people, and I promise you that light will shine through your darkest hour. Follow the security that is to be found in the substance of your future; do not dwell upon the shadow of your past. Put your past behind you and a brighter present and ‘morrow shall surely follow. However sad you feel today, in time, your feelings shall change for the better. Remember; the birds shall still sing their song, the sun will still shine brightly, the wind will still blow, the grass will continue to grow lush and green, and the flowers of the meadows will still bloom in all their beauty.”
“Consider this, good people, should you feel battered and beaten down. Even mighty oaks bend and bow to the force of nature. Yet, even when they are battered and blown by the earth’s tempestuous storms; even then, experience encourages their trunks to grow ever stronger and their roots ever deeper. Are we no less? So, please give heed to the ramblings of an old woman. Do as I advise, and however hard it proves to be, I promise you that peace and reconciliation will enter your lives once more.”
Granny McNally’s speech to the assembled villagers had the desired effect. Within a matter of months, farms were restocked, the fields were prepared for new crops to be sown and bridges, houses, shops, school and church had been rebuilt. Everyone helped, even Douglas the Dragon, who allowed the villagers to use the strength of his body to haul huge loads of sand, stone and cement for rebuilding and his height as scaffolding for the workers to climb on. The villagers soon relearned that working together as a community made each feel to be part of a much greater whole.
When all that had been done, substitute families needed to be found for all those children whom the volcano had left orphaned. Every family who had room to accommodate an orphan child did so. Even the trouble maker, Fred Larkin Junior, who’d lost all his family in the volcanic eruption, was eventually found an adopted household with Mother McNally and her large family of 13 children. Young Frances McNally wasn’t at all pleased initially, as she and Fred Larkin Junior were always fighting each other and was sworn enemies!
When all the orphaned children had been found foster homes, a village child reminded everyone that Douglas the Dragon had also been orphaned.” What about poor Douglas?” the child asked. Being a much-loved creature, naturally all of the village children wanted to adopt Douglas the Dragon.” We’ll have Douglas” the children yelled.” He can live at our house!”
“I’m very sorry to disappoint you all,” the Mayor of Marfield told the children, “Douglas is a growing dragon and is getting too large to be housed in any of your humble dwellings. Besides, he can’t possibly live with all of you. Now, what shall we do?”
At that juncture, Granny McNally stepped forward and whispered in the Mayor’s ear and provided the perfect solution.
“Because we all love Douglas,” the Mayor of Marfield told them,” and because he has become the villager’s dragon, it is only fair that he remains accessible to all of us. So, as Granny McNally suggests, it will be most appropriate for Douglas the Dragon to live in the Village Square, alongside our sacred urn and monument. Marfield Village shall adopt Douglas because he is ‘our’ dragon and belongs to all of us.”
This proposal was whole-heartedly adopted with the approval of all the villagers; especially Douglas. He liked the idea of being the villagers’ dragon. Whenever Douglas and the other villagers felt a bit sad for the loss of their loved ones at night time in bed and couldn’t get to sleep; they found that by looking towards the urn and remembering the good things their loved ones did and the happy moments spent together, helped a little. In time, the villagers’ feelings of loss and emptiness lessened. The time for mourning passed and was eventually overtaken by the practicalities of life.
Soon everyone had a new home. Douglas loved living in the centre of the village and being the centre of attention. The centre was the best place to be. This is where it all happened. The Village Square was the hub of everything that went in, out of or through the village. It was the hustle and bustle of all activity. It buzzed with the busyness of life! Most important of all, however, Douglas was close to all the children who filled the square with their boisterous games, cheerful voices and happy songs. The village centre was also the place where the butcher and the baker had their shops. Being on hand, all day long, Douglas the Dragon was always around when the baker discarded some burnt bread and misshapen biscuits or the butcher threw out some overcooked pork pies or squashed sausages! For the next decade, Douglas lived in peace and harmony with his neighbours.
All continued to go well for many years, but as the dragon became a ‘teenager’, he naturally started to develop teenage ways. Everything about him became bigger, louder, smellier and more inconvenient than before! Douglas continued to grow larger and larger.
"Shift your big bottom, Douglas!" the villagers would say as they struggled to squeeze passed him into the Village Square.” You take up more room than a field full of hay stacks at threshing time!”
"Come on, Douglas! Move somewhere else please. The customers will never get inside my shop doorway if you keep blocking up its pathway and door entrance with your huge body!" the butcher or another of the shopkeepers would ask the dragon.
Even the children began to complain when Douglas began to get in the way of their games in
the Village Square. "Move your head to the left, Douglas. Your shadow is blocking out the sunlight and we can't see what we're doing!" they would frequently complain.
"Come on, Douglas! Be fair and budge up a bit. There isn't enough room to swing a skipping rope with your big bottom filling the square!" another would comment.
"How do you expect us to play a good game of football, Douglas," others cried, "when your big bum fills the space of two football pitches?" the children would chide.
“If you must break wind and make smelly noises, Douglas” the greengrocer would say, “can you please move down a few streets and not drive my customers away!”
"Run for cover, everyone! Douglas is about to sneeze!" the cry would go up as soon as the children saw the dragon reach for a handkerchief made out of a single bed sheet.
"Who broke my windows?" one of the nearby home owners asked, after Douglas had let out the noisiest sneeze you've ever heard. "Was it you… the boy with the football? Or you… the girl with a catapult?"
"It wasn't us, Mister! Honest… it wasn't! Blame Douglas. He is the one to blame. He is the one who sneezed. It was his force ten sneeze that broke your window, Mister a boy