Bill and his son moved several feet
away from the dwindling campfire to avoid waking the girls. Billy
Jr.'s eyes began drooping, but he fought exhaustion because he wanted
to hear the rest of his dad's
story.
"What happened in Gothland?" Billy Jr. asked. Bill continued...
"There was a large cave filled with gold and precious jewels somewhere in the woodlands of Gothland. One afternoon, a mischievous boy was playing out in the woods and stumbled into the dark cave. This boy knew that his parents had warned him not to go too far into the woods, but he just had to know what was in that cave. He turned the corner and saw an enormous dragon sleeping on a pile of gold. He was both terrified and fascinated at the same time. The dragon's teeth, which were larger than the boy, hung from his mouth as he slept. Each breath he took was a snarling growl that rattled the gold and jewels. The young boy decided to grab one of the gold cups lying closest to his feet because he wanted to brag about his discovery to his friends. After the boy left, the dragon woke up and smelled a human scent in his cave. He searched through the gold and realized his favorite cup was missing. The dragon searched the entire cave several times but could not find the human or his precious cup. He stormed out of the cave and flew into the heart of Gothland. The dragon went on a fiery rampage and destroyed nearly every home in sight.
Beowulf, who was now the king of Gothland, heard of the dragon's wrath. This infuriated the mighty warrior because he knew innocent people had been injured. Beowulf took eleven of his best soldiers to find the dragon, and he carried an iron shield to protect him from the fire. The men also retrieved the gold cup from the boy and got directions to the cave because no other man knew its location. Far out into the wilderness, the warriors found the dragon guarding his cave. Beowulf told his men to let him fight the dragon alone and only help if he began losing. He approached the cave and taunted the dragon, which made him even angrier. Beowulf let out a loud war cry, raised his shield, and charged into battle. The dragon raised his head and blew fire hundreds of feet into the air while flapping his wings, trying to scare Beowulf. The mighty warrior reached the dragon, who towered above him, and immediately swung his sword into the creature's front leg. The sword snapped in half because it was no match for this beast. The dragon blew fire toward Beowulf, who was now crouched under his iron shield. He was obviously losing the battle, but his fellow warriors did not come to his rescue as they had promised because they were so incredibly terrified. Only one of the eleven men was brave enough to eventually storm into battle - Beowulf's cousin Wiglaf. The dragon became even angrier when he saw another warrior charging toward him. He blew flames twice as hot, and Wiglaf's wooden shield burst into flames. Again, the mighty dragon blew fire toward Beowulf's iron shield until it finally melted and left both men standing before the beast. The dragon snatched Beowulf into the air with his teeth and tossed him around several times. Wiglaf saw an opportunity and thrust his sword into the dragon's neck, which was the weakest point on his body. Beowulf, who was covered in his own blood, fell to the ground as the dragon screamed in pain. He took a dagger that hung from his belt and sliced into the creature's belly. The dragon fell to the ground in defeat. Beowulf slowly sat down and explained to Wiglaf that the dragon's poison was in his body and that he would die before the day's end. He then told Wiglaf to give all the dragon's treasure to the people of Gothland. Beowulf also asked to be buried on the cliff near the sea, and with those words, the mighty warrior passed away."
"Beowulf died because a young boy stole the dragon's treasure. That boy would never have stolen the gold cup if he listened to his parents and stayed away from the woods. Beowulf died because that boy was disobedient. He also promised one more thing before he died; he vowed that his spirit would still protect all the good children of the world. Maybe you should think about that next time you and Joanie get into a fight and refuse to listen to me and your mother," Bill said.
"Okay, we'll listen next time," Billy Jr. said. He was very tired after forcing himself to stay alert throughout the final story.
"Alright! Well let's get some sleep because we have a long day tomorrow. Don't worry about those animals in the woods anymore. Beowulf's spirit will protect you now because you promised to be good," Bill claimed.
Billy Jr. smiled and crawled into the tent. Bill carried Joanie into the tent because she was still sleeping soundly. Marie woke up from the disturbance and asked if he was done telling the story.
"Yes, I'm done. I ended the story by telling him that a disobedient boy eventually caused Beowulf's death. I think they'll start listening to us now," Bill whispered.
"Yeah, they'll listen to us until next year when they realize Beowulf is just a story and not reality," Marie joked.
"Well, whatever works for now is fine with me. Let's get some sleep," he said.
Author's Note: Once again, I wrote this chapter from two stories in Marshall's book. One major change that I made was from the first story about the dragon's attack on Gothland. The person who stole the gold cup was actually a slave trying to escape from his master's wrath. I thought replacing him with a young boy would relate more to Billy Jr. I wanted to connect Beowulf's death in this chapter to the introduction of this storybook where the children were misbehaving. Now Billy Jr. sees a "consequence" of disobeying his parents. I also left out the details following his death. Beowulf requested that the treasure be distributed to the people of Gothland, but it was actually buried with his body mainly because the treasure was associated with a curse. I wanted to expand on the story and frametale more, but I would have exceeded my word limit. I planned to have Bill demonstrate Beowulf's war cry when he charged into battle, but there wasn't enough room to describe all the commotion it would have caused by waking Joanie and Marie. The important thing is that I included all the major facts and made the story fit with my frame. This is my final chapter, so I hope you enjoyed learning about the life and adventures of Beowulf!
Image Information: The Dragon from Beowulf's Last Fight
Bibliography Information: "How the Fire Dragon Warred with the Goth Folk" by H. E. Marshall, from Stories of Beowulf Told to the Children (1908). Web Source: The Baldwin Project
"How Beowulf Overcame the Dragon" by H. E. Marshall, from Stories of Beowulf Told to the Children (1908). Web Source: The Baldwin Project
"What happened in Gothland?" Billy Jr. asked. Bill continued...
"There was a large cave filled with gold and precious jewels somewhere in the woodlands of Gothland. One afternoon, a mischievous boy was playing out in the woods and stumbled into the dark cave. This boy knew that his parents had warned him not to go too far into the woods, but he just had to know what was in that cave. He turned the corner and saw an enormous dragon sleeping on a pile of gold. He was both terrified and fascinated at the same time. The dragon's teeth, which were larger than the boy, hung from his mouth as he slept. Each breath he took was a snarling growl that rattled the gold and jewels. The young boy decided to grab one of the gold cups lying closest to his feet because he wanted to brag about his discovery to his friends. After the boy left, the dragon woke up and smelled a human scent in his cave. He searched through the gold and realized his favorite cup was missing. The dragon searched the entire cave several times but could not find the human or his precious cup. He stormed out of the cave and flew into the heart of Gothland. The dragon went on a fiery rampage and destroyed nearly every home in sight.
Beowulf, who was now the king of Gothland, heard of the dragon's wrath. This infuriated the mighty warrior because he knew innocent people had been injured. Beowulf took eleven of his best soldiers to find the dragon, and he carried an iron shield to protect him from the fire. The men also retrieved the gold cup from the boy and got directions to the cave because no other man knew its location. Far out into the wilderness, the warriors found the dragon guarding his cave. Beowulf told his men to let him fight the dragon alone and only help if he began losing. He approached the cave and taunted the dragon, which made him even angrier. Beowulf let out a loud war cry, raised his shield, and charged into battle. The dragon raised his head and blew fire hundreds of feet into the air while flapping his wings, trying to scare Beowulf. The mighty warrior reached the dragon, who towered above him, and immediately swung his sword into the creature's front leg. The sword snapped in half because it was no match for this beast. The dragon blew fire toward Beowulf, who was now crouched under his iron shield. He was obviously losing the battle, but his fellow warriors did not come to his rescue as they had promised because they were so incredibly terrified. Only one of the eleven men was brave enough to eventually storm into battle - Beowulf's cousin Wiglaf. The dragon became even angrier when he saw another warrior charging toward him. He blew flames twice as hot, and Wiglaf's wooden shield burst into flames. Again, the mighty dragon blew fire toward Beowulf's iron shield until it finally melted and left both men standing before the beast. The dragon snatched Beowulf into the air with his teeth and tossed him around several times. Wiglaf saw an opportunity and thrust his sword into the dragon's neck, which was the weakest point on his body. Beowulf, who was covered in his own blood, fell to the ground as the dragon screamed in pain. He took a dagger that hung from his belt and sliced into the creature's belly. The dragon fell to the ground in defeat. Beowulf slowly sat down and explained to Wiglaf that the dragon's poison was in his body and that he would die before the day's end. He then told Wiglaf to give all the dragon's treasure to the people of Gothland. Beowulf also asked to be buried on the cliff near the sea, and with those words, the mighty warrior passed away."
"Beowulf died because a young boy stole the dragon's treasure. That boy would never have stolen the gold cup if he listened to his parents and stayed away from the woods. Beowulf died because that boy was disobedient. He also promised one more thing before he died; he vowed that his spirit would still protect all the good children of the world. Maybe you should think about that next time you and Joanie get into a fight and refuse to listen to me and your mother," Bill said.
"Okay, we'll listen next time," Billy Jr. said. He was very tired after forcing himself to stay alert throughout the final story.
"Alright! Well let's get some sleep because we have a long day tomorrow. Don't worry about those animals in the woods anymore. Beowulf's spirit will protect you now because you promised to be good," Bill claimed.
Billy Jr. smiled and crawled into the tent. Bill carried Joanie into the tent because she was still sleeping soundly. Marie woke up from the disturbance and asked if he was done telling the story.
"Yes, I'm done. I ended the story by telling him that a disobedient boy eventually caused Beowulf's death. I think they'll start listening to us now," Bill whispered.
"Yeah, they'll listen to us until next year when they realize Beowulf is just a story and not reality," Marie joked.
"Well, whatever works for now is fine with me. Let's get some sleep," he said.
Author's Note: Once again, I wrote this chapter from two stories in Marshall's book. One major change that I made was from the first story about the dragon's attack on Gothland. The person who stole the gold cup was actually a slave trying to escape from his master's wrath. I thought replacing him with a young boy would relate more to Billy Jr. I wanted to connect Beowulf's death in this chapter to the introduction of this storybook where the children were misbehaving. Now Billy Jr. sees a "consequence" of disobeying his parents. I also left out the details following his death. Beowulf requested that the treasure be distributed to the people of Gothland, but it was actually buried with his body mainly because the treasure was associated with a curse. I wanted to expand on the story and frametale more, but I would have exceeded my word limit. I planned to have Bill demonstrate Beowulf's war cry when he charged into battle, but there wasn't enough room to describe all the commotion it would have caused by waking Joanie and Marie. The important thing is that I included all the major facts and made the story fit with my frame. This is my final chapter, so I hope you enjoyed learning about the life and adventures of Beowulf!
Image Information: The Dragon from Beowulf's Last Fight
Bibliography Information: "How the Fire Dragon Warred with the Goth Folk" by H. E. Marshall, from Stories of Beowulf Told to the Children (1908). Web Source: The Baldwin Project
"How Beowulf Overcame the Dragon" by H. E. Marshall, from Stories of Beowulf Told to the Children (1908). Web Source: The Baldwin Project