chapter 14

Guitar to the Rescue

Twig and Lily grasped each other as the giant beast lowered its huge head. It peered at them, first with one eye, and then the other.

“H-hello!” Twig ventured.

A sudden puff of smoke furled out of its nostrils, making Lily jump. “W-we are your friends!” she said nervously.

Twig found his courage. “Yes! We have been taking care of one of your babies!”

Lily ventured a smile, and waved. “He’s been a good baby dragon!”

The dragon gave a huge snort, and more puffs of smoke jetted out.

“Uh, you may be really hungry,” Twig continued bravely. “But we think maybe your babies are in danger!” He gestured with his paws for the giant dragon to follow. His tailed flicked with urgency.

“Yes! This way!” Lily exclaimed. She pointed and started to head down the slope into the underbrush. The dragon stood still, its tail waving and flicking.

Lily hesitated. “Do you think it understands?”

“I hope so. One way to find out. Let’s go!”

With that, Twig and Lily darted off in the direction of Burdock and the dragon babies. They looked back over their shoulders to see the large dragon bounding after them.

They scrambled quickly through the dense tangle of vines and underbrush, leaping over fallen branches and prickly greenbrier, racing like they’d never raced before.

The dragon had no problem keeping up, but followed them as if it knew where they were leading. The sand around them trembled as it bounded along. Twig could feel the heat on the fur of his tail, emanating from the giant dragon’s nostrils.

They got to the little clearing. The baby dragons were nowhere to be seen. Twig noticed signs of a struggle, and several burned places. “Look. See that? I bet Burdock upset the dragons. They probably tried to shoot flames at him.”

“I hope he got burned in the process!” Lily replied. She looked up at the giant dragon. “It’s okay. We’ll find them!”

“Let’s try the beach,” Twig suggested urgently. “They may already be trying to leave the island.”

They headed across the now worn pathway to the dunes. Beyond, they could hear the roar of the surf. At the top of the last dune, they could look down onto the sandy beach.

“There they are!” Twig pointed. Near the edge of the surf were Burdock and Basil. Char and the little troupe of baby dragons were being loaded into the guitar ship. Their snouts had been tied shut, and their tiny wings pinned tightly to their sides with strong vines.

The giant dragon lifted its head and let loose a loud, piercing bellow, then raced across the sand, Twig and Lily close behind.

Burdock looked up in horror to see the giant dragon, angry and still trumpeting its fury, galloping across the beach. He shoved the last of the dragon babies into the hold of the guitar boat, and then he and Basil began to frantically push the boat out to sea.

“Hurry, Basil!” he shrieked. “That must be one of the parents. We need to get out of here fast!”

“I don’t think we can make it, Uncle Burdock!” Basil shouted back.

Burdock’s eyes were wide with fear. The huge dragon was nearly upon them, with wings spread menacingly and streams of smoke trailing from its nostrils.

“There’s nowhere to run now,” Burdock shouted back. “Our only way out is across the ocean. Keep pushing this thing into the water! Push!”

But the huge dragon wasn’t going to let them get away. It towered over them and began shooting streams of fire. Burdock and Basil abandoned the guitar boat, and then took off down the beach, streaking across the sand in terror.

With a few flaps and leaps, the dragon blocked them, and the two weasels skidded to a stop. The dragon bellowed again, and its tailed flicked and bobbed.

At the same time, Twig and Lily raced to the guitar boat. Char and the other little dragons were huddled inside. Twig yanked at Char, pulling him out onto the sand, and began to nibble and chew through the vine bindings.

Once free, Char began to squawk and flap. He saw the giant dragon and, with excited squeaks, scampered down the beach toward it.

The mother dragon turned away from Basil and Burdock and saw Char for the first time . . . with Twig racing behind. To the dragon, it looked like Twig was threatening her baby. Enraged, she turned her attention to Twig.

Hissing and bellowing with fury, she raised her head and neck high, preparing to shoot a blast of fire at the little chipmunk. She spread her wings. Twig, frozen with fear, could only prepare for the worst.

Suddenly little Char scurried in front of Twig, facing his mother. His wings fluttered rapidly and he trumpeted a series of little toots and squawks.

“Gruk!” he croaked, again and again. “Gruk! Gruk!”

The mother dragon roared with excitement, sniffing and nuzzling Char and vibrating her giant wings. Char returned the affection, racing and skittering around the enormous feet of the mother dragon, flapping his wings and tooting.

Twig, relieved, looked over to see Lily at the guitar boat, smiling broadly at the reunion. “We did it, Twig!” she shouted across the sand.

But Burdock slithered up behind her and pushed her aside. “Out of my way!” he hissed. He quickly looked down into the guitar. The other baby dragons were sitting wide-eyed and bound. With the mother dragon distracted by Char, the two weasels pushed and pulled at the guitar boat, getting it closer and closer to the surf. A few moments later they had it out into the water and were hastily paddling it out to sea.

“They’re taking the babies!” Lily shouted. “They’re getting away!”

The mother dragon turned from Char and looked at the little boat bobbing over the swells. Steamy puffs of smoke snorted out of her flared nostrils.

This was not a happy mommy dragon.