Sir Lochlan
&
The Nasty, Nasty Dragon
[a fable by Grandpa]

1
Once upon a time, a long, long time ago, there was a valiant,
noble and loyal knight of the Realm named
Sir Lochlan the Bold.
Sir Lochlan the Bold was courageous beyond belief, and he was
a really nice guy, too.
Everybody liked Sir Lochlan the Bold except for a nasty, nasty
dragon that lived on the moor and liked nothing better than
devouring sweet damsels in distress.
The nasty, nasty dragon was named Eekgore the Foul, and on
this very day so long, long ago, Eekgore the Foul was very, very
hungry.
Now, as happenstance would have it, Miss Mary
Merryweather, a sweet damsel of the Ream, was a-traipsing
o’er the moor in search of the elusive blueberry, of which her
father, King of the Realm Rudolf, was very, very fond, who was
at that time home in his castle, taking a nap; for, as everyone
knows, being a king is a tiring job.
As the day wore on, Mary, searching diligently for blueberries,
did not notice, sneaking up toward her on tiptoes, came none
other than Eekgore the Foul wanting nothing more than
a tasty morsel for his supper.
Meanwhile, back at the castle stables, our gallant hero Sir
Lochlan the Bold, was grooming his steadfast steed Stalwart,
brushing his silky mane and glistening black coat.

2
“Good horse,” cried Sir Lochlan, “you shall have some oats
when I am done brushing,” whereupon Stalwart neighed with
pleased anticipation.
Nearly done, Sir Lochlan, being diligent and observant, noticed
that Stalwart’s forelock was falling over his horse’s right eye.
“What Ho!” cried Sir Lochlan, “we must give you a bit of a
haircut!”
At this he drew from its scabbard his mighty sword Sterling,
purportedly the sharpest sword in all the Realm and beyond.
With a graceful flourish he swept his sword like a flash of light,
and Stalwart’s bangs drifted to the floor. “Now you can see
again,” said Sir Lochlan, “and it is time for your oats.”
“Good idea,” neighed Stalwart.
“Ha, ha, ha,” roared Eekgore the Dragon, “I’ve got you now
wandering wench” as he grabbed Miss. Mary Merryweather out
on the moor, who struggled to no avail against the mean
monster.
“Help, help!” she screamed as loud as a damsel in distress is
able. “Help, I am caught by Eekgore the Foul who wants to eat
me for supper!”
Now as every knight of the Realm knows full well, it is very
wrong for anyone to eat a damsel in distress for supper,
especially if one is a foul dragon.
So, when Sir Lochlan heard Mary’s pleas for help, he leaped on
his strong stallion Stalwart, drew his mighty sword Sterling
and galloped from the castle stables pell-mell, crying “I am
coming Maid Mary, hold fast, I am on my way,” and on his way
he was.

3
“Blast!” swore Eekgore the Foul, seeing the knight rushing
toward him. The dragon threw Mary to the moor floor, hissed
out a flame of fire, and rose on his two back legs, teeth gnashing
and stomach growling, for he was a very hungry, angry, nasty
dragon indeed.
Being a heroic knight of the old school, however, all of
Eekgore’s gnashing and roaring didn’t bother Sir Lochlan a bit,
and he rode up to the fuming dragon and shouted, “Beware the
blade of my sharp sword Sterling! You shall be chopped up into
Dragon bits and barbecued unless you chill and sit yourself
down. If you do that, I shall give you some Oreos from
Stalwart’s saddlebags.”
“Oreos?” asked the dragon,” for he liked Oreos even better than
damsels in distress.
“Yes,” answered Sir Lochlan, who always preferred to make a
deal than carve dragons up in pieces which could be so very
messy on the moor.
Lifting Miss Mary Merryweather onto the back of Stalwart the
horse, Sir Lochlan sped his steed back to the castle stables.
“Thank you. noble knight,” sighed Mary, “you have saved me
from the foul dragon!”
“No problem,” said Sir Lochlan hopping from his horse, “and
look what else I have in Stalwart’s saddle bags,” as he drew
from them a pint of blueberries for Mary’s father, the King of the
Realm Rudolf.
“Oh, valiant knight,” gushed Mary, “come with me to supper
with the king, and we shall have blueberries and cream!”
And Sir Lochlan the Bold did.