Note: I am an active Member of the SCA (Society for Creative Anachronism). Besides the folks getting wrapped in armor and whacking away at each other (it’s a LOT of fun, trust me!), we will participate in lots of other fun activities, like Arts & Sciences, and Bardic Arts, meaning we will sing songs or tell stories. A few years ago, I entered this piece in a competition. The rule was we would pick 3 random words from a hat (I ended up with ‘wise’, ‘king’ and ‘dragon’) and come up with something to present to the audience. We had one hour. This story popped into my head and it was well received. (I admit I have polished it slightly since then, and my grand kids love hearing it when they come over to spend the night when their parents need “adult time”.) To learn more about the SCA, please visit; WWW.SCA.ORG

Once upon a time, there was an ogre and his name was Rupert. And like all the other ogres in the land, Rupert was big, quite ugly and covered with hair. He was also very strong. His arms had muscles that bulged when he flexed them and he was very fierce in battle, swinging his war hammer around and smashing everyone in front of him down. For these reasons, all the people in the land were afraid of Rupert, and he didn’t have many friends.

In fact, he only had one friend. A young maiden named Celeste, and she was blind. Because she couldn’t see how ugly Rupert was, on the outside, she got to know him and discovered that underneath that gruff, hairy exterior was someone who did things that nobody would have ever suspected. Things like in the winter, when it was cold, he would go to the forest and scatter food for hungry animals. Or if he won gold in a tournament, he would put some of the coins in a small pouch and place them at the door of some of the poor people who lived in the village. Yes, in spite of what people may have thought about ogres and Rupert in particular, his heart was actually filled with kindness.

It was also filled with Love for Celeste. You see, Rupert thought that indeed, she had been properly named, for in his eyes, she was as beautiful as the stars in the heavens. And when Celeste told him that she also loved him, Rupert decided to ask her father for her hand in marriage.

Now Celeste’s father was quite taken aback at this request. At the time, he was busy planning a wedding for his other daughter, Brandi. She was also quite beautiful and was engaged to a handsome fellow. Celeste’s father was worried that if he said “No” to Rupert, the ogre would get mad and maybe hurt him. The man was not aware of the ogre’s gentle nature. So he said to Rupert; “If you can find a cure for my daughter’s blindness, I will allow you to marry her.” He said this, knowing that all the doctors in the land had tried to cure Celeste and had failed. This way, the father would not have to worry about Rupert actually marrying Celeste, since the chance of his finding a cure were almost impossible! And if he did? Well then, that was all the better for Celeste!

Now Rupert was wise enough to know that many doctors had tried to cure Celeste of her blindness and had failed. That meant that he had to find another way. And the best way he knew of was ... MAGIC. And the best ones to find out about magic from were ... FAIRIES. So off he went to where the Fairies lived.

When Rupert was admitted to the Court of the Fairy King, he discovered the place was in an uproar. It seems that an evil dragon had kidnapped the Kings daughter, Princess Jessica. No doubt the dragon had taken her back to his cave, to EAT HER!!! For that is what dragons were known to do; eat beautiful girls, and Jessica was the most beautiful of all who lived in the Fairy Kingdom. Her sweet smile and twinkling eyes would enchant the hearts of everyone she met, and her long red hair was soft as the silk on an ear of corn. The Fairy King told Rupert that if he could rescue Jessica before the dragon ate her, he would have the cure for Celeste’s blindness. So off Rupert went, war hammer in his big hand.