The Magic Of The Bacopa

• William Thomas, Grade 5
• Short Story
• 2022

One day King Hector of Rojord felt terribly sick. The royal doctor came and discovered what illness the king had. He said, “The cure is the stalk of a Bacopa. We need a dragon to breathe fire on it, and we only have 6 days.” The doctor told Ben and Eric that they were the only ones left who could save the king. They didn’t hesitate to agree.

The next day Eric and Ben set off on the long journey, walking together. They were both enjoying themselves. On the first night of the journey, they sat together next to a fire discussing where they needed to go next. According to them, they needed to go north-west. They were about 16 kilometres away from Dragon Hand which they planned to reach early on the third day.

The second day they had to pass a deep river. “I can’t swim”, said Eric. “We can build a bridge”, replied Ben. That afternoon they built the bridge and crossed the river. “Let’s stop and rest”, said Ben. “Good idea”, said Eric.

Early on the third day of their journey, they were walking along the path when Eric stumbled and fell. Ben ran over to help him and Eric said, “I am fine. I just rolled my ankle.” That slowed them down that day. The next day was very slow progress and at midday they were unsure whether they would get there in time. There was only one day left. Eric said, “You go on without me.” “We must finish this together. We’ll ask the dragon to fly us home,” replied Ben. They kept walking together.

They set off early in the morning. At 3:00 pm they reached Dragon Hand and talked to a small, ruby dragon. “Can you please come to Rojord because King Hector is sick and to cure him, we need you to set fire to the stalk of a Bacopa?” asked Ben. “Yes, I will come and help,” replied the Dragon. “Thank you. We will repay you some day for being kind”, said Eric. “Could you also fly us back to our home? The king has little time left,” asked Ben. “Yes, I will,” said the Dragon.

Ben and Eric climbed onto the dragon. “Is everyone ready?” the dragon asked. They both said, “Yes”. The dragon spread its wings and started to fly. It was the most amazing experience they had ever experienced. They were going so fast that everything they saw passed in a blur. In no time at all, they could see the capital of Rojord in the distance.

A little later they landed. They took the dragon to see the Royal Doctor who said they were just in time. “Could you please breathe fire onto this?” asked Eric. “Yes,” said the dragon and he blew fire onto the Bacopa. They took the smoking Bacopa to the King’s room, and placed it on his bedside table. He came to life. They were all happy. The king lived happily ever after.

The End