The Dragon by Ellis Biller

Fire Dragon, by Finn J. in Issue 10: An Ekphrasis Adventure

Issue 10: An Ekphrasis Adventure is an appreciation of artwork and the poetry and stories a work of art can inspire. We're excited to feature stories and poetry by young writers who submitted their work for this theme.

Thank you to Ellis Biller for sharing his story, "The Dragon," which was inspired by the illustration, Fire Dragon, by Finn J.

---

Once upon a time, there was a small village. It was a nice place. But then, the villagers realize that every night, one sheep disappears. The villagers decide to have one of them stay up all night and watch the sheep to see what happens. 

When the villager named Bob watches the sheep, he gasps when he hears a loud, whooshing sound. To his terror, he sees an enormous dragon land on the ground near the pen where the villagers keep the sheep. The beast is red and scaly with a forked tongue. When it breathes, small sparks fly out of its mouth, giving Bob a hint that the dragon breathes fire. The dragon lifts up a leg, which shows Bob long, sharp claws. 

The dragon grabs the sheep with its claws and takes to the air, slowly flying away towards a cave in a mountain. Bob steps backwards to turn around, but he steps on a twig, which makes a loud snap! Even from a few yards away, the dragon's head jerks around to face in Bob's direction. The creature drops the sheep, and flies directly towards Bob! 

Bob runs and alerts the villagers! The warriors grab their weapons and run towards the dragon! But the dragon lands and swats them back with its large wing. Then the dragon lumbers through the village. It breathes fire on one house, then steps on another. The people who live inside run out of their homes just in time! 

The warriors get back up and run at the dragon once more. The dragon slices its wing at them, but one warrior slides under the wing and stabs the dragon’s leg. 

The dragon roars in pain, then grabs the warrior and flings him far. It looks like a devastating blow, but the warrior lands in a lake and survives because the water breaks his fall.

The other warriors grab spears, bows, and arrows and attack again. One spear flies through the air and hits one of the dragon’s horns and breaks it off. The dragon is forced back to the mountain by a rain of spears. Most just bounce off its tough red scales, but a few of them hit the dragon’s wing, letting the beast not be able to fly. 

The dragon climbs back into its cave. The warriors follow. All except one of them wait before entering. The dragon knocks a large rock from its cave down the mountain. It hits the one warrior, and he falls all the way down the mountain. 

The dragon thinks that it was only the one warrior who came, so it comes back out of its cave.  

“Charge!” 

All the warriors jump out at the beast and shoot about thirty-five arrows at it. 

ROAR!

It roars in pain and retreats into a side tunnel. 

“How do we stop this beast for good?” the warriors think. “It will just come back out.”  

But then the warriors get an idea. On the mountain there is a large heavy rock. They roll it to the mouth of the cave. It is so heavy the warriors need to call all the villagers to help them roll the stone. They hear the dragon come to the mouth of the cave. It tries to push the rock out of the way, but it doesn't work. No matter what the dragon tries, the rock stays put.

The monster is trapped for good. All the people of the village have a large party to celebrate.

---

Ellis Biller is a fourth grader who is ten years old. He likes Ghostbusters, monsters and dragons, reptiles, mythology, Minecraft, video games, and the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man.

Our Ekphrasis Adventure issue is about using visual art as inspiration for poetry and storytelling.

Can you tell us about what stood out to you in the illustration you chose to write about? What in the image sparked the idea for your story?

I really liked the dragon. I like monsters, and I like writing about them!

Do you have a favorite artist, or a picture book, comic, or graphic novel that you love and want to shout out?

I like graphic novels, including the Power Rangers graphic novels. 

What is your favorite topic to study in school?

I like the Advanced Learning class at my school.

What is the most interesting thing you recently learned?

I learned that people don’t know where the word “pug” (for the dog breed) came from.

What book are you currently reading or read most recently? Would you recommend this book to other readers?

I have been reading the Nnewts series. I do recommend it!