Beck was begging for a bedtime story, so I had all the boys pile into his little twin bed and made something up. Knowing it wouldn't be nearly as good as the bedtime stories they get with Papa Jack, I gave it a shot anyway...
Reeky lives in caves deep under the ocean floor. He’s as tall as a 4 year old, but is really about 16 years old. He’s not a dwarf, and although he can breathe in the water or on land, he’s definitely not a mermaid.
One day Reeky was exploring the endless oceanic caverns when he heard the sound of an old man in the darkness,
“Help!” the struggling voice groaned.
Reeky always took his flashlight and dagger when exploring the caves, because one could never be sure what would be lurking in the darkness of the caves.
This was his chance! It was always his ambition to help someone, so he was delighted to hear that he could use his courage to help someone in need.
He shined the light deep into a crevice and saw the face of an old man, who uttered,
“Young lad, please save me. You can save me by finding the stolen treasure. Only, when you find it, you must not spend any of it on yourself. You must use it for the good of others.”
“Where is this treasure?” Reeky asked.
“In the depths of the Great Gorge of Darkness. Take heed, for the great beast, Dargon guards the treasure.”
At the name “Dargon” a shiver went up Reeky’s spine, for Dargon was the fire-breathing beast whose tail is sharper than any two edged sword. He is written about in many books, but no one has ever seen him and lived to tell about it.
At once, without hesitation, Reeky left for the Great Gorge of Darkness.
It was about a 3 day journey, and as he descended into the darkness, he heard heavy breathing. He knew he was close.
Out of nowhere, he was engulfed by a great ball of fire (goodness gracious…). He quickly escaped and drew his bow. As he was drawing his bow, the Great Dargon’s tail slashed the bow out of Reeky’s hand, nearly cutting his hand off. Reeky grabbed for his only remaining weapon, his dagger, and threw it at the head of the beast.
It sank deep into his skull, and with a loud groan, Dargon dropped to the ground.
Reeky grabbed the treasure that was hidden under Dargon’s magic blanket, and took it back to his home in the caves, deep under the sea.
pause for questions…
What do you think Reeky did w/ the treasure?
Was he sad that he couldn’t spend the treasure on himself?
What would you do with the treasure if you were Reeky?
Would you be sad if you couldn’t use any of that great treasure for yourself?
From that day on, Reeky found the treasure was not in the gold, but in the very act of giving it away to help make other people happy.
(My kids were eager to know what gifts he gave people and I just made up some stuff, like how he secretly sent toys to kids who were sad, etc. They also wondered about the old man. I forgot about him by the end of the story and forgot to weave him back in. Maybe tomorrow night we can do part 2...)
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