Damsels Overcome

While Thoas rested in the hills with his dragon, one angry shepherd approached Thoas’ father. “We can take no more. Dragons came down the mountains and devoured whole flocks of sheep and sometimes the shepherds.”

His father hesitated, “My son will know when to take his dragon back to the mountains.”

The shepherds decided they would dispose of the dragon; they could not kill her to carry her far away. They plotted a special party for the village. At the party, they prepared a spirited drink of herbs and wine for Thoas and the dragon. The drug caused a deep sleep for both. 

While Thoas and the dragon slept, the shephards wrapped the dragon with blankets and ropes and put her in the cart that carried their wools to market. For two days and three nights, they traveled the dragon up the steep mountain over the top.

Thoas awoke to find the cart, the shepherds, and his dragon missing.

He ran to the mountain ledge where he had found the dragon. He looked and looked in all the canyons on all the cliffs and inside caves. Thoas became the saddest shepherd in the valley, not talking, not eating, and not watching his flock…always searching. She had vanished. 

Days later, the shepherds came back to the village with the cart. Thoas saw the blankets and ropes. He knew the men took his dragon. “You have killed her.”

“We did not, we took her far over the mountains to the next mountains. Seeing other dragons in the sky, we hid and waited. Begging her not to eat us and pointing to the sky, we pushed her from the cart. The flying dragons fascinated her; we sneaked away.” 

“She will find her kind and possibly mate,” comforted his father.