The very big Moon Lizard
Down in one of the valleys of
Lunaasia, there was an abandoned old coal mine. Long ago miners used to dig
around there for coal, but the mine ran out of coal over the years and now the
old mine was worthless and had been abandoned.
One day, Queen Luna decided to visit
the old abandoned mine, and arrived in her carriage with Serena and James.
Princess Diana wasn’t with them because she didn’t want to visit the old mine. “Why
have you decided to visit this old coal mine your majesty?” asked James “I mean
this old coal mine doesn’t have any coal any more”. “I know James,” said Queen
Luna “but it may be worth checking out; you never know we may find something
interesting in the mine”. “As you wish your majesty” said James.
Queen Luna, Serena and James got out of the
carriage and looked at the mine. Some miners were already there, checking it
out. The head miner went up to the queen and bowed to her. “Welcome your
majesty” he said. “I’m happy to be here,” replied Queen Luna “now what has been
going on so far?” “Well your majesty,” said the head miner “my men have started
digging, but so far all we’ve found are rocks and dirt. So we’ve found nothing
much yet”. “I see,” said Queen Luna “well never mind. Your men have only just
started, so I’m sure they will find something later. But do make sure that you
and your men are careful in there. I don’t want any accidents happening and nor
do I want anyone hurt”. “Oh don’t worry your majesty,” said the head miner “my
men and I have checked this mine over lots of times, and it’s safe”. Queen Luna
was relieved to hear that.
Meanwhile, Princess Serena was playing
around with some chalk stones she had just found on the ground. She was drawing
some pictures on the ground near the carriage, so that she wouldn’t get in
anyone’s way near the mine. It was also easier for James to keep an eye on her
that way. She had drawn a bird, a fish, a butterfly, a crescent moon and a
star. “Those are good drawings you’ve done your highness” said James, who had
been watching her draw. “Thank you James,” said Serena “I love drawing with
chalk because it’s fun”.
Suddenly something walked across
Serena’s chalk drawings. It was a white lizard and it was nearly the same size
of a baby crocodile. “I wonder where that came from” said Serena. The lizard walked
over to Serena’s right hand and stared at her moon bracelet. Serena noticed
this and wondered if the lizard was not really a lizard at all, but a moon
spirit instead. She asked James if there were any statues around the mine. “Actually
there is one statue in there your highness,” said James “it is just at the
front of the entrance of the mine. I will take you to it”. James was right
about a statue located at the front of the mine, it was a white statue of a
dragon. “Wow what a statue,” said Serena “but I thought mines would only have
statues of miners”. “Ah well they do,” said James “but they say that this
statue was put here a long time ago to bring luck to the miners, and to protect
them from harm. It seems to have worked because no accidents have happened here
over the years”.
Serena looked carefully at the base
of the dragon statue, to see if there was a bead stuck in it, and sure enough
there was. The dull looking bead was on the top of the base, right between the
dragon’s front feet. While James wasn’t looking, Serena grabbed the bead and
placed it in her pocket. ‘I wonder where the spirit of this bead is?’ she
thought.
At that moment, the white lizard that
Serena saw earlier walked past her and James. “I wonder where that lizard is
going” said Serena. The lizard walked into the mine, and then it turned its
head to Serena and James. “That’s funny,” said Serena, admiring the lizard’s
behaviour, “you don’t suppose it wants us to follow it do you James?” “I doubt
it your highness,” said James “but I don’t think it would hurt to follow it.
But we better tell your mother where we are going first”. James and Serena told
Queen Luna that they were going to explore in the mine. Queen Luna didn’t mind,
but she told them to be very careful. The head miner gave them some helmets to
wear, to be safe, and he gave James two lanterns so that he and Serena could
see in the dark mine.
Just as James and Serena started to
enter the mine, James had just realised something; how were they going to find
their way back to the entrance of the mine? Serena had an idea. “If I press my
chalk stone against the wall, while we are walking, the chalk stone will leave
a line,” she said “then we can follow the line to find our way back to the
entrance”. “That’s a very smart idea your highness” said James. So once Serena
and James started walking in the mine, Serena drew a line on the wall for a
trail, and James held one of the lanterns up so that he and Serena could see
them easily. He used the other lantern to keep an eye on the white lizard they
were following.
The white lizard led Serena and James
deeper into the mines and they passed many twists and turns. “It’s a good thing
we are leaving a trail of chalk,” said James “otherwise we would be completely
lost here in this mine”. Serena agreed with James. Finally the white lizard
stopped at a big blank wall. “I wonder why the lizard has stopped us here,”
said James “I mean there is nothing here”. As he said those words, the lizard
went through a small hole in the wall. “Do you think that there is something
behind this wall?” Serena asked James. “There is only one way to know that”
James answered. James left a lantern with Serena, and then he followed the
trail to get back to the miners, leaving Serena alone.
While
James was gone, Serena held out the bead from the dragon statue. The white
lizard came out of the hole and then it started to glow with the bead. Serena
picked up the lantern and stayed way back from the lizard. She watched, in
wonder, as the lizard transformed into something else. It was now a white
dragon, with silver streaks on the tip of its wings. Serena couldn’t believe
her eyes; she had only seen a dragon in stories, not in real life. The Moon
Dragon lowered its head to Serena. Serena gulped as she moved her right hand
towards the dragon to pet it. Once Serena touched it, she didn’t feel scared
anymore. “Hey Moon Dragon,” she said “I don’t suppose you can show me what’s
behind that blank wall could you?” The Moon Dragon whacked the blank wall with its
tail really hard, and then the wall collapsed. Serena feared that the mine
would start to collapse, but it didn’t, thank goodness. Serena stared at where
the blank wall had been, and then she gasped in shock. Behind the wall were
lots and lots of quartz crystals. “Wow,” said Serena “mother will be surprised
by this”. She thanked the Moon Dragon, and then the Moon Dragon went back into
its moon bead.
When Queen Luna, James and the head
miner saw Serena’s discovery, they were amazed. “You are a good miner your
highness” the head miner said to Serena. “You were right your majesty,” said
James “it was worth it to come to this abandoned coal mine and check it out”.
“Indeed” said Queen Luna. “I’ll have my men check all the walls of this mine to
see if there are any more quartz crystals” said the head miner.
So the old coal mine was now a quartz
mine, and would never be abandoned again. Serena kept a big chunk of quartz
crystal for herself as a souvenir. And she also had another souvenir; the Moon
Dragon bead.
