“Hello,” she said in a tone of complete disinterest, “I wondered when you would wake-up,” and she shifted her position so that she was no longer directly facing him.
Thomas could not see her face. She appeared deeply engrossed in her book, burying her head in it’s pages. She didn’t attempt to say anything else and made it quite obvious that she did not want a conversation with him. Thomas did not mind he had other things to think about. He was feeling hungry and thirsty so he opened his school bag and retrieved the sandwich he had made earlier and ate ravenously. He was just taking the last gulp of his water when he felt the carriage begin to slow down and heard the horses slacken their pace. The lady was now gazing out of the window and continuing to ignore him and had placed her bag on her lap as though getting ready to disembark. Thomas wondered when she had managed to board his carriage, perhaps they had stopped along the way while he had been asleep.
It was late April and spring was displaying one of those mild sunny flowery evenings in the countryside as Thomas’s carriage brought him slowly towards what looked remarkably like a railway station. It looked like a railway station without a railway line. The horses slowed to a walk until they finally came to a stop in front of the platform. Thomas looked out of the window to see more spring flowers, this time in tubs adorning the platform too but he was looking for one thing only and he held his breath.
Then he saw it, a large white sign with bold black letters on it declaring the name of the station to be “APPLETIME”.
“Appletime” he breathed.
The platform was silent. There was just enough evening sun to bathe Thomas in a warm welcome as he jumped down from the carriage. It was rather different to the station in
“What happens now?” Thomas asked himself.
The four horses were stamping their feet in impatience to be off once more so Thomas carefully closed the door of the carriage. It was then that he realised his travelling companion was no longer there.
“How strange,” he thought, “I didn’t see her get out of the carriage!” but he didn’t dwell on the mystery, as he was excited at finally arriving in Appletime.
With manes and tales streaming behind them, the magnificent team of horses were careering away at speed with their carriage. Thomas watched until they were out of sight and then turned his attention to his surroundings.
The station was small and neat but there was no one to be seen there.
“Well,” he thought to himself. “If there is a station at Appletime there must be a village somewhere near here”. That is as far as Thomas’s thoughts took him. What he would do or find in the village he did not bother to contemplate.
He lifted the latch on the white gate and closed it carefully behind him. Birds were singing and blossom white and pink were dotted on the trees. Thomas could not remember seeing a springtime like this before nor smelling the freshness of a sweet delicate perfume that seemed to be floating in the evening air. He felt strangely relaxed, not at all nervous about being alone in a strange unknown place; after all he was used to being on his own but somehow here it was all strangely comfortable and oddly familiar.
He had been walking for twenty minutes and Thomas realised that the sun was fast disappearing. He could see the shape of houses and cottages in the distance with lights shining in their windows. He decided he needed to find somewhere to spend the night before it became too dark to see where he was going.
As he turned another bend he realised he had reached the edge of what appeared to be the beginning of the village. Then he noticed a gate, which opened into a field generously covered in buttercups and daisies. It looked inviting and Thomas decided the large oak tree growing in the centre of the field would be a perfect place to pass the night. The large branches offered shelter and the large trunk a comforting support to lean against and watch the sunset.
By the time he had walked across the field and rested his back against the tree the first stars had began to appear. The stars took the fear out of the darkness for Thomas; in fact, here in the field was friendlier than being alone in his tiny bed.
Thoughts of the day passed through his head and he mulled over his strange journey to Appletime station. First, his meeting with the lady in blue and the picture of a white cottage, the friendly porter, then the old man and his horses which finally brought him to where he was now. Everything that had happened today to him seemed unreal and as he became sleepier, his thoughts strayed to other things.
He gazed about him into the soft falling darkness and then up at the biggest full moon he ever remembered seeing hanging in the sky and he sighed, “I would never have seen this in the city,” he thought, “Whatever happens, I truly believe this is a much better place to be; after all, I’m in Appletime.”
A woodland owl hooted close by, two bats swooped in the moonlight and to the melodious hum of insects; Thomas’s eyes slowly began to close. He pushed his fingers through the cool grass beneath him and felt comforted by the strong rough bark of the old oak behind him. He felt neither lonely nor afraid and was soon fast asleep.
Morning came with the warm sunshine to wake him. During the night, he had somehow managed to roll over until as he now found himself, face down on the grass beside the tree; so at first all he could see when he opened his eyes were blades of green grass. He smiled to himself “I’m still in Appletime,” he thought and began pushing himself up onto his knees and abruptly stopped. What were those strange objects just a few feet from his head?
When his eyes focussed, he suddenly realised just what they were. T
his was not possible! He could not believe his eyes!
Close enough to him to reach out and touch were two enormous shiny brown shoes and filling them were two oversized feet covered in long brown socks. Tucked into the socks were even longer and larger, brightly coloured checked trousers.
Thomas’s eyes continued to follow the trousers upwards in awe at their gigantic size. His gaze followed the trousers ever upwards. Above the trousers appeared a smart waistcoat of yellow with shiny buttons, then a scarf which was engulfed by a brown checked hacking jacket; the sort people who ride horses wear and there was still more!
“Oh no!” he gasped as his gaze reached the top of the figure before him. Thomas was face to face with a dragon!!
There was no other way to describe the face –It was the face of a DRAGON!! Then Thomas caught sight of a tail; a long green scaly tail that stretched out behind the neatly dressed dragon. This confirmed it in Thomas’s mind that the creature before him was indeed a dragon!
Thomas sat bolt upright and pressed his back hard against the tree. The thought flashed through his mind that now would be as good a time as any to run but where to? He could not run – it was too late he felt frozen to the spot because suddenly the dragon was speaking to him. The dragon was talking!
“Good morning, beautiful morning again isn’t it. How-do-you do, I am Egbert Gadunstan Googe but my friends call me Egg,” the voice of the dragon was slow, deep, gentle; and at first Thomas didn’t realise it came from the dragon at all.
“And?” continued the dragon, “you are?” he encouraged in a friendly way after a slight pause.
“Who are you?” Thomas replied with a question too, as it was all he could manage to say.
His eyes were almost popping out of his head. It is all very well meeting a dragon but meeting a dragon who wants to have a conversation was just too much for anyone thought Thomas.
“Aah;” the dragon paused again, “I believe I have already introduced myself,” he replied, “Ahem,” and he cleared his throat before repeating his name. “Egbert–Gadunstan -Googe and I can see from your expression that perhaps you have never met a dragon before; and that is why you are sitting there with your mouth open,” he said, with an odd lopsided kind of grin, “or are you trying to catch flies?” he added his grin becoming a little wider.
“No never,” blurted out Thomas.
“Hmm,” pondered the dragon, “No never, you have never had your mouth wide open or no never you have never seen a dragon before or perhaps you aren’t trying to catch flies?” he asked, still with the funny smile on his face.
Thomas continued to stare with his mouth and eyes wide open at the eight foot tall green dragon in front of him, but he managed to finally reply,
“Th-the middle one I think,” he stuttered.
The dragon shrugged,
“Ah well,” he said resignedly, “I keep forgetting that there are many people in this world who have never ever seen a dragon let alone met one. Here in Appletime everyone…….”
“Appletime”! Thomas interrupted him, “You live in Appletime?”
“I do,” replied Egg almost wistfully, “I wish never to live anywhere else.”
“But you’re a dragon,” blurted out Thomas still pressed fast against the tree.
“Hmm,” mused the dragon, “your conversation seems to me, to be severely hampered by your obsession with meeting a dragon for the first time; perhaps we should start again,” and this time Thomas noticed the dragon’s eyes were twinkling mischievously as he majestically drew himself up to his full height before repeating,
“My name is,” he said very slowly, “Egbert – Gadunstan – Googe – but you can call me Egg; everyone does,” he added and leaned towards Thomas and extending his hand (or was it his paw), asked politely, “now, what is your name?”
Thomas released himself from the tree slowly and placed his hand in the great paw of the dragon, “Thomas,” he said simply.
“Pleased to meet you, Thomas,” said Egg and shook his hand gently.
Thomas noticed the paw was warm and padded and he liked the dragon’s green and scaly face with its large brown eyes.
“Well, now we are friends would you like to have breakfast with me?” asked Egg. It sounded like a very good idea to Thomas who was aware of a very empty feeling in his stomach.
“Follow me” continued Egg, “I come this way every morning for a walk; perks up one’s appetite you know,” he added patting his ample stomach.
Picking up his precious biscuit tin Thomas found himself walking in a meadow with a larger than life dragon. A dragon that talked non-stop and was very well dressed; after all, he was wearing a waistcoat.
“Am I dreaming?” Thomas asked himself, “If I am, I don’t want to wake up just yet.”
Thomas’s heart became lighter at every step of the way. The birds were singing, the sky was blue and his newfound friend never stopped talking.
“Well this is my short-cut,” said Egg coming to a halt by a low hedge bordering the field, “It’s much prettier than walking along the road to the village,” and with that he stepped over it; gracefully flipping his tail after him. There was a gap in the hedge large enough for Thomas to squeeze through and with the help of a tug from Egg; he managed to emerge on the other side unscathed.
“There now, we are almost home; I do hope your hungry, Henry and I enjoy rather large breakfasts,” said Egg and he turned a sharp left down a gravel drive bordered on each side by tall overhanging trees. Thomas wondered who Henry could be.
There in front of him at the end of the long drive Thomas saw a cot
tage with a thatched roof, flowers growing round the door and a green lawn all round it dotted with large bushes. Thomas stopped and so did Egg.
“Is something the matter?” asked Egg looking at Thomas curiously.
“You live here?” replied Thomas with another question.
“I have always lived here,” said Egg, “Don’t you like it?” The dragon looked slightly perturbed by the boy’s hesitancy.
“Yes, I like it very much,” breathed Thomas quietly, “I have seen houses like this in pictures,” he was thinking of the picture the lady in blue had given to him which he was still carrying in his pocket.
“Ah, that’s alright then,” said Egg and continued walking up the driveway towards the cottage, “come along inside Thomas,” he said welcomingly.
Egg had to stoop a little to go through the door but once inside his head managed to miss the ceiling by a whisker.
Thomas could still smell the sweet scent he had noticed when he arrived at Appletime station; even now, he was inside Egg’s cosy cottage. “It’s the scent that makes me feel everything is so familiar!” thought Thomas.
Egg’s home really was very cosy. The walls were white, black beams supported the ceilings, floors of highly polished wood and gigantic brown leather armchairs. The cottage had an ageless feeling as though it had always been like this and always would be.
“It can’t be real, dragons don’t exist and they can’t possibly live in cottages, could they?” he asked himself.
“Leave your things on the chair Thomas,” suggested Egg indicating one of the large leather sofas, “then come into the kitchen for a good breakfast.”
Egg was leading the way out of the lounge into another smaller room; which had a dining table in the middle of it and then through another door into the kitchen.
The delicious smell of eggs and bacon filled the small sunny kitchen where there was a large pinewood table laid for two.
“Hallo, and who is this then?” said a cheery voice.
A boy much taller and looking a couple of years older than Thomas, was standing by an old fashioned iron stove armed with a spatula while eggs sizzled in a frying pan.
“Smells delicious Henry,” said Egg, then turning to Thomas, “Thomas, allow me to introduce you to Henry, he is -er” he seemed to be searching for the words, and then went on, “my good friend of course,” then turning to Henry, “Henry this is Thomas.”
The boy gave Thomas a friendly grin,
“Hope you like eggs, bacon, sausages and beans?” he said, “If you have been on one of Eggs morning walks you could probably eat a dragon by now,” and he chuckled. Thomas found himself smiling back.
“Hah, hah, very funny,” said Egg mockingly, he was obviously used to Henry’s friendly banter and took over the cooking from him.
Henry laid another place at the table and soon the plates were piled with large portions of the cooked breakfast and the glasses filled with fresh orange juice.
Thomas sat and ate quietly, he was much hungrier than he had realised and it was certainly the best breakfast he could ever remember. He listened to Henry and Egg laugh and joke with each other while they savoured Henry’s cooking. Thomas looked around him at the snug little kitchen marvelled at the dragon seated at the other end of the table and breathed in deeply the relaxed atmosphere. He did not know whether to laugh or cry.
“Time for me to go Egg,” said Henry after he had mopped his plate with a thick wedge of bread, “I mustn’t be late for school two days in a row.” With a parting wave and
he let himself out by the kitchen door.
Egg looked over the top of his spectacles at Thomas.
Thomas pushing himself up from his chair said reluctantly muttered, “Well, I suppose I had better be going,” and averted Egg’s gaze by looking down at his feet; with all his heart he really did not want to leave.
“Oh!” Egg sounded surprised, “are you going anywhere in particular?
Now it was Thomas’s turn to sound surprised, “Er-well, no,” he said hesitantly. It had suddenly occurred to him he really had not given any thought to that at all. Where was he to go?
“Well stay dear boy,” said Egg getting up from his chair and towering over Thomas, “stay for as long as you want to.” Not waiting for a reply from the now wide-eyed boy before him; he strode over to the stairs and added over his shoulder,
“Come along, I have a guest room which I hope you will like,” and with that he thumped his way up the stairs.
Thomas felt his heart leap with excitement and followed the dragon up the stairs. He was going to stay here in Appletime! Is this magic!
At the top of the stairs was a wide-open landing with a gallery, which overlooked the living room below. There were five doors leading off from it and Egg indicated to Thomas the door straight in front of them, which was ajar.
The room was warm and welcoming; with a red furry rug to match a red candlewick bedspread. The large lattice window had a view of the cherry tree covered in blossom, and fields beyond which seemed to stretch as far as the eye could see.
“I hope you will be comfortable Thomas,” said Egg. Thomas nodded in reply, he didn’t
