by Matthew Gallagher

Part 7

Far below in a clearing in the forest, Don was busy spitting fire at the little band of pirates who hid in a series of mud-pits.  Doody had twice been hit with fire-spit:  once just at the top of his hair which was coiffed rather high on his head; then again right on the back of his breeches just as he dived into the mud.  Thankfully, the mud they found quickly extinguished the flames.

From high atop one of the cones of the volcano, the Dodo's cry came to Don's ears.  It looked up to see a rainbow oscillating from the mountain.  That could only mean one thing... the Wish-Bird was free!  Without even firing one more round of fire-spit at the humans, Don spread his wings and took to the air, soaring toward the Wish-Bird's mountaintop prison.  His shriek, he could tell, made the little humans at the mouth of the cave look up with fear in their eyes.  Don was proud of the fact that he could make those around him fear him.  It made him feel more powerful.  As he looked closer, he thought he could see what looked like a human female with hair like gold talking to the Wish-Bird!  In all his years, Don had never known of a human who could talk to birds.  Then he saw her gaze meet his, and the strangest sound was uttered from her small little lips.

"Anopurodon!"

Well, the Dragon was so shocked that it stopped flapping its tremendous wings for a moment.  Before it could fall all the way, it did remember to spread them again, and glide to the top of the sister peak.

"Who knows the name of Anopurodon, ruler of this island?" he demanded imperiously.

The blond girl stood up, standing as tall and straight as she could.  "I am Eguskine, Princess of the nation from which you, Anopurodon the Dragon, stole our greatest prize, the one and only Wish-Bird."

"I knew ye weren't no nun!" Curly said as he clapped his hands.  "Though for a king's daughter, ye are might fair at seamanship."

The blond princess turned to him.  "We are a sea-faring people.  As the royal family, we tend to the Wish-Bird throughout its life and are rewarded with prosperity for our people.  Neria, whom you call Lunita, is my hand-maiden, and we were sent to rescue our beloved Wish-Bird.  Now that I have found it, I'm taking it home."

Cap'n Curly nearly went white with anger.  "That bird belongs to me!  I came here to get it to make me 'n' me crew rich beyond our wildest dreams!"

"We thank you for your kindness in finding and bringing us to the island where the dragon had absconded with our cherished Wish-Bird, but I will not part with it... not for you, nor for that beast up there."

Curly motioned to move toward the blond princess, but immediately found himself on the ground, with Neria the Handmaiden's foot against his throat.

"You will not leave here with my prize!"  Cried out the Dragon.  He spread his great wings again and took to the sky, heading to the peak on which the princess stood.

She looked at the Wish-Bird.  It looked at her, and smiled.

"It is time for me to give you the gift of my wish," it said.  "Thank you and your family for all that you have given me."

Princess Eguskine held the Wish-Bird close once more.  Its feathery hue became deeper and darker, until it was indigo like the night sky.  It spread out its tail and lay on the ground.  With some effort, it laid its last egg.  Eguskine held the egg in her hands and spoke the words that would make the wish come true.

"We who have cared for you throughout the ages thank you for the sacrifice of your egg.  It is with a solemn heart, mixed with the joy of serving you and the sorrow of your passing, that we we wish that the dragon Anopurodon, lord of this island, be transformed into one of the creatures he imprisons here, a bird."

In the air, Don noticed that his wings were not doing a great job of keeping him aloft anymore.  They were becoming smaller!  And then, his long, sinuous body began to become more compact... and his legs were pulled up into his torso!  He began to plummet to the summit where the Wish-Bird had been imprisoned.  Then he bounced and rolled on the ground, finally landing at the Dodo's feet.

He opened his mouth to spit fire.  "Doh!" was all that came out!  The power of the Wish-Bird's egg had turned the Dragon into a Dodo!

"You... you've wished me into a bird.  How did you know that was my greatest wish of all?  So long I have been master of my avian friends... and for so long I have wanted to commune with them, be one of them!  And now I can!"

"Doh!  Doh doh!  There's two of me now! I'm no longer alone!"  The Dodo danced around its new companion until it was tripping over its oversized feet.

"Doh!" sighed Anopurodon.  "I'm a Dodo?!?  One of you was more than enough!"

Princess Eguskine petted the Wish-Bird on its crown.  It lay very still on the mountain, its feathers becoming more and more the colour of the rocks around them.

Curly tapped Neria's foot.  She released him.  "What's wrong with it?" he asked.

A tear from Eguskine's eye fell into the feathers of the Wish-Bird.  "The Wish-Bird is dying.  The egg the grants a wish is the last one it can ever lay.  Once the power of the wish is released, the new Wish-Bird begins its life as the old one dies.  We must now take the egg with our new Wish-Bird back to my palace, where we will care for it as we have always done."

"But my treasure!  My men... they'll mutiny if I don't bring them the greatest riches ever!"

"Doh!  Those jewels might help," said Don the Dodo.  "I've never been much into gemstones, myself."  He pointed one of his stubby wings over to the other cave where he had tossed the Wish-Bird's other eggs.  Curly warily walked into the cave to find it piled higher than two men with rubies and emeralds, sapphires and carnelians.  Much more than a king's ransom!

Eguskine held out her hand to Neria, her Handmaiden.  The held each other as they looked at the body of the former Wish-Bird.