It’s “When I Grow Up” month for my local Cub Scouts, so they’re having guests come talk about things they do for a living.  I was invited to speak tonight about being an author.

The boys were quite impressed by my Writers of the Future trophy, and though I had to admit I wasn’t a really famous author, they thought it was cool I had stories published in Hebrew and Russian magazines.

I also showed off my stack of rejection letters and explained how important it was to keep trying even when you got rejected.  “Like Dr. Seuss,” one of the boys said.  “He got rejected 28 times.”

After talking about being an author, I took them through a ten-minute brainstorming session on how to build a story.  They were very enthusiastic (and a little bloodthirsty!) in their ideas.

Then, while they did normal Cub Scout stuff, I spent 25 minutes writing the story we had outlined, and printed it out on my portable printer so they could each have a copy.  (Frankly, this was the shortest deadline I’ve ever had to write to.)

Presented here for your enjoyment is the story:

Link Versus the Savages and the Dragon

Link used his magic sword to cut through some tree branches to make firewood. It was dark in the cave where he lived, and he liked to have a fire. He just hoped the savage cannibals that roamed the land would not notice the smoke.

The magic sword, with a double blade so sharp it could cut through anything except dragon scales, was the only thing Link had left from his parents, who had been killed by dragons when he was only seven years old. He had lived alone for the past five years.

Looking off to the west, Link could see the fabled Castle of Torgha. The people inside lived peacefully, since their high walls protected them from the cannibals. Link wished he could join them, but they were so afraid of the savage cannibals outside that they never let outsiders into their castle.

A roar from the east made Link turn his head. An army of cannibals, carrying swords and spears, marched toward the castle. Soaring high above the army was a three-headed dragon.

The dragon might be able to break the wall of the castle, Link realized, and then the cannibals would eat the peaceful people inside. He had to do something to stop them.

Gripping his sword, he ran down the hill onto the plain. Maybe if he killed the leader of the cannibals, they would retreat.

The cannibal leader wore a crown made of an ogre skull and carried a spear carved from a dragon leg. Link charged toward the leader, counting on the magic of his sword to cut through the spear.

Suddenly, his sword was pulled from his hand by magic–a shaman stood next to the leader, and the sword flew into his hand. Link was defenseless, and the leader motioned for two of his savages to attack.

As the two men charged, Link ducked out of the way so they crashed into each other. He wrenched the sword out of the hands of one of them. It wasn’t his magic sword, but it would have to do. Link lunged toward the shaman, chopping off his arm that held the magic sword. After picking up his sword, he began fighting savages.

A shout came from the castle: “Fire!” The dragon had used its fire-breathing head to set the castle walls on fire.

Link feared dragons more than anything, because they had killed his parents and because they were the only thing that his sword could not cut through. But he yelled, “Come face me, dragon!”

The dragon swooped down through the air, roaring fire. Link jumped out of the way just in time, and then jumped on the dragon’s middle neck. He held the sword tight against its throat until it started choking.

“I’ll choke this head to death unless you stop the fire,” he said.

The dragon flew back toward the castle and used its water-breathing neck to put out the flames. Seeing their plan would not work, the savages ran away.

After the dragon put him back on the ground, Link began walking back to his cave.

“Wait,” called a man from the castle.

Link turned back.

“Thank you for saving us,” said the man, who wore a gold crown. “I am King Uld, and I have no children. Because you have proven yourself in battle, I will adopt you as my son, and you will be king one day.

The people all cheered as Link was welcomed into the castle.