The Good Knight
by Jonathan Jewett
Illustrations by Jerry Shippee
Sir Smiley was a good knight. He liked to ride horses and gallop around and do all of the things that other knights did, but his armor was made of duck feathers and he carried flowers on the end of his lance.
Sir Smiley didn’t want to hurt anybody – he’d rather go on a picnic or take a nap.
One day in the Kingdom of Nod, the people were all talking and very excited about something.
“Sir Smiley”, they said, “there is a big, scary dragon living in the great forest outside of town. Since you are our knight, we need you to go find this dragon and chase it away.”
Sir Smiley sighed, but he knew that when it came to dealing with dragons in the Kingdom of Nod that it was his job. So, he packed his lunch, put fresh flowers on the end of his lance and rode his little horse Loopy to the edge of the forest to look for the dragon.
Sir Smiley saw a cave with smoke coming out. He peeked around the corner of the cave and saw a very big dragon. Oh oh, thought Sir Smiley.
Just then, the walls of the cave shook with a giant snore and little wisps of smoke drifted up from the dragon’s mouth. The dragon was sleeping!
Sir Smiley devised a brilliant plan. He would wear the bearskin coat that he had brought with him, sneak up on the dragon and roar so loudly that the dragon would be scared and run away.
And, the best part of the plan was that Sir Smiley wouldn’t even have to fight the dragon, because Sir Smiley didn’t like to fight.
Sir Smiley draped the bearskin over his shoulders and tiptoed into the cave behind the sleeping dragon when all of a sudden…
“A…A…A…ACHOOOO!” Sir Smiley forgot that he was allergic to his bearskin coat and sneezed right out loud!
Since Sir Smiley was in the cave, his sneeze echoed so loudly that the dragon woke up and thought that the sky was falling down!
The dragon yelped and ran out of the cave and into the forest, never to come back again to the Kingdom of Nod.
When Sir Smiley returned, the people greeted him with flowers and laughter. “You did it Sir Smiley,” they said. “You chased the big, scary dragon away! Hooray for Sir Smiley!”
Sir Smiley could only smile, and went home for his afternoon nap.
The next day, all of the people in the Kingdom of Nod were talking and very excited. “Sir Smiley,” they said, “there is a terrible Troll living on the big hill outside of town. Since you are a knight, we need you to take care of this terrible Troll.”
Sir Smiley sighed, but it was his job so he packed his lunch, put fresh flowers on the end of his lance and rode his little horse Loopy to the top of the hill to find the terrible Troll.
Sir Smiley was riding along when he heard a very loud noise. It sounded like big rocks tumbling from the sky. Just then, he saw the terrible Troll, who was fast asleep and snoring under a tum-tum tree.
Sir Smiley came up with a brilliant plan. He would tie the Troll’s feet with the rope that he had brought with him, then tie the rope around Loopy’s saddle. When Sir Smiley gave the signal, Loopy would run away like lightning, dragging the terrible Troll behind and far away from the Kingdom of Nod.
And, the best part of the plan was that Sir Smiley wouldn’t even have to fight the terrible Troll, because Sir Smiley didn’t like to fight.
Being very careful and very quiet, Sir Smiley tied the Troll’s feet together. He was just about to tie the other end of the rope to Loopy’s saddle when all of a sudden…
“A…A…A…ACHOOOO!” Sir Smiley forgot that he was allergic to the rope!
Sir Smiley sneezed so loudly that the Troll jumped up confused and tried to run away. But since it’s feet were tied together, the Troll tripped and started rolling down the big hill! Before Sir Smiley knew it, the Troll had rolled all the way down the big hill and disappeared, never to come back again to the Kingdom of Nod.
When Sir Smiley returned, the people were overjoyed to see him. “Sir Smiley,” they said, “you are the most brave and heroic knight that we have ever known!”
“Hooray for Sir Smiley! We’d like to make you our ruler! Please accept this regal bearskin robe as a token of our appreciation!”
“A…A…A…ACHOOOO!” said Sir Smiley, and he went to take a nap.