Jonah and the Last Great Dragon Read Online Free PDF Page A

shan’t know today, so we might as well go home.’

CHAPTER 6
DANGEROUS CREATURES
    Jonah suddenly remembered that he had wanted to look at the small grey church and the old graves under the trees.
    â€˜Hey, can we go back to the churchyard?’ He was fascinated by the thought of the spell on the wall inside the little church.
    â€˜Oh, yes. I forgot that’s what we came for!’
    Erin pushed open the gate and Jonah followed her up the path.
    â€˜It’s nice,’ he said, looking around at the small, round, hillocky churchyard, with its great yew tree and ancient gravestones. ‘It feels friendly.’
    â€˜Dad says some people think this might have been a pagan site before Christianity arrived.’
    â€˜How do they know?’
    â€˜Because the ground is quite rounded, as if it might have been a circle once. Apparently that’s a sign of a pagan holy place.’ Erin grinned at him. ‘And, of course, that would have been the perfect spot to build another church as “Defence Against the Dragon”!’
    Jonah, bewildered, shook his head at her. ‘I don’t know what you’re going on about!’
    â€˜Haven’t they told you our legend?’ Erin was delighted. ‘Long ago, the Last Great Dragon, the Welsh dragon, went to sleep under the Radnor Forest.’ Erin held her arms out and circled round. ‘Right here, beneath your feet, Jonah! So the people built four churches in a ring around the forest to keep the dragon asleep and they are all dedicated to St Michael the Dragonslayer! If the link between the churches weakens, they say the dragon will wake again and ravage the countryside.’
    â€˜Wow! That would be cool,’ Jonah joked, feeling even more interested in the little church. Then a movement beyond the boundary wall flickered in the corner of his eye. ‘What’s that in the field?’ he said. ‘I just saw something move behind the bushes.’ He stood still, peering at the field anxiously. ‘I hope it’s not that dog.’
    When Erin did not answer, he turned round to find her staring up at the church roof.
    â€˜What are you looking at?’ he asked.
    â€˜Sssh! Keep still,’ she whispered urgently. ‘There’s something up there.’
    Jonah peered upwards. ‘I can’t see anything.’
    â€˜Yes. There’s some little animal on the roof.’
    â€˜Probably a cat.’ Jonah wasn’t particularly interested. He was still scanning the bushes for movement.
    Erin suddenly clutched his arm. ‘I don’t believe it!’ she gasped. ‘It’s a monkey. There, look. By the tower.’
    Jonah followed her pointing finger and made out a small grey face peeking over the ridge tiles beside the tower.
    â€˜Oh, yeah. I see what you mean.’
    He began to walk round to the other side of the church, to see the little creature more clearly. Erin scurried after him, and they both stood back to stare up at the roof. Clinging to the ridge tiles was a small grey animal with a head that seemed too big for its skinny body and a long, furred tail. It turned round and Erin shrieked. The creature’s face was absolutely hideous. It glared down at the children with huge, bulging eyes and suddenly, with a disgusting gesture, it pulled its mouth wide with skinny fingers, leering at them. Then, screeching and gibbering, it began to prance along the roof ridge.
    â€˜That’s not a monkey!’
    â€˜Whatever is it?’
    Erin shuddered. ‘It’s horrible. I’ve never seen anything like that, before.’
    â€˜It’s like – it’s like a gargoyle.’
    Erin turned to Jonah. ‘Yeah, you’re right! There are carvings on Hereford Cathedral that look just like that. Have you seen them?’
    Jonah shook his head but kept his eyes on the grotesque little creature. ‘No, I haven’t been to Hereford yet. Look, there’s another one!