A Hero

Once upon a time there was a brave man he loved the princess and she returned his love the king saw a chance to test the young man he set him three tasks to complete to win her hand The first task lay in the dark forest there he had to slay the ogre he set off with fear in his heart the stories of the ogre were terrifying The forest seemed alive and gloomy as he got deeper in he heard a noise it was a cry for help, he hurried over to find an elf caught up in brambles He set the elf free and told him why he was there I have to slay the fearsome ogre who lives here that is no problem says the elf I was on my way to eat him when I got caught up in those brambles They travelled deep into the stagnant forest at last the ogre's lair was in sight the elf challenged him with a mighty roar the blows rang out until at last he lay dead Thank you said our hero I could not have beaten him that is ok said the elf I will travel with you a ways back to the king with the ogre's head in bag our hero tips it out at his royal feet Bravo, well done says the king your next task lies to the south where a evil wizard lives bring me back his black heart and his wand the hero accepts it was not as if he had a choice They set off towards the southern deserts arriving they found sand hot enough to fry an egg wincing they made their way further south chancing upon a cave lion stuck in quicksand Together they worked to free the lion pulling him out to safety at last the lion thanked them and on hearing their quest asked if he might join as it was the evil wizard who had caused his plight, he was chasing him down When with his wand he made the sand trap appear so now the lion was really angry and wanted him all three travelled further south towards the mountains this was where the wizard lived high up the cliff Arriving at last they challenged the wizard and a mighty fight broke out neither side winning the elf grabbed the wizard and bite his arm distracting him so the lion could pounce and kill At last the wizard dead they took his heart and wand and finding a magic carpet they climbed on and flew through the skies back to the palace where they handed the king the heart and wand You have done your country a great service with those words he knighted all three of them your final task is not easy you have to defeat the goblin that lives to the west in the swamps It is just as well we have our carpet said our hero the gases would kill us before we had gone a mile enjoying the flight looking at the sights around our hero reaches his destination in the west Entering into the crystal caves they travelled deep as they went down and down they came across a gnome caught fast by a landslide of rocks pinning him down they set to work freeing him and as last got him out Where is my hat he asked I need it for my special powers searching round they soon found it for him thank you we need to take the left fork which climbs up at the top to the right is where the goblin lives Reaching his lair they entered slowly with a maddened roar the goblin attacked laying out the elf, the lion and our hero The gnome pulled on his hat and turned him to gold Picking up the statue of the goblin they got back onto the magic carpet and swiftly flew back to the palace placing the golden statue at his feet You have completed all my tasks said the king and made our kingdom safe once more take the hand of my daughter and care for her well so it came about that they got wed They lived a long adventurous life with the elf, the lion and the gnome ruling the land with wisdom and kindness so that all flourished in their care finis