Moses, the Biblical patriarch who played the leadership role in the liberation of the Hebrew children from captivity in ancient Egypt, was climbing, once again, the rough terrain of Mt. Sinai in order to consult with the burning bush. According to the ancient script, the burning bush was a small tree that appeared to be on fire but the leaves of the bush were not harmed in any way by the flames. And a human voice came from out of the bush giving Moses instructions and messages from The Almighty concerning the effort to lead the Jewish people through the wilderness into the "promised land," a place that flowed abundantly with milk and honey.
But Moses was not in a good mood. His followers were complaining about the quality of their lives and were not at all sure they wanted to continue following Moses' instructions even if they did come from the Supreme Being of the Universe. And Moses had a nagging feeling coming to mind that something else was yet to go wrong on this day that got off to a bad start.
He finally arrived at the little flat clearing on the mountain where the burning bush sat at the ready. He came to discuss a report that a fire breathing dragon was raiding the camps and, according to rumor, had taken one of the higher ranking young ladies into, yes, you guessed it, captivity. Would the people never be free? What else could go wrong. Moses was about to give it all up himself.
No sooner did Moses remove his sandals as required before stepping on holy ground that he heard a loud flapping of dragon wings and felt a wind rush his back and disturb his robes. He turned to see the dragon alight on the ground near by him. The dragon was gigantic and awful in all its aspects but Moses had never been a man of feint heart. This is going to be interesting, he thought.
"Greetings to you, Moses, leader of a chosen people and the messenger of God. Please grant me audience," said the dragon.
"Yes, it is I," replied Moses.
"As you have heard, I abducted a choice young lady and hold her captive in my lair for dinner, as dragons are meant to do according to the law of nature, but she is not cooperating. When I offer her meats and other foods in order to fatten her up for slaughter she refuses to eat because my offering are not lawful for her to eat. No matter how I threaten her she rejects the fare. How in the world can I complete a dragon's lot in a situation like this?"
"It is good to hear of a young lady who keeps the law under dire circumstances. Perhaps this project is not lost after all. No, she will not eat anything that is unlawful according to our standard, but perhaps there is something you can do about that. See that small bush over there. It is lawful for her to consider. Perhaps you can pull it out and offer it too her. That is my advice."
"That was quick and easy," said the dragon with a smirk. "Thanks." Then he slowly walked toward the bush. He put his paw around the thin trunk and gave a pull with his mighty arm, but the bush remained rooted.
"Hey, Moses. What is this? Never have I failed in any feat of strength. This bush is rooted deep."
"Try it again," said Moses.
The dragon took a deep breath and gave the bush another slow steady pull. He pulled so hard the veins stood up on his neck. But the bush did not budge.
"Moses, this is embarrassing. Never before have I failed."
"Wrap your tail around it. Make sure you get a real good grip. It is a sacred plant, suitable for the maiden."
The dragon did as instructed. He wrapped his tail around the bush, got a real good grip, and pulled with all his might. Moses tapped on a stone with his staff. The bush erupted in flames and the dragon screamed out in pain. The flames licked his tender under belly near the joint of his tale and his impulse was to flee the burning bush. But he couldn't. The leaves attached themselves to his tail and would not release him as the flames shot up his back. He started cursing and threatening. The bush moved and spun the dragon in the air and slammed him down on the ground. Then it spun him and slammed him down again, and again and again. He shrieked and howled in horror and pain and cried out for mercy. Moses tapped the stone with his staff again and the flames abated. The dragon lay on the ground badly burnt and exhausted. After regaining his composure just a little he looked up at Moses with a question in his eyes.
"Yes," said Moses. "You may go. When you get back to your lair release the girl. And never attack any of our people again. I mean it."
The dragon was too weak to speak. But after awhile he was able to make his way back to his lair. He released his captive and never bothered the chosen people again.
About the Author
Wrath Warbone is a casual writer with an interest in Creative Writing. Althugh not related to this article, he would like you to download a free copy of Surrealistic Haiku by Martin Kloess Thank you.
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