The Creature

The egg was blue, medium-size with rainbow swirls around it and sparkled beneath the sun.  I gazed at it, when suddenly there was a loud crack.  It was hatching!  

I watched as the egg wobbled around on the mossy forest floor.

Something in the egg was having trouble getting out!  Soon enough, another loud crack and the egg split open, revealing the strangest creature I had ever seen!  It had the torso of a giant eagle and the body of a lion!  At the front, it had burgundy feathers, a majestic golden beak and sharp, golden talons.  At the back, it had regal, yellow-gold fur, a lion’s tail and large paws.   What was this creature? Suddenly it dawned on me.  This strange creature was a griffin!  I stood up and stroked its head.  It didn’t seem to mind. The griffin waddled around the forest floor, singing a merry birdsong.  I giggled – it had a very big sense of humour.  Suddenly, its eyes paled and let out sad croak.  It began flapping its wings, squawking, and scampering around wildly.  I panicked.  It started shivering and looked very sick.  I removed my coat, bundled it up and ventured into the darkness of the forest.

The sky darkened as I walked further into the depths of the forest.  Strange sounds echoed around us and the griffin curled up into a tight ball inside my coat.  I shivered with cold.

Time passed; days, hours, minutes, I lost track. The griffin was sleeping and I wanted to stop but knew I had to keep going.  The griffin’s feathers had started to droop and its golden beak and talons were starting to grey.  I wanted to cry – I was tired and hungry, but if I stopped, the griffin would die.  I walked on.

The Griffin woke some time later, jumped out of my coat and scampered away into the bushes.   I called after it, but it was no use I had to follow it.  I crawled through the bush and continued running until I crashed into something.  I looked up and found myself staring at a bigger version of the Griffin.  It smiled and said, “Thank-you for helping my child.  If it wasn’t for you, she could have died”  She stared down and explained how she had been chased away from her home and gathered up all her eggs but had accidentally left one behind.  She expressed her concern about it as soon as she realised what had happened, but she couldn’t go back. “And then you came along and saved her!” she finished. “It was nothing but can I name her?” I replied.   Griffin’s mother, whose name was Gloria, nodded.

 “Grace. Her name is Grace.” I said.  Gloria smiled, pulled out some of her feathers and gave them to me. “So you’ll always remember us.  Speak our names into it, and we’ll come.”   My special griffin...I thought, as Gloria and Grace flew me out of the forest…