#1: The Cave of Aaaaah! Doom! (Ella and Owen)

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#1: The Cave of Aaaaah! Doom! (Ella and Owen) Page 2

by Jaden Kent


  Owen looked around the hut. There was

  a huge cooking pot of bubbling brown

  goo over a fire. Jars of spices hung from

  hooks on the ceiling. A stack of old bones

  was piled against the back wall.

  Osgood put on a large chef’s hat. He

  tilted it to the right and then to the left.

  “You are in big trouble for eating my

  grumpkins is what you is,” he said. “Gimme

  back the grumpkin you did eat, or into my

  stew pot goes you.”

  Ella’s eyes widened in shock. “I can’t

  replace the grumpkin. I ate it.”

  “Suit yourself,” said Osgood. “Grumpkin

  stew, dragon stew—no difference is there

  to my belly.”

  “My sister is sooooo, so sorry, Mr.

  Osgood, sir,” Owen said. “She won’t do it

  again.”

  Osgood plopped spices into his

  bubbling cauldron. “A sniffle of

  bat curry, claws dried from a

  newt, three drops of owl’s

  hoot, two rattles of a snake,

  and a leg of spider. Oh,

  and let’s not forget fiery

  lava salt and a splash of

  scarlet red pepper.”

  Ella perked up at the mention of the

  pepper. “Pepper? Did you say pepper?”

  “Pepper is fav-fav-favorite for me,” the

  ogre said.

  Ella smiled. “Wellll,

  if you’re going to

  make a cauldron of

  dragon stew, I know

  a very secret dragon

  secret that’ll make it

  the best dragon stew

  in Ogreburg.”

  “No!” the ogre said.

  “Ogreville is where Osgood lives.”

  “Right! And you could be the king of

  Ogre-wherever with my cooking secret,”

  Ella replied.

  “Tell me this secret stew knowledge!”

  Osgood said.

  “Promise to keep it a secret?” Ella asked.

  “All secrets are kept secret with me!”

  Osgood replied.

  “Very well,” Ella said. “If you want the

  yum-yum-yummiest dragon stew, the best

  thing to do is put a little pepper on the

  dragon before you cook him.”

  Osgood grabbed a few pinches of

  pepper and threw them at Ella.

  Ella sneezed. “Don’t forget the other

  dragon. Two’s better than one.”

  Owen backed up in the cage. “Oh no. I’m

  not a fan of pepper. Really.”

  “But I am so much a fan of making you

  yummy to my tummy.” Osgood threw a big

  handful of pepper at Owen. It landed right

  on Owen’s nose.

  Owen’s nose twitched. His nostrils

  wiggled. His scales shook and rattled. His

  tail whipped in a circle. “Woo-woo-woo!”

  he yelled. He tilted his head back and his

  whole body shook as he sneezed a blaze

  of dragon fire. “AH-CHOO!” Fire shot out

  of his mouth and scorched the cage.

  Osgood stumbled backward. “Aaaaah!

  Dragon fire!” he shouted.

  “AH-CHOO!” More fire shot out.

  “AH-CHOO!” Then even more fire!

  “Got to get away from the dragon fire!”

  Osgood screamed as he opened up a

  wooden trunk and jumped in, slamming

  the lid closed.

  Ella pushed against the door of their

  cage. It swung wide open. “My plan worked

  beautifully!” she said.

  “That was a plan?” Owen asked.

  “Yup. Now just run and don’t stop!”

  Ella ran for the door of the hut, but Owen

  stayed put and looked around.

  “Hang on!” he said. Owen ran to the

  ogre’s spice shelves and grabbed a jar of

  ogre toenail clippings.

  He paused to think for a second, and

  then he looked down, popped dragon lint

  from his belly button, and placed it on the

  shelf where the jar was. “Good trade!”

  Owen said. “Thanks, Osgood!”

  “Thanks to you for not sneezing fire

  on me again, oh mighty dragon!” Osgood

  called out from inside the trunk.

  “Who knew ogres were so afraid of

  fire?” Owen yelled to his sister.

  4

  THE CAVE OF AAAAAH! DOOM!

  “Run!” Ella yelled.

  “No way!” Owen replied. “We’ve got

  wings! Let’s go!”

  Ella and Owen flew out of Osgood’s hut

  as quickly as they could.

  “Thank you for eating me not!” was the

  last they heard from the ogre.

  When they were safely away, Ella smiled.

  “Say it,” Ella said.

  “Nope,” Owen replied.

  “Come on. Say it,” Ella said again.

  “Nope,” said Owen.

  “Just once! You know I earned it!” Ella

  said.

  “Okay! Okay! Fine! Thanks for saving

  my scales, Ella,” Owen said. “I did not

  want to end up as dragon stew!”

  “Don’t worry, bro! There’s no way I’m

  letting anything eat you!” Ella replied.

  “Mom and Dad would ground me for one

  thousand years if I did.”

  With Ella leading the way, the two

  dragons soon arrived at a dark and

  creepy cave. A chill shot through

  Owen’s wings as they landed at the

  vine-covered entrance.

  “I told you we’d find it!” Ella

  cheered.

  “Who ... who told you about this

  place?” Owen asked nervously.

  “A tree elf named Branchy

  McElffenberry,” Ella replied.

  Owen peered into the cave. “This place

  is blacker than Mom’s toadstool pie. Are

  you sure this is the Cave of Caves?”

  “Sure, I’m sure that I’m sure!” Ella said

  quickly.

  “If this is the Cave of Caves, then why

  does the sign say the Cave of Aaaaah!

  Doom!?” Owen asked, pointing to an old,

  broken sign that said the CAVE OF AAAAAH!

  DOOM! in big red letters underneath a

  screaming skeleton head.

  “Because dragon wizards can’t spell!”

  Ella offered. “Let’s get flapping, bro!”

  “Swear on your horns that you’re telling

  the truth!” Owen said as he glared at Ella

  with his yellow eyes.

  “Okay, so maybe I sort of, just a teeny

  tiny little bit, kinda, but not much, didn’t

  tell you the whole truth about the cave’s

  name,” Ella admitted. “But Branchy

  McElffenberry said this is where the

  Dragon Wizard Orlock Morlock lives!”

  “Aw, dragon scales! I almost got turned

  into stew for this?!” Owen huffed. “I’m

  going home!”

  “AH-CHOO!” A fire sneeze shot from

  Owen’s mouth and sent him flying out of

  control.

  PING!

  ZING!

  ZOOM!

  Owen bounced about like a rubber

  dragon egg until he smacked into the

  sign that said the CAVE OF AAAAAH! DOOM!

  The skeleton head fell off above the sign

  and bonked him on the head.

  “On second thought, lead the wa
y,”

  Owen said as he rubbed his aching head.

  “I’ve gotta get rid of this cold.”

  Owen hid behind Ella as the two dragons

  tiptoed on their pointy claws and carefully

  crept into the dark cave.

  “Hey, why can’t wizards ever live in

  a place called the Cave of Yay! Fun and

  Happiness!?” Owen whispered.

  “Because that’s where all the fairies

  live,” Ella whispered back. “And fairies

  don’t like wizards because they steal all

  their magic fairy flour to make Wicked

  Wizard Waffles.”

  The siblings stopped in their tracks as

  they heard a loud GROWL!

  “Please tell me that was your tummy

  rumbling,” Ella said.

  “No, it wasn’t me, because my tummy

  doesn’t have big, scary eyes!” Owen

  shouted and pointed to two huge eyes

  glowing in the darkness.

  Their eyes blinked, and then the siblings

  heard a cave-rumbling ROAR!

  5

  VEGETABLES ARE EVIL!

  Ella and Owen were frozen in fear. They

  heard another ROAR! that echoed through

  the cave. Something big and square

  swooped down on them from above. It

  had brown wings; sharp, stabby fangs;

  red eyes; and smelled like breakfast.

  “AAAAAH! It’s a giant Wicked Wizard

  Waffle!” Ella screamed.

  “DOOOOOM!” Owen yelled. He paused

  for a moment and then said proudly, “Hey!

  Now we know why they call this place the

  Cave of Aaaaah! Doom!”

  Ella and Owen gave each other a quick

  glance, and then both yelled, “RUN!”

  The panicked dragons flapped their

  wings to escape. Instead of exiting quickly,

  they bonked into each other and fell to the

  ground.

  “What do Wicked Wizard Waffles hate?!”

  Ella asked as the monster waffle swooped

  toward them.

  “Very small puppies?!” Owen asked.

  “No!”

  “Gnomes!” Owen guessed.

  “No!”

  “Well they should hate gnomes. They’re

  annoying!” Owen said.

  “They don’t hate gnomes!” Ella replied.

  “They hate music, so start singing!”

  “Pixie bells, ogres smell, vampires hate

  the day! When a dragon flies and blows

  its fire, the villagers run away!” Ella and

  Owen sang as loud as they could.

  The Wicked Wizard Waffle covered its

  buttery ears and flew from the cave to

  escape their horrible singing. The siblings

  turned and gave each other a high five.

  “I’ve never been so happy that you sing

  so terribly!” Ella said, relieved.

  But Ella and Owen weren’t out of trouble

  yet!

  “Don’t move!” someone called out from

  behind them.

  Ella and Owen spun around and came

  face-to-face with a wizard! It had:

  CELERY ARMS!

  CARROT LEGS!

  A BROCCOLI BODY!

  A CAULIFLOWER HEAD!

  A POINTY HAT!

  It wasn’t just a wizard! It was an . . .

  “EVIL VEGETABLE WIZARD!” Owen

  screamed. “AAAAAH! DOOOOOM! AGAIN!”

  “Why did you sing to my Wicked Wizard

  Waffle?!” the evil vegetable wizard yelled.

  He pointed his asparagus wand at them.

  “Tell me why you’re here, or I’ll use my

  magic to make a really grumpy pancake!”

  “I think he’s serious!” Ella said.

  “Of course he’s serious!” Owen replied.

  “He’s a vegetable!”

  “We don’t want any trouble,” Ella

  explained. “We’re looking for the Dragon

  Wizard Orlock Morlock.”

  “I am the wizard Orlock Morlock!” The

  vegetable wizard waved his wand in the

  air to look dramatic.

  Owen glared at Ella. “I thought Stumpy

  McElf-face or whatever his name is said

  Orlock Morlock was a dragon wizard?!”

  Ella shrugged her shoulders. “That’s the

  last time I trust a tree elf,” she said.

  6

  DRAGON BUNNIES!

  The two dragons were in a cage. Again.

  Orlock pushed the door closed.

  SLAM!

  “I’m tired of everyone putting us into a

  cage!” Ella complained.

  The vegetable wizard had taken the

  two dragons to his wizard dungeon deep

  in the cave. Torches lit the room. Next to

  Orlock’s workbench was a large statue of

  a winged lion. On top of the statue was a

  clear crystal ball. Dozens of magic items

  hung from the walls, which were covered

  in slimy moss and smelled like an old shoe.

  “What’re you going to do with us?” Ella

  asked.

  “Turn you into flying monkeys!” Orlock

  answered as he rubbed his parsley beard.

  “That’s not a very nice thing to do!” Ella

  said.

  “They don’t call us evil wizards because

  we do nice things!” Orlock sneered.

  “Can my wings have racing stripes?”

  Owen asked.

  Ella glared at Owen. “You’re not helping!”

  “What? At least he’s not going to turn us

  into flying bunny rabbits,” Owen said.

  Orlock perked up. “Great idea! Flying

  bunnies are even funnier than flying

  monkeys!”

  “I know how you can make sure we

  have huge bunny ears!” Ella said, thinking

  quickly.

  “If it needs magic fairy flour, don’t

  bother. I used all of mine to make that giant

  waffle you two chased away,” Orlock said.

  “Nope. All you need

  to do is pour some

  pepper on Owen,” Ella

  explained. “It’ll make

  him grow huge bunny

  ears bigger than a

  unicorn’s horn.”

  “Nice try! If I dump pepper

  on him, he’ll sneeze fire, I’d

  bet. Do you think I’m as dumb

  as an ogre or something?”

  Orlock raised his

  asparagus wand to turn

  them into flying bunnies.

  “Wait!” Owen yelled.

  “Maybe there’s

  something we could

  trade you so you’ll

  set us free?”

  Orlock thought for a moment, the

  asparagus wand still held over his head.

  “Well, there is one thing I’d be willing to

  trade.”

  “Name it!” Owen said.

  “Dragon belly button lint for my lint

  collection!” Orlock said.

  Owen smiled a big smile. “I’ve got plenty

  right—”

  He looked down at his belly

  button and his smile faded. He

  had left all his belly button lint

  with Osgood the ogre. Owen

  looked to Ella (who washes

  her belly button every

  morning) and sighed. “I

  hope you like being a

  flying bunny rabbit.”

  7

  DRAGON BUNNIES?

  Owen and Ella hugged each other.

  Orlock waved h
is wand and . . . POOF!

  The two dragons grew long bunny ears.

  “Uh, we’re still more dragon than bunny

  rabbit,” Ella said as she wiggled her fuzzy

  ears.

  Orlock waved his asparagus wand

  again.

  POOF!

  Now Ella and Owen had fuzzy bunny

  tails.

  “Nope. Still not bunnies,” Owen said.

  A frustrated Orlock waved his wand

  again and again and again.

  POOF!

  POOF!

  POOF!

  With each wand wave, Orlock turned

  Owen and Ella into dragons with bunny

  teeth, dragons with cute pink noses, and

  dragons with big white bunny feet. But the

  one thing Orlock could not turn them into

  was plain old bunny rabbits with wings.

  “Are you sure you’re an evil wizard?”

  Owen asked.

  “Yes! But . . . I’m just terrible at casting

  spells! All I can do is turn broccoli into

  cauliflower!” Orlock threw his wand to the

  ground and started to cry.

  Ella and Owen couldn’t help but feel

  sorry for him.

  “Don’t cry, Orlock. It’ll just make you

  soggy,” Ella said.

  “Maybe there’s some way we can help?”

  Owen said.

  Orlock wiped his tears and picked up

  his floppy asparagus wand. “It’d help if

  you could turn my asparagus wand into a

  rhubarb wand. Those are really powerful!”

  “Um, not really sure how we’d do that ...”

  Ella looked to Owen, who shrugged.

  “We’d need ogre toenails to make the

  magic potion, but the ogre down the trail

  always tries to make stew out of me when

  I go to ask for some,” Orlock explained.

  “We have ogre toenails!” Ella flapped

 

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