by Chris Wright
At breakfast, Gaius tells us about an evil giant named Slay-Good who has come to live in the hills about a mile from his house.
"He's strong and he's fierce," Gaius says, "but if we go to attack him, I'm sure the King will help us and give us the strength to destroy him. I've heard that the giant caught a pilgrim yesterday, and if we hurry we may be able to rescue him."
Greatheart says I can go with them, and so can Matthew, Samuel and Mercy, but the two younger boys must stay behind. They're not too happy about that. Mr Honest says he'll go as well, for although he's old he says he likes to see the King's enemies defeated.
We reach the cave but there's no sign of the giant. Greatheart calls out loudly when we come close, and the huge giant immediately leaps out of his cave.
The battle lasts for an hour, but Slay-Good is wounded at last and falls to the ground. Greatheart stands over him while Gaius searches the cave to see if the pilgrim the giant has captured is still alive.
To everyone's relief Greatheart carries a young man out of the darkness into the daylight. "I'm so glad to see you," the man says. "My name is Feeble-Mind."
Greatheart has some food for the man, and when he has eaten and rested a little, Feeble-Mind is able to tell his story. I wonder how he got his name, for he's as bright as the rest of us. So there's certainly nothing wrong with his mind. Feeble-Mind tells us he got his name because he has never been bold, and is afraid of every difficulty he comes to. What he means, I think, is that his mind keeps telling him to do nothing. I'm surprised to find such a person taking this journey as a pilgrim.
"But," Feeble-Mind says, "in the end I made up my mind to find the King's City, when I realised he was calling me because he wanted me. Everybody has been good to me, and I've come this far in safety. I would have been too worried about climbing Hill Difficulty on my own, but Interpreter sent someone with me and he carried me on his back to the top of the rocky path. Being caught by the giant last night is the worst thing that has happened to me so far, but as I lay in the cave I called to the King. I felt sure he would save me -- and as you can see, he did."
The giant is recovering, and he roars with terror as Greatheart raises his sharp sword. But Greatheart shows no mercy. He cuts the giant's head off with a single stroke. Cutting the heads off giants seems to be the standard course of action for Greatheart, and he drags Slay-Good's head back to the inn by the hair so everyone can see it and be glad that another of the King's enemies is dead.
James keeps complaining he should have been there to watch Greatheart do it. "With a single stroke of the sword," he says, wielding an imaginary weapon high above his head, then swinging it down to the ground. "Take that, Giant Slay-Good!"
CHAPTER 70
Off Again
Gaius has a young daughter whose name is Phoebe. Phoebe tells us she has already passed through the Wicket Gate, and now wants to travel farther. Her father says it would be good for her to be with us. Phoebe looks almost too small to travel, although she must be about the same age as James. But she insists on going with us, so Gaius asks us to stay for a few days while his daughter prepares for her journey.
On the last day Gaius makes a feast for us, and when it's over Greatheart asks what he must pay for our lodging. But Gaius refuses to take any money. He says he loves the King and his Son, and for the King's sake he keeps his inn ready for any pilgrims who chose to stay here.
We're saying goodbye, and Feeble-Mind is standing silently in the doorway. Greatheart says to him, "Aren't you coming with us? The King will be glad for us to help you on your way."
Feeble-Mind shakes his head. "I'm afraid I'll slow you down," he explains. "You are all so strong and active, and I'm so nervous about everything. Besides, I'm not cheerful like these young pilgrims, and I think I'd make them feel sad with my dull ways."
"Oh no, you won't," I tell him. "Come with us, and we'll cheer you up and help you."
"Yes," Greatheart insists, "it's dangerous to travel alone. We'll be sorry if we have to leave you behind."
I can see tears come into the poor man's eyes, but we can't persuade Feeble-Mind to travel with us. I think he really is afraid of slowing us down. While we're standing together on the pathway, we hear footsteps approaching slowly and hesitantly, and a young pilgrim comes in sight. He says his name is Ready-to-Halt. He's probably Matthew's age, and has to walk with the aid of crutches.
When Feeble-Mind sees him, he exclaims, "I know you! How did you get here?"
The boy smiles as he holds out his hand. "Feeble-Mind! How did you get here?" he asks. "I do believe we're both bound for the same place."
"You're disabled, and I'm weak," I hear Feeble-Mind say, "but I know the King won't turn us away from the Gates of his City. I was just wishing for a companion, and no one could suit me better than you."
"I'll be only too glad to go with you," Ready-to-Halt tells him, looking round at everybody. "Can we all go together?"
Greatheart says that will be fine, and everything is settled.
Ready-to-Halt shows his crutches to us. "These are like the King's promises," he says. "Whenever I'm unsteady, I use them to keep me from falling."
Greatheart says that's something we can all do with. "Anyway," he adds, "we won't be travelling fast. So if you're not able to keep up with us, we'll always wait for you."
We set off once more. Mr Honest walks in front with Greatheart, while Matthew and his three brothers follow. I'm walking with Mercy and Phoebe, and last of all come the Ready-to-Halt and Feeble-Mind.
"I'm sure we'll be able to help each other," I hear Ready-to-Halt say to Feeble-Mind, "and when you're tired I can lend you one of my crutches."
CHAPTER 71
Near Vanity Fair
We spend the day crossing the plain, a flat, wild area where nothing much grows. After walking for several hours, we see the walls and gates of Vanity Fair in the distance. The great towers rise darkly against the clear sky, and I begin to feel afraid as we get nearer the town of the evil prince.
"Is this where poor Faithful died?" Mercy asks me.
Phoebe is talking to James, but she hears us. "Yes," she pipes up. "It's where the people killed Faithful, and kept Christian shut in a cage."
Mercy gasps and puts her hand to her mouth. "Do you think they'll put us in a cage?"
It's something I've not even considered before. I'm sure I can feel my face going white, for although Phoebe is small she sounds as though she knows what she's talking about. I try to sound calm. "If we get separated from each other, let's remember how good the King's Son has been to us. We know he's always watching over us. If we have to suffer, we must be brave because we love him."
Feeble-Mind and Ready-to-Halt are walking just behind us, and must have heard me too.
"Are you afraid?" Feeble-Mind asks Ready-to-Halt.
"I think we all are," I say, turning round.
"Do we have to pass through the town?" Mercy asks. "Isn't there a way round?"
Greatheart looks kindly at her. "We could go round," he says, "but then we might not find our way onto the right path again."
"I think we should go straight into the town," Phoebe says firmly, and although she's the smallest in the group, she already seems to have taken charge. "My father says the evil prince has told them to be more pleasant to pilgrims now, so that they'll want to stay there for ever."
Greatheart and Mr Honest are waiting for everyone to catch up. "We'll have to spend the night in Vanity Fair," Greatheart tells us. "If we pass straight through the town we won't be able to reach another resting place before dark."
"Where can we sleep?" I ask, trying not to sound too frightened. "Will the people harm us?"
"I don't think so," Greatheart says. "I've brought many pilgrims safely through the town recently, and I know a good man called Mnason who keeps an inn. He will let us stay with him, and be pleased to see us, I'm sure. What do you think?"
One by one we all agree to take Greatheart's advice.
"Why woul
d good people want to live in Vanity Fair?" Samuel asks. "Isn't it wrong for them to live there?"
Greatheart shakes his head. "The King has given them work to do. They help and protect the pilgrims who are passing through, and do their best to make sure no one decides to stay."
CHAPTER 72
In the Fair
The town is less busy than I expected, probably because it's now early evening. Some of the people laugh as we pass them but, other than that, no one seems interested in us. We reach the marketplace where Greatheart shows us the spot where Faithful was killed, and soon stop at the door of a small inn.
Greatheart calls Mnason's name and a man comes out and makes us welcome.
"I thought I recognised your voice," Mnason tells Greatheart. "How far have you all travelled today?"
"From the house of our friend Gaius," Greatheart tells him.
Mnason looks surprised. "From the house of Gaius?" he says. "Well, you've certainly done a fair stitch. You must be weary, so bring your friends in and have something to eat."
Mnason shows us to a large room set with tables. As soon as we're sitting down, Mr Honest asks Mnason if there are many good people in the town.
"We have a few," Mnason says. "But not nearly as many as there are people who are friends of the evil prince."
"Can we see some of these good folk?" Mr Honest asks. "To meet them is like a sailor seeing the moon and the stars instead of fog."
Mnason smiles at the expression, and signals to his young daughter called Grace. "Go and tell my friends that I have some pilgrims at my house who would like to meet them here this evening."
Grace runs off and soon comes back with a group of people. Grace has a younger sister called Martha, who is the same age as Joseph. The two sisters seem to be great friends with all these visitors.
Mnason tells us that since the death of Faithful, the people in the town have generally been much kinder to pilgrims. "I think they still feel guilty for that they did," he says. "In those days we were afraid to walk the streets, but today we can show our heads. Then, the name of the King was odious, but nowadays there are parts of the town where such conversation is considered acceptable."
Mnason fetches a viola and a lute from the next room and holds them up. "Which of you can play these?" he asks us.
"Christiana can play the viola," James says quickly, before I can shake my head at him to warn him to keep quiet. It's quite a time since I last played a violin, and although the viola may look the same, it's a bit larger. Anyway, I don't think I'll be any good -- especially with so many people listening. Mercy raises her hand and offers to take the lute, which looks a little like a swollen guitar. So now I have to accept the viola. We whisper together about what to play, and start off.
At first we don't do all that well, because the instruments feel strange. But nobody laughs, not even Joseph and James. Soon we get into the mood for playing, and it all sounds good -- to me, at least.
Everybody claps politely when we finish, and the talk turns to our adventures and misadventures so far. Greatheart tells how he killed Giant Grim and Giant Maul, and now Giant Slay-Good.
"Then these pilgrims must stay a while longer," Mnason says, looking at his friends. "We have a terrifying enemy outside the town. It is a dragon called False-Teaching, and we have just had news that it caught a pilgrim this evening."
"And you'd like us help rescue the pilgrim and kill the dragon?" Samuel says. "Come on, let's all go now."
I look at my brothers. Matthew quickly nods and says that he'll help, while Joseph and James look excited. Mercy and Phoebe probably feel as I do, for we all smile vaguely.
"We must wait until the morning when it's light," Greatheart says. "It will be too dangerous to go if we cannot see the way ahead."
Mnason agrees. "I'll arrange for us to have an early breakfast. It's no good going to fight a dragon on an empty stomach."
As for Mr Honest, Feeble-Mind and the disabled boy called Ready-to-Halt, I can see they're going to need a good rest, so I doubt if they'll be attacking any dragons in the near future. But it looks as though the rest of us will.
"By the way," Mnason adds, "you might as well know. The dragon has seven heads -- on seven very long necks!"
CHAPTER 73
The Seven-Headed Dragon
It's the early morning and we're standing outside Mnason's inn in the dawn light, waiting for instructions. Joseph and James are at the front, to hear what Mnason has to say. Mnason tells us that the dragon lives in a large forest close to Vanity Fair.
"Do the people who live in Vanity Fair feed it?" I wonder aloud.
Mnason hears me. "They did at first," he says. "They thought it would be fun to make friends with the dragon, but now it's grown so bold it comes into town to attack both men and women. Sometimes it seizes children and carries them away to its lair. The people of Vanity Fair are now terrified of it."
"Why hasn't anyone from Vanity Fair killed it?" I ask. "With a town this size, surely they could get a small army together."
"The servants of the evil prince are afraid," Mnason explains. "None of them dares so much as face this monster, and they flee when they hear it coming. We servants of the King certainly want it dead, but until Greatheart and all you pilgrims arrived yesterday, we have not been able to do anything."
I'm feeling a little afraid. If the people of Vanity Fair are terrified of the dragon, what can we do?
"There will be no danger if you all keep close to me," Greatheart explains. "The King told me in a dream last night that we have nothing to fear -- as long as we go in his name. He has even provided weapons for every one of us."
"For James as well?" I cry in alarm, as my youngest brother rubs his hands in excitement. "Isn't he too young to fight?"
"It was probably a mistake for me to leave James and Joseph behind last time," Greatheart says. "The King's swords can be used by everyone. Even the youngest pilgrim. You are all to come with us."
We're inside the forest now, in a place where a rocky hill rises high above the trees. Suddenly Mnason raises a hand to tell us to stay where we are. Everybody stops talking. I can feel my heart beating faster.
Mnason points to the entrance to a large cave a little way up the hill. "This is the lair of False-Teaching," he whispers.
It's strange, but now I can see the cave I don't feel quite so frightened. We climb silently, higher and higher among the rocks, until we are nearly at the entrance.
We can hear someone shouting for help, and the voice seems to be coming from inside the cave. Without warning, a head on the end of a long neck darts out. Six more heads follow, then the scaly green body of the dragon, so we can see all seven heads and long necks of this disgusting creature.
The dragon stands in the mouth of the cave, its heads waving around in rage. It utters seven roars that shake the hillside as it clambers over the large rocks to attack us.
False-Teaching looks mean and strong, and I know it could kill us all if we weren't armed with the King's weapons. The fight begins. While we stab at one of the heads with our swords, Greatheart climbs above the cave, unseen by the dragon.
As the beast roars its terrifying roar, Greatheart leaps down onto its back and slashes his sword across one of the long necks. Still joined to its neck, the head rolls past us dripping blood as we all jump out of the way.
Screaming with pain, the dragon rushes back into the cave. I look down at the severed head, afraid it will bite us, but it's completely still.
"There are still six heads left," James whispers, his small sword raised in his hand, ready for another battle if the dragon gets this far.
The next attack comes while Greatheart is climbing down from the rocks. The dragon is obviously expecting Greatheart to still be above, and it looks up with all six remaining heads on the end of their long necks.
Greatheart is to one side and slashes off one head, and then another. False-Teaching is wild with a mixture of rage and pain, its long necks threshing around wi
ldly. Mnason hurries forward to kill it, but Matthew and Samuel get there first. The terrible roars suddenly stop as the last head rolls down the hill, and dragon's body collapses in the cave entrance.
Joseph and James are the first to enter the cave, and emerge almost immediately with the trapped pilgrim. We are glad to see he's unhurt, and take him back to the town to stay with Mnason until he makes a full recovery.
When Mnason's friends hear about the death of False-Teaching, they tell us they're glad about it, and even the evil prince's citizens cannot help honouring us for our bravery. We get to know many people in the town over the next few days, and try to help some who are most in need. Mercy's sewing skills come in useful, for once again she is able to organise us into making and mending clothes for the poor.
We work together to feed and clothe those who are living in poverty, but Mercy is especially hard working, Mnason says she's a fine illustration of how pilgrims should behave. Phoebe, and Mnason's two daughters, Grace and Martha, set us all a good example by showing kindness to everyone, and I keep hearing people speak well of us.
At last the time comes for us to continue our journey. Mnason says his young daughters Grace and Martha entered the Wicket Gate some time ago, and have been waiting for a guide to help them on the rest of their way to the Celestial City. He asks Greatheart if he will allow them to travel with us. Greatheart answers that he will be pleased to help, which is good news for me -- because now the boys will no longer outnumber the girls.
The King's servants who are working for the King in Vanity Fair come to the gates to bid us farewell, and give us some gifts for our journey. I can't help thinking how good the King has been, in letting me meet people who are so kind to us. Greatheart is given a large pack to carry, but won't tell us what's in it.
"I was afraid they'd shut us in their cage," I tell Mercy as we leave.
"So was I," she says. "But we found good friends there, and the King kept us safe."
CHAPTER 74
Doubting Castle
Greatheart is telling us about the River of the Water of Life, which is only a day's journey from Vanity Fair. He says we'll be able to spend tonight in its quiet meadows, which sounds good.
