PUBLISHED BY:
Jason T. Jones on Smashwords
‘Twas the 4th Night before Christmas:
Modern Myths: The First Tale
Copyright 2011 by Jason T. Jones
Cover Art by
Chris Schramm
End Art by
ReOnna Smith
Will you be Naughty or Nice?
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Dedication
To the two great women in my life, my beloved wife Carol and my loving mother Pat. They are the reason this book is published.
Ever since the birth of the savior, mankind has thought of the month of December as a holy time. For much of the world it is a sacred anniversary of a night 2,000 years ago when a star shone bright in the heavens and three wise men traveled the desert to bring gifts to a child born in a stable. Mankind has not been the only creature on God’s earth to regard December as sacred. Before December 25, Christmas Day, there is December 21, the night of the winter solstice—the longest night of the year.
While Christmas is a holiday for all good boys and girls, the winter solstice is a celebration for wicked creatures. At Christmas, people exchange gifts, sing carols, tell stories, and see what Santa has brought them. On the Winter Solstice; goblins, ghouls, and all kinds of foul creatures gather to attend the Bragrit. There they tell stories of their wicked deeds to see who has been the wickedest and the most evil of the year.
On this especially wicked day there was an especially wicked creature named Gargog the Dragon. He had all the features associated with his vile race: skin with scales as tough as armor plates, a tail that could wipe out fifty armed men in a single swipe, and jaws that could crush granite, not to mention the bones of some poor knight.
For hundreds of years Gargog had the wickedest story at the Bragrit. Gargog had done dastardly deeds all over the world. From the tiny fishing villages of ancient Cathay to the largest cities of merry old England, souls trembled at the memory of Gargog's diabolic attacks.
The morning of one December 21, Gargog was lying asleep on his pile of treasures acquired from his cruel deeds. The pile was a hundred feet high with coins of gold and silver. Opals, rubies, emeralds, and all sorts of sparkling stones glittered atop the floor of Gargog's enormous cavern. The dragon awoke with a yawn and stretched his massive wings. Gargog looked over his treasure and chuckled with pride about all of the towns and villages he left in ruin. "I have done all wicked things," Gargog roared.
The cavern returned with the echo, "wicked things."
"Is there a town I have not burned? A treasure I have not stolen? A joy I have not destroyed? A light I have not crushed into darkness?"