Harry and the Stock Tank Dragon

By Webster Russell and Dee Coffeen

Summer evenings in north Texas are something special. The setting sun in hues ablaze of gold, red and yellow. The sound of the cattle in the far pasture, the wail of an occasional coyote calling the pack, and the crickets chirping in the field all make a musical symphony. There was also the creaking of grandpa and grandma's rocking chairs, the snoring of the old dog dozing in grandma's lap, the buzzing of the various bugs around the yellowed porch light and the smell of fresh cut grass reminding all of them why this place was so special.
Dinner was over, dishes washed and put away and all the chores were done. Billy, the seven year old, sighed. He was sitting on the top step of the porch with his knees pulled up around his chest. He absolutely loved this place. He and Sally, his six year old sister, had been coming to the ranch every summer for almost their whole lives. For both of them it was always the best two months of every year. Being with grandpa and grandma filled their lives with fun and adventure.
Tonight was special and full of excitement. Grandpa had promised to finally tell them the story of the stock tank dragon.
"Grandpa, can we start the story now?" Billy asked.
"Please Grandpa" Sally chimed in. "We've waited so long to hear it."
"You promised dear" Grandma said in her soft voice.
Grandpa settled back in his rocking chair. "Okay y'all win." He paused and looked at his two grandchildren. A smile crept over his face. "Now, this story begins very near where you kids live."
"In Fort Worth, Grandpa?" Sally asked.
"Yup, in Fort Worth. The boy in this story was named Harry." Grandpa replied.
"That's your name, Grandpa" Sally said.
"Now children, let Grandpa tell the story." chided Grandma.
Billy and Sally moved closer to the rocking chairs as Grandpa took in a deep breath and started weaving the story of Harry and the Stock Tank Dragon.
The story Grandpa told his grand children was one of magic, excitement, friendship, betrayal and danger.

• Language: English
• Publisher: BookBaby
• Release date: Nov 27, 2018
• ISBN: 9781543954487

Book preview

C & R Publications 2018 Copyright

© Webster Russell & Dee Coffeen

The rights of Webster Russell and Dee Coffeen

have been asserted

Other books;

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A Guide Through The Maze of Internet Dating

A Second Time Around -

A Love Story

Books by Webster Russell

The Time Between The Numbers

Healthcare’s Next Tsunami

ISBN (Print): 978-1-54395-447-0

ISBN (eBook): 978-1-54395-448-7

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters,

places and incidents are either the product

of the author’s imagination or are

used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual

persons either living or dead, events,

or locals is entirely coincidental.

Dedication

We dedicate this book to all those that have a sense of magic in their souls. To those in Vashti, Texas where many of Dee’s memories were made. We also want to thank Rose Marie Gloor for her efforts in editing this book.

A special thank you to Kolton Russell who in many ways inspired us as we wrote this book.

Contents

Prologue

Chapter 1—In The Beginning

Chapter 2—The Move

Chapter 3—The Ranch

Chapter 4—Maggie

Chapter 5—School

Chapter 6—The Stock Tank

Chapter 7—Gandolf

Chapter 8—Monty

Chapter 9—Drassiu

Chapter 10—Antistou

Chapter 11—A Price Must Be Paid

Chapter 12—A Sense of Hope

Chapter 13—Payback

Chapter 14—The Gift

About The Authors

Prologue

Summer evenings in north Texas are something special. The setting sun in hues ablaze of gold, red and yellow. The sound of the cattle in the far pasture, the wail of an occasional coyote calling the pack, and the crickets chirping in the field all make a musical symphony. There was also the creaking of grandpa and grandma’s rocking chairs, the snoring of the old dog dozing in grandma’s lap, the buzzing of the various bugs around the yellowed porch light and the smell of fresh cut grass reminding all of them why this place was so special.

Dinner was over, dishes washed and put away and all the chores were done. Billy, the seven year old, sighed. He was sitting on the top step of the porch with his knees pulled up around his chest. He absolutely loved this place. He and Sally, his six year old sister, had been coming to the ranch every summer for almost their whole lives. For both of them it was always the best two months of every year. Being with grandpa and grandma filled their lives with fun and adventure.

Tonight was special and full of excitement. Grandpa had promised to finally tell them the story of the stock tank dragon.

Grandpa, can we start the story now? Billy asked.

Please Grandpa? Sally chimed in. We’ve waited so long to hear it.

You promised dear Grandma said in her soft voice.

Grandpa settled back in his rocking chair. Okay y’all win. He paused and looked at his two grandchildren. A smile crept over his face. Now, this story begins very near where you kids live.

In Fort Worth, Grandpa? Sally asked.

Yup, in Fort Worth. The boy in this story was named Harry. Grandpa replied.

That’s your name, Grandpa! Sally said.

Now children, let Grandpa tell the story. chided Grandma.

Billy and Sally moved closer to the rocking chairs as Grandpa took in a deep breath and started weaving the story of Harry and the Stock Tank Dragon.

Chapter 1

In The Beginning

But Dad, I don’t want to leave. All my friends are here and you know how long it took me to make friends. Don’t forget my science project, and the chess club. I know! I could stay with Aunt Sophie and visit you and Mom on school holidays. Harry hoped his dad would agree with him.

William, Harry’s dad, understood way too well Harry’s concerns, as he too was jerked out of his favorite place in the world when he was about Harry’s age.

Harry had just turned twelve when he got the awful news of his family’s move. His grandpa had been sick and had just passed away. As close as Harry and his grandpa were, he never really felt at home out in the wilds of northwest Texas where Grandpa’s ranch was. He was a Fort Worth boy, at least that is how he felt. Unfortunately, Harry just didn’t look the part of a Texas kid. I mean Texas kids wear jeans, cowboy boots, they are pretty big for their age, and mostly they looked like a young John Wayne. Harry was barely five feet tall, skinny as a rail, with a shock of bright red hair, and glasses that seemed to go from his forehead to the bottom of his nose. He never wore jeans and cowboy boots hurt his feet.

It wasn’t that Harry was wimpy, far from it. It was his wit and a fast mind that set him apart from his classmates. It seemed that he was always one step ahead of those around him. On top of that he also had insatiable curiosity and a love of things magical.

School was alright. He had friends but there was no real best friend. No one that he knew shared his passions and curiosity. Just as things were getting more normal and the kids quit picking on him, he had to start all over again by moving to a cattle ranch outside of Vashti, Texas. Whoopee!

There were no schools in Vashti so he was going to have to ride the bus to Bellevue. Add to that there were more people on his block in Fort Worth than in Vashti and Bellevue combined. Harry was sure that the people in Vashti only thought about cattle, their horses, trucks and dogs; none of which he knew anything about. New school or not, he was going to stick out as the odd city boy.

Being creative, he added this argument to his guilt trip strategy. As clever as he was Harry’s guilt trip about leaving friends and the problems he foresaw with a new school didn’t play well with his dad or his mom either.

After using his best arguments