Our Shropshire Stories
the legend of fey and earl, by ariana rowley
gobowen primary school
winner!
A long, long time ago, before any of us were alive, the legend of Fey and Earl began. Fey and Earl were two magnificent dragons. They were special fire dragons who had shimmering scales like a ruby sea. The only way to tell the dragons apart was their eyes. Fey had bright burning yellow eyes and Earl’s eyes were as red as the flames that he breathed. They lived peacefully on a volcanic hill in Shropshire, until some curious humans looking for a place to build their village came by. They thought this was the perfect place for exploring and protection, unaware of the awakening volcano beneath their feet. The humans built their village on the ‘Near and Far Diagonal’ hill and decided to call it Pontesford. Fey and Earl were disturbed by the people and their buildings. The dragons had never
seen a person in their life so they said “What are these creatures?” One man saw the dragons and screamed “DRAGONS!”. The humans saw two enormous dragons gliding through the sky towards them. They looked like ferocious beasts. The humans were frozen with fear believing the dragons meant them harm. The humans decided to make weapons in case the dragons returned.
That night mysterious rumbling was felt. The humans thought it was their imagination, but the dragons knew it was the volcano erupting. Fey and Earl had to leave their nest “We must warn the humans!” they decided. Meanwhile the humans finished their weapons. When Fey and Earl returned to the village, they said to the humans “You must leave your village, this is a volcano, it’s about to erupt”. The humans didn’t understand. The humans got their weapons out and started to attack the dragons. They used cannons, catapults and pitchforks. “We don’t want to fight” the dragons pleaded, but the humans didn’t understand. Earl tried to protect Fey but a cannon ball got him in the eye, he fell, crashing to the ground at speed. Silence swept over the village as Earl didn’t move again. Fey was heartbroken in an instant, but there was no time to lose as the lava appeared at the edge of the village. The humans now understood what was happening and the terrible accident they caused. “We’re sorry” cried the villagers. Without thinking Fey collected the villagers onto her giant wings and flew off into the smoky sky to safety. After a couple of days, when it was safe, Fey and the humans returned to the ruined village together. They decided to rebuild and improve their village. The humans decided to name the hill Earl’s Hill in memory of the dragon who tried to save them. Fey returned to her nest alone and sad. However, to her surprise she found three hatched baby dragons, and a new adventure for Fey began.
this story was inspired by the place-name near and far diagonal fields, in Brompton - to find out more, click here.
