Cedric visits the logging camp

If you are following this blog may I suggest you go to the first episode and follow the story from the beginning

Episode Three (3)

‘So who’s going with you tonight?’ said Florence. ‘I think it’s a very risky thing to do but it must be looked into; I mean you know how people get all excited if they think they’ve seen a dragon, and if you are going to be flying around their logging camp then they will get very upset!’
‘I’ve decided to take Moonbeam’s father with me, just the one wood sprite will be enough, and Sunray is a very sensible wood sprite. But no other dragons, we want to make sure we are not seen.’ Cedric had definitely decided that even one dragon was one dragon too many, but his wife had decided he must check on the ‘loggers’ so he was going early next morning hoping everybody at the camp would be asleep.

Now a dragon is very big, and even though he was being very careful not to be seen Cedric was very worried. ‘I don’t like sitting on this branch it feels very thin, and if we sit here much longer the loggers will be getting up and see us,’ Cedric said to Sunray. Then he looked carefully at the scene below. ‘Can you see anybody moving in the camp, I think we could go down and have a closer look.’
‘You mean go and look in the camp, and walk around. Do you think that’s a good idea?’ said Sunray.
‘Anything is better than sitting on this branch, you might be very small, but I am very big and heavy and ...’ At that moment the branch gave a very loud noise and Cedric decided that enough was enough and slowly flew down into the camp. The tree he had been sitting in gave a sigh of relief.
Carefully Cedric walked amongst the tents and cabins being careful not to trip over the ropes holding the tents up. ‘What do you think Sunray, there does seem to be a lot of people here; and what do you think all these machines are for. And did you see all those ropes in the big tent?’
‘You mean the big machines at the edge of the clearing? They’re called ‘donkeys’, they use them for pulling the trees along the ground. They have to get them to the trailers to take them out of the forest. That’s why they need all those ropes.’ Sunray had been to look at the camp several times and had listened to the loggers.
‘I thought donkeys were animals ... look at this cabin here, it’s full of very nasty looking things. Cedric reached out and felt the cutting teeth of one of the saws. He was looking inside one of the cabins beside the ‘donkeys’ and just couldn’t resist feeling one of the saws.
‘They are mechanical chain saws, they use them to cut down the trees, and those long ones are for the men to work, using brute force to saw into the trees.’
Cedric looked at his companion in horror. ‘I think it’s time we left I’ve seen enough, and I think I have an idea.’ Quickly he flew back up into the trees, and with Sunray flying beside him they both headed back to the Dragon Cave.

Florence was at the entrance to the cave when they landed. ‘Well are they really going to cut down the forest?’
‘I think so, and they have some very nasty things in their camp. I felt one and it was very sharp. If they are going to use them on our friends the trees, then they must be stopped.’ Cedric looked very - very upset. ‘The Green Man said that they will also upset the ecology and that is not a good thing. And it will certainly upset the trees. Already we could see great big areas of trees cut down. That is just to make their camp, and put all the machines ready for when they really start cutting down the trees.’
At that moment the Green Man came into the clearing in front of the cave entrance. ‘Well have you had a look at the camp, what do you think?’
‘Yes I have, and I have a plan but I need some help, a little bit of magic will be needed, but I am sure the Great Magician might help.’ Cedric was sure his plan would be a good one but it did need a little bit of help from the Magician.

Back at the logging camp several of the loggers stood around in a group. The biggest logger looks at his companions, ‘That’s rubbish there are no such things as monsters, it’s just an odd way the marks in the mud by the tap looks. Somebody must have put a bucket on the ground and that’s the mark it left.’
‘Well I don’t think so,’ said the red faced man who was standing in front of him. ‘Look there are other marks over there.’ He pointed to another of Cedric’s footprints where the ground was soft. ‘I think there are monsters in this forest and we should be on the lookout for them.’
‘Rubbish! You are soft in the head Albin, you should forget your village superstitions, next you will be telling us that there are dragons in these woods.’
‘That’s it – dragons – those are dragon footprints. They must be in this part of the forest.’ Albin was now very upset. ‘I’m certain that they are dragon footprints, look you can see where the talons go deeper into the mud.’
Now everyone was beginning to laugh. ‘Dragons! and gnomes I suppose, you are really being silly.’ And with that the biggest logger walked away followed by the others.

‘You see,’ said Cedric. ‘They need all their machines to drag the trees out of the forest – no machines then they can’t move the trees and that will be that!’
The Green Man looked at Cedric and considered the suggestion, ‘But the machines are very heavy, explain to me again how you intend to take them away and hide them?’
‘Well, we can take them away in the night by lifting them up with ropes. I saw lots of ropes in one of the tents but I think the machines might be too heavy for us. That is where you can help by talking to the Great Magician, he is your friend and could let us have some weight reducing powder so that we can sprinkle it on the machines. We don’t want to make them weightless because we shall drop them in the lake deep in the forest, then they can sink to the bottom.’ Cedric was certain the plan would work because without the machines the work would stop.
‘I wish you wouldn’t keep calling him the Great Magician, his name is Erasmus O’Rourke. Anyway I will send him a message and see if he will help. Now was there anything else before I go back to my den?’

But you will have to wait for the next episode to find out what the magician said.