His breath rattled, her heart raced. “Where is that Manticore?” wondered Lola.
“ROOOAAARRRRR!” A deafening noise crashed through the forest.
“There he is!” Lola said, gripped with fear. She stood there pondering whether he would eat her but only for a split second because a hand grabbed her shoulder and dragged her into the bushes.
“Don’t move a muscle,” hissed Jack quietly. Everything went silent.
“Where did they go?” Lola heard in a low voice coming from the Manticore’s direction.
She sneezed loudly. “Oops,” she murmured.
“I hate you!” Jack said angrily, “If we get killed tonight Lola, just remember, it was all your fault.”
The Manticore, still puzzled as to where the children were, sat down next to a nearby tree and waited. A tear slowly trickled down his furry cheek. Watching from the bushes Jack said, “Interesting, something’s not right.” But before Lola had a chance to answer she was grabbed by a soft squishy padded paw.
“Get off me you creep!” she growled. The Manticore slowly stroked her hair and put her down, then it ran off into the trees.
“What was that?!” Jack said quizzically.
“Dad used to stroke my hair like that…” said Lola dreamily. “Hey, my hair clip is missing!”
“Which one? You have loads!” Jack sneered. Lola gave Jack a piercing look.
“The one shaped like a golden leaf.” replied Lola, lost in her own thoughts.
“You mean the one dad gave you?” Jack remembered out loud.
“Yes! He even told me how he found it. It was in a forest, a forest just like this…”
A cold shiver crawled down their spines as a gust of wind passed by. Tall, hollow trees shook and shuddered. They slowly trudged along the crispy path, autumn leaves covering the ground. Suddenly a deep voice growled; Jack and Lola clambered up a tree like squirrels being chased by a large predator. Having reached the top, they took a glimpse at the foot of the tree. There he was, the hideous Manticore circling the massive oak tree, with his tail slapping against the bark.
“Come down here Jack and Lola! I know you’re up there,” snarled the Manticore, “If you don’t come down, I’ll come up to get you.”
Startled, they were unable to answer; they did not know what to do. The vicious Manticore was cautiously prowling around the bottom of the hollow oak tree. Lola and Jack were petrified. They slowly edged further up the tree until the Manticore’s hairy head was out of sight.
Without warning, the tree was struck by the creature’s enormous, venomous tail. The branch that they had been gripping snapped. Luckily, Jack managed to grasp another as he fell, but Lola tumbled out of the tree onto the Manticore’s scaly tail. Jack was horrified. For one fleeting moment he thought the beast would devour her there and then, but unexpectedly he began to croon softly:
“I was captured by the demon – Raymon is his name.
If you do not help me, you’ll have only yourselves to blame.
Help me, help me – I’m really not bad.
Help me, help me – I am your dad.
Do not be afraid, listen carefully.
Go to the den and you will see.
The demon that has captured me.
Help me, help me – set me free.
The den is white, green and black.
Don’t touch the clock – it will take you straight back!
Use the hair-clip; it has immense power,
But make sure you use it within the next hour.”
At that moment, Jack’s memories began flooding back, enveloping him in the past. He remembered being transported to this mythical land, full of strange and deadly creatures, by the enchanted spider’s web.
Dad had been missing for an entire week and the family were worried sick. To help around the house, Jack and Lola collected firewood from the forest at the bottom of their garden. While they were out they came across a magnificent spider’s web, which had been spun between two pine trees. Attracted by the glistening dewdrops suspended from the threads of the web, they reached out to touch it. That was when they found themselves plummeting down a portal, arriving in this world.
Dragging his thoughts back to the present, Jack’s instinct told him that he must save Lola. Gingerly, he climbed down the monstrous oak towards the waiting Manticore who, gripping Lola tightly in his muscular tail, scurried towards a nearby pond. Jack followed. The creature beckoned him over and Jack, perplexed, obeyed. As he approached, he caught a glimpse of his reflection in the water, as well as Lola’s. However, instead of the Behemoth’s reflection, there in its place, was Dad’s!
Jack now understood that all that his father had said was true.
“Lola, it’s true! It really is Dad.”
Hearing this, the Manticore loosened his grip on Lola and she scrambled off his tail to lovingly wrap her arms around his neck. Jack and Lola beamed. That was when they realised there was one problem – how were they ever going to free him from the demon’s curse … and all within one hour?
Circling the Manticore, the children pondered over what to do next. “Let’s find the beast that did this to me,” growled the man-eating predator. The wind howled as Jack and Lola raced over the vast mountains and lakes of the mythical land, heading for the demon. They came across a graceful, golden Griffin.
“I can help you on your journey as long as you turn me back into a human too. First we need to go to the witch’s cabin in the middle of the forest,” he explained eagerly.
Exhausted, they reached the mysterious cabin and peered inside. The warty witch was creating bubbling potions. She spotted them through the cracked window and cackled, “It’s not me you’re after. You need to travel two hundred steps to the west in order to discover the demon’s lair. But be prepared, for Raymon is clever with many traps.”
Two hundred steps later, Lola noticed the entrance to an enchanted cave. Gingerly, Jack, Lola and the manticore, who the children believed to be their father, crept deep into the mysterious cave. As they apprehensively turned a corner, they saw a shadow. The mysterious shadow was moving closer. Blinded by a dazzling white light, the Griffin was the first to identify the glistening pattern of a spider’s web. Dangling off the end of one fine thread was a stealthy spider. Without warning, he hurled a silk thread towards Lola, imprisoning her within his woven creation and they both dissolved into the darkness. All that they heard was a whisper echoing around the cave:
If you want sweet Lola back,
You must follow my uneasy track.
For I have so many webs,
But you have two tiny legs.
Join my world and you will see,
It is not easy being me.
Quivering with fear, Jack looked hopelessly towards his lion-like father.
“What is this hair clip that the hairy beast spoke of?” asked the Griffin curiously.
“Lola’s hair clip that father discovered in this magical forest,” Jack replied.
“I saw a shining golden leaf-shaped hair clip on a rusty shelf in the witch’s cabin!” insisted the griffin.
“Our only chance to break the demon’s curse and liberate father and Lola is to return to the witch’s cabin and reclaim what is rightfully ours!”
Jack, the Griffin and the Manticore, which they believed was their father raced off to the hag’s cabin to claim what was rightfully theirs, the golden hairclip!
“Come on guys we really need to finish this job before time runs out!” Jack exclaimed.
They ran as fast as they could back to the hag’s shack. As they arrived, they heard the witch cackle loudly. She had a potion brewing on the stove which smelt of dead rats, toenails and putrid fares. Outside her crumbling house, the Manticore peered through the dusty window.
“Look!” screeched the Manticore.
“Shhh! She might hear us,” said Jack angrily.
“I’ve got plan” hissed Jack.
When the plan was finally decided, they put it to the test. Jack scrambled across the crispy golden leaves towards the mould encrusted window. He then began to bang loudly against cracked glass. At that moment, the glistening Griffin smashed his huge clawed paws straight through the ancient door.
“STOP!” yelled the Griffin.
“NEVER!” cackled the evil hag, in a voice that sent electrical prickles down Jack’s back.
Suddenly, as if from nowhere, Jack barged through the inadequate window. As he did so, the hag wobbled, and then fell backwards, unable to sustain her balance. Unluckily, she fell in to an enormous pot of boiling liquid. There was a big splash and a bloodcurdling scream emerged from the bottom. Then there was silence. No one moved, no one dared to speak. Jack arose from the ground shocked and bewildered at what he had just done. He went to collect the golden leaf shaped hair clip from the extremely dusty shelf. Still no one spoke. They were dumbstruck.
“We’d better go,” murmured the Griffin at last.
And so they set off to the deep dark woods.
They hurried back to the enchanted cave so they could trade the hair clip for Lola and change the manticore and the griffin back into humans. The three of them entered the dark, damp cave looking for the spider. “Where is the spider and Lola?” whispered Jack
“I have no idea but maybe we should follow the silk thread” the Griffin replied.
The Manticore and Griffin strode forward, Jack always staying behind. When they arrived at the enormous twinkling spider web, a voice seemed to speak out to them from behind the seemingly never-ending walls. It said,
You must place the leaf on the web
And your friend will be free of the dread
But this is not an easy job
As my spider will make you sob.
Suddenly a spider leapt down from the dripping ceiling.
“AAAAGGGHHH!” screamed Jack, almost leaping out of his muddy leather boots. The griffin lurched forward and attacked the gargantuan arachnid. As he did so, he threw the hair clip to Jack who nearly dropped it in his shock. He ran as fast as his legs would take him, he felt like he was flying. Jack leapt at the web and pinned the now bent clip to it. There was a blinding flash, and out came Lola. As he looked back to the manticore, he noticed it was changing into a handsome man with glistening brown eyes.
“Dad!” shouted Lola. Although something was wrong. Everyone looked at the Griffin expecting him to change from the creature into a human again. However, the Griffin hadn’t changed.
The Griffin opened its mouth and out came a much unexpected sound. “Ring, Ring!” It sounded like an alarm clock.
“Lola, get yourself out of bed, you have 5 minutes to get ready for school” called her bearded father.
Lola hurried down the stairs and into her father’s car. Jack was listening to his favourite music while staring out of the window. Could this have all been a dream she wondered?
As their father parked outside of the school, he stopped Lola. “Honey, I picked up something for you, I think you will like it” he said softly. It was then that their father gently passed her a beautiful, golden hairclip that was slightly bent. “Have a great day sweetheart!”
Lola gazed into the rear-view mirror, she could have sworn that she saw the reflection of the Manticore gazing back at her. Clutching her new golden hairclip, she made her way into school.
by Year 5 pupils from East Sheen, St Edmund’s, Darell and The Russell primary schools