Greek Myth - Oscar and the Fluxzal

Oscar was sitting on a rock at the beach watching the waves crash against the shore. His long blonde hair gently blew over his face as the wind whipped around him and although this covered his eyes, he could just make out his mother some distance away. She was sobbing. Her other little boy, Joshua, had been taken some days ago by the winged Fluxzal. He had been grabbed as they sat in the same position watching the ocean. Oscar sat contemplating what he should do. He wanted to help his mother. He wanted to get Joshua back into their family home. His father had died some years ago, and he knew as man of the house, it was his duty to reunite the family. As he sat thinking the waves crashed and the ocean churned and out of the water rose a beautiful mermaid. She held in her arms a large golden bag.

Oscar was amazed by the sight of this beautiful creature as it rose out of the water. Her long wavy brown hair sparkled in the sunlight and reflected off the golden bag. She reached into the bag and took out a small carpet. She reached in again and pulled out a golden chain. Then finally she dragged out a net. As she handed Oscar the objects she spoke softly to him. "Oscar, I bring you these objects. They will help you to find your brother, Joshua. This carpet can fly it can take you anywhere you like. Use it to travel over the seven seas towards the dark side of the world. There you will discover a tall castle made of gold. This chain can turn into any animal. The animal cannot kill the Fluxzal, but it will help you on your journey. The net I give you will be useful. You will know when and where to use it."

With a flip of her scaly green tail, the mermaid elegantly dived into the ocean. The wind immediately stopped and the water, which had churned and swelled lapped gently against the rocks. Oscar ran to his mother and said, "I am going on a journey to the dark side of the world to bring back Joshua and defeat the winged Fluxzal."

Oscar placed the net and the chain in his rucksack and rolled the carpet out on the sand. He went over to his mother and held her for a moment. As he held her, he whispered into her ear, "I will bring back Joshua and the head of the Fluxzal". They took a moment to look into each others eye. He could feel the pride she felt. He knew she loved him. She reached into a large canvas bag on the sand and pulled out an old cloth. She opened up the cloth to reveal a dagger.

"This belonged to your father," she said, "He told me, as he was dying, to pass it on to you when the time was right. Now seems a good time." She handed him the dagger. It was a beautiful silver knife with a carved wooden handle. On the handle were some letters, O.S.P.

"Oscar Sebastien Parker", said Oscar. "That's my name".

"You were named after your father", said his mother as she held his arms tightly. "You have grown exactly the kind of man your father was. He would have been so proud."

He placed the dagger in his bag and with a final kiss on the cheek, he turned and stood on the carpet. He put his arms out in front of him and then, as if swimming, he moved his arm rapidly backwards and the carpet lifted off into the sky. The carpet ride was smooth. Oscar had no idea where he was heading, but the carpet seems to know, seemed to have a life of it's own. It rose high above the fluffy white clouds, higher than the birds flew or the rain fell. The view was marvellous. Oscar could see hills and trees, but they looked like tiny marbles from so high in the sky. After a short while the land below him disappeared and he was flying over water. The colours of the water were amazingly vibrant. At first he saw the red sea, coloured like a post-box. Next the carpet seemed to swerve left and he glided gracefully over the blue sea. After this came a shift the right and a sudden swoop over the sea as green as grass. Soon after, Oscar had flown over the yellow, pink and purple seas. IT grew colder. It grew more shadowy and the colour of the water below him changed once more. The carpet began to slow and the golden sea below became darker and darker.

The light that had shone from the sun at the beginning of the ride has gone and the darkness was all around him. He delved into his bag, as the carpet came to rest on solid ground, and pulled out the chain. With two shakes and a flick the chain turned into a bright glow-worm lighting up the path towards him. It was enough light to see the stone path at his feet stretching out in front of him and after just a few small steps he could see the silouhette of the high castle. Oscar had arrived at the dark side of the world.

Guided by the light of the glow-worm Oscar moved cautiously towards the castle door. As he looked up to the huge wooden door he could hear movement inside the castle. He shook the glow-worm twice and it turned back into the cold metal chains. Carefully he opened the door, not much, but just enough to peer inside. What he saw shocked him to the core.

He had heard tales of the Fluxzal from his father when he was tiny and now here he was looking directly at it. The Fluxzal was a huge purple creature. With the head of three lions, the body of a diplodocus and the powerful tail of a crocodile it was a fearsome scaled beast. But it's wings were the most dangerous part. They were like two wings of a jumbo jet, but were spiked at the ends with the sharpest daggers of bone. The roar as it swished it wings around the castle was deafening and each time its huge feet hit the floor the ground shook like a terrible earthquake was happening. As he looked around the castle from the safety of the door he noticed a small cage. Inside it he could see Joshua. He was just sitting there, crying.

The desire and passion in Oscar's heart grew strong but he knew he would need to be clever to defeat the Fluxzal, cleverer than he had ever been. He cast his mind back to the stories he had heard about the Fluxzal. His father had told him, before he died, of a time when the Fluxzal had left the castle in the depth of the night to rampage through the town, killing and eating all the dogs he could find. Dogs were his weakness. They threatened him with their nibble feet, their sharp teeth and their cunning. Oscar took hold of the chain once more, applied the shakes and twists and a huge golden labrador was at his side.

Opening the door of the castle as wide as it would go he stood with his legs set shoulder width apart and placed one hand on his hip, letting out a huge whistle. The Fluxzal span around. It span around so fast that it's tail smashed through the bricks of the castle wall and it began to charge, straight for Oscar.

With panic and fear he let go of the dog, which ran around the outside of the room. The Fluxzal, seeing the dog run, changed direction with its eyes drawn to the dog. It's wings flapped. It's three heads roared. Oscar watched carefully as the wings slammed down, careful to avoid the sharp spikes. The Fluxzal was spinning round and round as the nimble dog twisted and turned, ducked and dived in and out of the legs of the Fluxzal. Oscar saw his chance. Pulling the net from his bag he ran round the legs of the Fluxzal. Round and round, dragging the net behind him. Round and round, tying the legs of the Fluxzal tighter and tighter. Round and round, causing confusion for the beast. When the net had been fully unwound Oscar moved swiftly for the door and called for the dog. The Fluxzal swayed. The Fluxzal staggered. It's three heads silent in all the confusion. Dizzy from the spin, his feet in opposite directions, he began to fall.

The huge weight of the Fluxzal came crashing down with a massive thud. Dust flew everywhere engulfing the room in a dirty smoke. When the dust settled Oscar moved cautiously over the Fluxzal and took out of his bag his father's dagger. He stabbed the knife, with all his force, into the heart of the beast. The eyes of the heads closed, the breathing stopped. The Fluxzal was dead.

Oscar rushed over to the cage where his brother was trapped, his heart still pounding, beads of sweat running down his forehead. With his hands still trembling he pulled the chains off the door of the cage and threw the door wide open. His arms immediately engulfed Joshua in a suffocating hug and the boys held each other, tears of joy streaming down their tender cheeks.

Together they left the castle, stood on the magic carpet and lifted off into the sky. The journey home seemed to fly by and no sooner were they up in the clouds that it felt as if they were descending back to the beach where they had once spent such a happy day. Talking all the way, describing the mermaid, the Fluxzal and the incredible magical objects, the boys were full of spirit and energy as they saw their mother coming towards the carpet.

Joshua broke into a sprint as he leapt off the carpet and his mother pick him up, swinging him around and kissing his cheeks more times that he could count. She then turned to Oscar and said, “You make me proud every day my son, but today your father must be looking down on you from up on high with a tear in his eye. You are every bit the man he was and I will always love you.”

The three of them held each other and looked out over the ocean, before turning and heading back to their home.

Mr Pile and Class SP