The Earthserpent

Once there was a young boy called Hallam who dreamed of being a heroic warrior, of slaying a fearsome beast and marrying a princess but the boy was neither brave nor skillful with a sword.
One day, however, while he was outside of his fathers farmhouse playing with a wooden sword and shield and wearing a bucket for a hemlet pretending to be a hero, a little man dressed in black approached him.
"So you fancy yourself as a warrior do you?", asked the little man.
Hallam looked embarassed.
"Well I'm not very good at the moment but one day I'll be a great warrior. As great as any of legend", he said.
The little man laughed.
"I could make that dream come true", he said.
The boy was perplexed.
"How?", he asked.
The man pointed a finger, the sixth finger upon his left hand  at the boys wooden sword and suddenly, it became a real sword of shimmering gold.
"That golden sword can cut through anything and slay any beast even in the hands of an incompitent swordsman", he said.
Then he pointed his magic finger at the boys wooden shield and it became a real shield of shining silver.
"That silver shield can protect you from anything, even dragons fire", he added.
Finally, the little man pointed a finger at the boys wooden bucket helmet and it became a helmet of bronze.
"That bronze helmet will give you all the knowledge in the world", he said, "All you need to do is think a question and the helmet will tell you the answer".
And, seeing the magical weapons, Hallam was overjoyed.
But then the little man told him that he would only let him have the weapons if he made him a promise,
"When you are an old man. I shall return to take back the weapons and when I take them I shall take your soul with them; take it down to the kingdom beneath the earth".
The boy was reluctant at first to take the little mans offer but then he thought to himself,
"I won't be an old man for a long time. By then I'm sure I can find a way out of this strange mans bargain and, anyway, if I don't take his bargain I may never be a hero".
And so Hallam agreed to the little mans bargain and the moment that he did a scar appeared upon the boys left cheek.
"That is my signature", said the little man, smiling, "I will be back when the last hair upon your head turns grey".
Then the little man sank down into the ground as if through quicksand and was gone.
But Hallam didn't worry about it for now he had magic that would make him the hero he had always dreamed of being.
And no sooner had the boy recieved his magical weapons when he was also told by his mother that the king of his land, King Ruthbert, had offered his daughters hand in marriage to anyone who could rid the kingdom of a ferocious Earthserpent.
The Earthserpent was a type of giant dragon with claws like iron forks, eyes like glowing lamps; a whirling drill like horn upon its nose and a shovel upon the end of its tail that burrowed beneath the Earth like a worm.
And often the creature would attack the people of the kingdom, its long scaly body bursting up from beneath the ground like a geyser; roaring and breathing fire from its huge jaws like a volcano before snapping up screaming, fleeing people and swallowing them up whole in a single gulp or, worse still, opening the magical, ruby like third eye at the centre of its forehead and turning them to stone.
The boy had often dreamed of facing and fighting the Earthserpent. With his wooden sword and shield he had had many imaginary battles against it, pretending to be Sir Hallam the Brave, but now he had real weapons and magical ones at that so, telling his mother that he was going to market for fear that telling her the truth might only worry her, he set off with his golden sword, silver shield and bronze helmet to the Earth serpents lair.
The Earthserpent lived deep beneath the Earth, at the centre of a labyrinthine network of tunnels in which many brave men who had tried to slay it had got lost and trapped but, fortunately, the boy was wearing the bronze helmet that the little man had given him that gave him all the knowledge in the world and so he knew without even having to think, his way through the tunnels towards the monsters home.
And, after following where the helmet led him, before long the boy saw the glowing, lamplike eyes of the Earthserpent upahead and heard its loud roar like a mighty tremor of the Earth.
"Who dares to enter my lair?", asked the monster.
"I dare", replied the boy, "Sir Hallam the Brave and, whats more, with my golden sword, I intend to slay you".
But then the Earthserpent  opening its large jaws filled with sharp, crooked teeth like stalagmites and stalagtites breathed out a long, blood red jet of flame towards the boy.
Fortunately, the boy had his silver shield that was invulnerable to all things, even dragon's fire and, raising it, he protected himself against the Earth serpents blazing breath, pushing onwards.
But then, slowly the Earthserpent began to open the scaly lid of its glowing, red, ruby like third eye; the eye at the centre of its forehead that turned people to stone.
Fortunately, before the monster could do that, the boy, now close enough to count the hairs within its nostrils, raised up his golden sword and drove it deep into its scaly chest.
Now the Earthserpents body was covered in scales as thick as armour plating but, because the golden sword could cut through anything, its blade cut through them as easily as the crust upon a loaf, its shimmering point piercing the reptilian demon right through the centre of its black, scaly heart.
Then, when the monster had stopped breathing, its third eyelid drooping shut and the light dimming in its two other enormous eyes, the boy used the golden sword to hack off its head.
Then he carried the head upon his shield like a platter and took it to the palace of king Ruthbert and when he showed it to the king the king granted him his daughters hand in marriage and the boy became a prince.
But not only that, when the king died, the boy inherited his throne becoming king himself; King Hallam the Brave.
However, as the years passed by and the boy got older, he began to be filled with a terrible fear and dread because he remembered what the little man had said to him long ago,
"When you are an old man. I shall return to take back the weapons and when I take them I shall take your soul with them".
So, in desperation, he put on the bronze helmet that gave him all the knowledge in the world thinking, "There must be a way out of this bargain, there must".
And then, because he was wearing the helmet, suddenly he had a bright idea.
Then when, one day, the little man popped up out of the ground and demanded that he return the golden sword, the silver shield and the bronze helmet the man calmly replied,
"They are not here. They're in the strongroom of the palace but I'll take you to them".
Then he led the little man along a coridoor to the palace strong room and, unlocking its great steel door, he opened the door wide.
But then, to the surprise of the little man, when he looked inside the room, instead of seeing the magical weapons he had come for he saw, like a red ruby, the third eye of the Earthserpent glaring at him and glowing.
In terror the little man screamed but his scream turned to a stone within his throat and then the rest of him, becoming grey, hard and cold, started to turn to stone too.
After that, because of the look of horror that was frozen upon its face, Hallam had the petrified little demon mounted upon his palace wall as a gargoyle and then, with his wife, the princess grew old in peace and happiness.