The Tale of Bumblegumph

By Jaedyn Larson

There was once a giant named Bumblegumph. He was 15 feet, 7 ½ inches tall. He had long, shaggy hair that stuck out on all sides and his huge baby blue eyes in the upper portion of his face were separated by his wrinkled brow. His small, pudgy nose was in the exact center of his face, and his tiny mouth was up near his nose. His eyebrows were short and centered above his eyes and his eyelashes were short and dirty. His cheeks were large and dimpled, and his teeth were ugly and brown. He had a long, dirty brown beard and a soft, whispering voice. His fingernails were short, cracked, and filthy, his stride was large, and his voice stuttered. His large ears stuck almost straight out from his head. His chin was huge and stuck out from his face, and his large ears stuck almost straight out from his head. He had big, broad shoulders and long arms and legs. He was muscular and his hands were rough and calloused. He always wore the same plaid shirt which was frayed at the seams and short, torn jeans. He had dirty brown tennis shoes and torn white socks. All in all, Bumblegumph was a very ugly giant.

Bumblegumph lived on a mountain overlooking a city. In the city lived a beautiful girl-a princess- named Marian. Bumblegumph was in love with her, and had been for a long time, but had never gotten the courage to tell her so. This is the story of the two lovers. For Marian had also been in love with Bumblegumph, but had been forbidden to leave the city. Her parents had found out about her love for the giant and had immediately begun to arrange her marriage to another man. They did not want her to marry this giant, nor did they think he deserved their daughter. Marian was to be married to a prince in three months' time. She had met him several times and did not like him at all. He was rich, but he was stuck-up, spoiled, and snotty. She would rather marry Bumblegumph, be forbidden ever to enter the city again, and be poor than marry this rich prince. But she didn't have a choice. Her parents, the king and queen, were determined to give their daughter the "best." They did not understand that to her, Bumblegumph was the best.

When the giant heard about the arranged marriage, he was grieved. He truly loved Marian and wanted to marry her. He assumed that she looked down on him, as did all the other townspeople. He did, however, want to tell her of his love for her, and decided to do this the very next day. But the next day, the princess's parents took her on a journey to see the rest of their kingdom, which she would soon rule. Bumblegumph heard that they would be gone for one month. So, he began working on a wedding gift for her. He finally chose to build her furniture for her new house. But he soon gave that up, for he did not know what a princess's furniture should be, nor did he know what Marian liked. Bumblegumph pondered this question- what should he get for his beloved princess? He heard some of the townspeople talking about the same thing. They said that there was a dragon that lived not far away whose scales would make a lovely gift, however, no one in town was brave enough to go. Bumblegumph immediately knew what to get Marian- a dress made of the dragon's valuable scales. It would be dangerous, but Marian was worth it.

When he learned the directions to the dragon's cave, Bumblegumph set out to find the beast. He walked over mountains and through valleys. Rocks tore his shoes and socks to shreds. Tree branches slashed his face, arms, and legs and ripped his clothes. As he climbed down a valley, he slipped on some mud and rolled head over heels to the bottom. Once there, he had to face snakes and other wild animals. On the way back up, the rocks and the mud forced the giant to retrace his steps again and again. Finally he reached the top. He then had to cross several mountains. After a week and a half of struggling through forests and swamps, he reached the dragon's den. The home of the dragon was dark, damp, and dreary. Bumblegumph saw the dragon sleeping inside- or he thought he was asleep. The beast was greenish-brown and it had huge purplish-black wings and feet. Its eyes were red and it breathed fire. For a minute, the giant was actually scared of it- and he had good reason to be! The creature leapt at him, breathing fire. Just in time, the giant grabbed his shield! The fire hit the shield and bounced back, barely missing the dragon! The beast struck out again and again. They fought, neither one really prevailing, for hours. Finally, the dragon became tired and struck out one more time, this time hitting his mark. Bumblegumph fell to the ground, groaning with pain. He could hardly move. The dragon, satisfied, lumbered back into his cave to sleep. A little while later, Bumblegumph felt better. He found a rope, and saw a tree, and a deep lake, which gave him a great idea! He went out for a while and soon came back near the cave with a deer. He knew that the dragon would be hungry when he woke up, and he knew he didn't have much time to put his plan into action. He built a raft, laid the deer on it, and secured it in the middle of the lake. He used the rope to make a loop and a trip line a few inches off the ground. The plan was that the dragon would go for the deer, and, in the process, stepping in the loop and tripping on the line. He would fall and be hoisted into the air by the loop.

Hours passed, and the dragon still did not come out of his cave. Finally, the giant heard his footsteps coming. He hid behind the tree, waiting. The dragon tripped on the line, falling headfirst into the lake. Bumblegumph tied the dragon up and began the long journey home. How he managed to keep the dragon unblemished, we will never know, but he did.

When Bumblegumph reached home, he had a man in the city make a beautiful dress for Marian, covered with the beautiful scales. The princess had reached home by now, and longed to see the giant one more time. She sneaked out one night and went to the mountain. Bumblegumph saw her coming and quickly hid the gift. He wondered what in the world Marian- a princess- would be doing at his- an ugly giant's- home!

She knocked, and when he invited her in, told him, "I just had to see you. I have watched you working here for years and have loved you ever since I first saw you. I'm not supposed to be here, but I just had to say I love you and I don't want to marry the prince. I want to marry you, but my parents won't let me. They want what is best for me, but I alone know that you are best for me. I just had to tell you this before my parents force me to marry this man."

Bumblegumph was shocked! He told her, "I have loved you, too, my beautiful princess. I want more than anything……more than anything……..to marry you. I just………I…..I……I just……I….I….I'm thankful that you love me too. I understand that you don't want to marry the prince. I'm just glad to know that you love me."

Marian told him that he was invited to her wedding and quickly left, her face red and a huge smile on her face.

The day of the wedding finally arrived. Bumblegumph appeared on time with his gift. He had written a card that said, "I love you no matter what. Please don't ever forget me. –A friend"

The minister began the ceremony. He asked Marian, "Do you take this man as your husband?"

Marian replied, "No, I don't."

The guests gasped, and the king and queen got up to speak!

But Marian was not finished. "I do not belong with this man. I don't care about money or possessions. What I care about is to be happy. And I will not be happy with this prince. Last night, I sneaked out of the castle to visit a friend. Now I know that I will truly be happy with this friend. When I read the card he wrote me, which said, 'Please don't ever forget me,' I knew for sure what I wanted. I will not marry this man; I will only marry Bumblegumph!"

The king and queen finally understood her love for the giant and permitted her to marry Bumblegumph. And what did she wear for her wedding dress but the clothes he had made for her!

The two wed a week later and went to live on Bumblegumph's hill. They lived there and ruled the kingdom for years and years. Everyone said that they were the best king and queen that the kingdom had ever had.

The End