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Lamont didn’t like visiting
his Aunt Moira. She pinched his cheeks and ruffled his blond hair every
time she saw him. Sometimes she even kissed him and he definitely didn’t
like that. "Mum, can I go down to the loch and throw some stones in?" he
asked softly, not wanting Aunt Moira to hear.
His mum, seeing his
boredom, answered, "Sure, Lamont, go ahead. Don’t get too close. The water
is very deep and very cold."
Without wasting another
minute, Lamont ran out the door and headed to the loch. He ran past a sign
that read, "Loch Ness – Home of the Famous Loch Ness Monster." He didn’t
pay any attention to it though. The first time he’d visited his Aunt
Moira, his mum and dad had told him that there was no such thing. It was
just something the people here said to get tourists to come visit the
loch. Lamont had no reason not to believe them.
He ran to the shore of the
loch. He looked around for some stones he could toss in. He walked around
gathering them in his pockets and then stood on a large rock. He threw one
of the small stones as far as he could. SPLASH! It landed in the water and
sunk quickly to the bottom. Again, he tossed another stone. SPLASH! It
went further than the first one. He stood for several minutes throwing his
stones. SPLASH! SPLASH! SPLASH! "This isn’t any fun," he mumbled to
himself. He jumped down off the rock and walked along the shore. He came
to some reeds that blocked his way. He could go no further. He stopped and
sat down on a grassy ledge. He threw a stone into the reeds. SPLASH! The
water seemed very deep there. Not only did the stones make a splashing
sound, but they also went KERPLUNK! He threw another stone, but instead of
hearing a SPLASH and a KERPLUNK, he heard "OUCH!"
Lamont stopped. "Who’s
there?" he asked.
Nobody answered. He threw
another stone.
"OUCH! Stop that!"
Lamont jumped up and ran
over to the reeds. He parted them. In the water, among the reeds was a
huge dinosaur-like animal. It was green, had nubby little horns, and was
rubbing its head. "Ouch," she said. "That hurt!"
Lamont stood there, unable
to move. "Sorry," he whispered.
"Well, all right. I accept
your apology. But from now on, please try to be more careful," the monster
said. She looked over at Lamont and saw the curious look on his face. "I’m
Nessie, otherwise known as the Loch Ness Monster. Who are you?"
Lamont, for some reason,
wasn’t afraid. He answered, "I’m Lamont. I’m here visiting my Aunt Moira.
She pinches my cheeks and rubs my hair."
Nessie started to laugh.
Her laugh was loud. Lamont looked at her. Only her head and long neck were
out of the water. Triangular spikes stuck out from the center of her neck.
She had bits of plants hanging from her mouth. He could see that she had
sharp teeth and could eat him in one bite if she wanted. She was huge!
"Are you really a monster?" Lamont asked.
"I guess I’m more of a
dinosaur than a monster. I only eat plants, not little boys," she assured
Lamont. "Say, would you like a ride on my neck?"
Lamont looked at Nessie.
"How big are you anyway?" he asked.
"Well, I’m about 100 feet
long. I’ve got humps, I’m very thin, and I’ve got feet and arms, but I
only use them when I swim. Now, would you like a ride around the loch?"
she asked again. Lamont nodded yes. "Climb on my head and hold on," she
said.
Lamont grabbed onto her
stubby horns and found a place to sit, holding onto one of her spikes.
"Ready?" she asked him.
"Let’s go, Nessie," he
said, excited and anxious. He knew his mother wouldn’t like this, nor
would his Aunt Moira, but he wanted to go.
She took off and soon they
were swimming around the loch. Lamont kept his feet out of the water and
tried not to let the water splash on him. "Wheeeeeeeee!" he called out
with glee. "This is fun!"
Nessie swam all the way
around the loch. Lamont could see sheep grazing on the hillside, lots of
pretty flowers growing along the banks, and even saw a small waterfall
cascading over some rocks. "Would you like to see my cave? " Nessie asked.
"Where is it?" Lamont
questioned.
"It’s under this hill. I
live in a huge cave. It’s got tunnels going out from all directions. I can
swim into other lochs. It’s very comfortable for a Loch Ness monster," she
explained.
"I"d love to see your
cave," Lamont answered.
"Then hold on, take deep
breath and here we go!" Nessie gave Lamont time to hold his breath, and
then she dove under the water. He held on tightly. The water was very
cold. It only took a minute to reach the cave. Lamont saw how Nessie used
her hands and feet as flippers to swim quickly.
Soon she came out of the
water into the cave. "WOW!" Lamont exclaimed. "This cave is huge! Look at
all the tunnels too," he said, looking around, trying to see if he could
see down one. They were filled halfway with water. Lamont saw where Nessie
slept. It was in a big pile of dried heather. He saw some plants that she
must have been eating.
"I’m sure your cold. Let’s
get you back up to the top," Nessie said. "Hold on again and take another
deep breath," she urged. Lamont did just that.
Before he knew it, he was
back up on the surface, right near the reeds where he’d been throwing
rocks. He climbed off Nessie’s back and stood on the shore. "I’ve got to
go now," Nessie said. "The next time you come to visit Aunt Moira, come
down here to this spot and throw stones in the water and I’ll come and say
hello." Nessie smiled at Lamont, and dove under the water.
Lamont stood there,
dripping from head to toe. He felt very cold. Just then he heard, "Lamont,
why are you all wet?" It was his mum. She’d come looking for him. "You are
drenched and freezing. Did you fall into the loch? Oh never mind, let’s
just get back up to Aunt Moira’s and get you into some dry clothes!" She
took Lamont’s hand and led him up the hill towards the warm cottage.
Before he went inside, he
turned and looked back at the loch. There was Nessie, in the middle of the
lake. She was looking at him. He waved goodbye to her and then she went
under the water. He could see her three humps. His mum turned around and
saw the humps sticking out of the water. "Oh my. Did you see that, Lamont?
Did you see those humps? I think we just saw the Loch Ness monster!" She
stood there pointing at it. "I saw it! I saw the Loch Ness monster."
"Mum, I’m cold," Lamont
complained.
"Yes, you must be," she
said, looking down at him. "Let’s go in the house now." She opened the
door and he went inside. She turned and looked out at the loch and saw
nothing. "I must have been imagining it," she said and went inside. |
