The Cruelsome Kraken

Daniel Stickney’s winning Lower Primary Prose entry in the Geraldton Regional Library’s 2016 Randolph Stow Young Writers’ Awards. Daniel is a distance education student.

Long ago, on a sea so rough you thought you would’ve died just because of the breeze, a great pirate ruled the ocean. His name be Captain Skunkbeard. He was as rich as a king. Treasure filled the the basement of his mother ship. His crew were as tough as all get out. There be no battle Captain Skunkbeard hadn’t won, but the reason he never stopped sailing was because he had a goal. A goal that pirates have failed for centuries to achieve. His goal was to fight the mighty Kraken! And this is how the story starts…

“HOIST the sails boys! Our next stop be Kraken cove past Gold Whale Coast. We’ll fight the mighty beast of the sea. We’ll cut off every tentacle that we can see, then o-my o-me we’ll be as successful as can be!”

When they came past Kraken Point, they entered the cove of the Kraken resting place. They saw ships and bits of wood floating in the water. Then something mysterious, something unnatural, happened, green fog starting rolling in.

Captain Skunkbeard knew tales of this green fog. A sign of distressed anger wiped his crew’s faces. They to knew of this green fog. The green fog was first spotted and recorded by his great grandpa. This fog was bad. It only meant one thing … GHOST PIRATES. Captain Skunkbeard knew these beasts. He knew the only way to kill the Kraken was to kill the ghost pirates first. Then there was bubbling in the water. A massive sea serpent rose up from the water!

“Hold your ground men! Keep steady and never surrender! There was blood, shouting, yelling and the clattering of swords as it hit the sea monster. By the time they killed the creature they had lost half of their men! The rapidly increasing fog was getting closer.

Captain Skunkbeard knew he had no chance against the ghost pirates so he thought of a cunning plan. He made all his men climb into the remains of the sea monster. When the ghost pirates came, they saw nothing but an empty ship. “Arr we’ve been tricked again lads, set sail for the…” SMASH!

“Look out lads! Our boats going down!”

Captain Skunkbeard and his crew got out of the sea monster skin which was as hard as gold and swam back to the boat and sailed further into the cove. Then all of a sudden tentacles burst out of the water!

A massive squid octopus creature rose up from the water. His men rushed to every side of the ship to attack the tentacled beast but its tentacles were so thick that when they hit it with their swords it bounced right off. Then its tentacles wrapped around the ship!

The Kraken slowly pulled it under the water! The captain and his crew were pulled under.

The Kraken eventually found its way out of the cove and still lives today.

* Copies of the 2016 winners booklet can be purchased from Geraldton Regional Library for $12.