The Epic Tale of Beowulf

By: Cody Adams

“Hear ye, Hear ye! There has been an attack on King Hrothgar's marvelous mead hall!” The
herald delivered the devastating news to the people of Denmark. The news rang in the ears of Eugene,
an old forgotten warrior who fought many battles in King Hrothgar's army and has spent many
nights, drunk off his feet, in Herot. Eugene is a 67 year old man whose name and legacy is rarely
spoken of throughout the town. The only time you will see Eugene out of his white, shack-like house
is on Sunday mornings when he goes into town to buy his groceries from the open air markets.
Wrapped in a battered shirt and dirt stained pants, he lurks his way through the markets grabbing
what is needed for the week. Groceries weren't always his main agenda for being downtown on
Sunday mornings. Eugene enjoys listening in on people as they gossip about what has went on
throughout the week. As he slowly makes his way through the wave of merchants he hears it all; “I
hear King Hrothgar had an affair!”, one merchant wife would whisper. Another would proclaim,
“Little Atticus is to be wed on Saturday, but his parents don't even know about it!”

After hearing the news of Herot being attacked, Eugene couldn't help but to not believe it. The
hall is too well built and well maintained for a monster to just walk in and attack. Surely the king's
men wouldn't sit idly by and watch him reap havoc on the people of their town. As he nears the
herald, he decides to go find out more. Dropping his grocery shopping for the moment he heads to
have a word with the portly man standing on the street corner. “You say there was an attack?” Eugene
whispered in a harsh, scratchy voice. “Why, yes my good sir, Herot has been attacked by a monster
known as Grendel! Here, take this paper and read the article for yourself!” As the herald finishes his
sentence, Eugene heads back to his secluded life on the edge of town.

The Lavish Herot is Attacked

In the silence of the night, a horrendous beast crept its way to Herot to
feast on the sleeping soldiers inside. The door swung open without a sound and
the unknowing soldiers were clinched tightly in the crushing claws of Grendel
only to be carried back to the murky marshes to be devoured.
“We think this is a onetime ordeal and do not fear for more damage
from Grendel. If he does dare to return, I will have the most extolled warriors in
my army put him t death.” King Hrothgar replies when asked his thoughts on
the situation at hand.
We will have more on this story in the next edition of the “Danes in
the Know”.

Sean Price

For twelve years, Eugene continued to read about the gruesome attacks Grendel did every
night. He vehemently ripped apart every soldier who dared to be in Herot when night came to
Denmark. There were always soldiers who thought they were the best to step foot into Herot and for
every one soldier who thought that, hundreds more died. No soldiers could prevail when facing the
vicious Grendel.

Throughout those twelves years, word traveled far and wide of the hideous attacks Grendel
put on Herot. Eventually, word reached Beowulf in Sweden. Beowulf was known as the strongest
man on Earth. He has defeated many beast that other men would not dare to try to fight in unbearable
conditions. Beowulf heard of this Grendel and all his attacks and sent word to King Hrothgar. “I will
gather fourteen of the best soldiers from the Geat army and we will load our ship and head to Sweden
to aid in returning peace to Herot.” That Sunday, Eugene read:

Beowulf to Aid the King

A potent soldier from Sweden has offered his services to aid in ridding
Denmark of the evils Grendel brings. After twelve years of living in hostility, it
is finally time to restore our well being. His ship is to arrive roughly at 5:00 pm
Saturday afternoon and from there he will proceed to Herot to converse with the
king. We hope for a safe voyage for Beowulf and his brave soldiers!

Sean Price

Eugene made the long trek to the docks of Denmark to witness the arrival of Beowulf and
company. Everyone in town came out to see him. “What's so special about this incompetent soldier?”
Eugene smirked as Beowulf walked by. “He can't be any better than I was!” At that time, Eugene
turned to head home when he was stopped in his tracks by a series of coughs that sounded as if he
was coughing up a lung. In between coughs, Eugene managed to choke out, “I should get to bed.”

On Sunday, Eugene woke up with the excruciating pain in his chest and decided it would be
best to contact a doctor. His son, Gene, was at the house for a visit when he walked in on his sickly
dad in the bed. “Gene, will you go get a doctor to come out here? Oh! Try to get him to bring me a
Sunday paper will you?” Eugene proclaimed, still needing his fill of gossip. He wondered if Beowulf
did as he said he would. Sure enough, on the front page, the article read:

All Hail the Mighty Beowulf

Last night, Grendel attacked once again. To his surprise, he was met
with a fight. Beowulf woke up from his sleep to see the terrifying sight of his
soldiers being swept up at the mercy of Grendel. Thinking quickly, he stood to
fight. Grendel laughed at what he saw, that is, until he realized the infallible
fighting styles of Beowulf.
The fight only lasted a few minutes ending in Beowulf tearing
Grendel's arm off and sending him back to the Hell from which he came.
Beowulf proceeded to hang the arm from the ceiling and returned to his cot.
There will be a ceremony in honor of Beowulf's feat at Herot today.
Everyone has been invited.

Sean Price

“Can you believe this Beowulf!?” Ask Eugene to the doctor, “Thinking he can come in and just
fix all of our problems.” The doctor's only reply was, “I think Beowulf is the least of your worries right
now. I will be back in a few days to check on you.” That night, Eugene wanted to go to the ceremony
for Beowulf, but his chest was in a vast amount of pain and he couldn't quit coughing. For that whole
week,he was stuck in what seemed to be his death bed, motionless until a cough came about. Despite
being sick, he had to have his Sunday paper. He wasn't as excited about this week's edition because
Grendel was dead and the hype of Beowulf had dwindled down. Whenever the paper arrived, the
front page was full of yet another Beowulf story. For the past week, Eugene had been cut off from the
world and hadn't heard of the attack Grendel's mother put on Herot, seeking revenge for her fallen
son.

The Last Fight?

When everyone thought Denmark was rid of all evil, we were surprised
yet another time. Last night, Grendel's mother came to Beowulf seeking revenge
for her son's death. They went through the murky swamps to a hall designed for
fighting and tried to settle their differences the hard way. Beowulf was quoted,
“She was a respectable opponent who, at one time, had me on my back and
stabbed at my chest. Luckily, my mail shirt saved my life. It must not have been
time for me to go.”
Apparently, Beowulf almost bit off more than he could handle. In the
end, he used a sword that had been in the hall to cut off her head and left her
lying in the pool of blood he had created. On his way back through the swamps,
he stumbled upon Grendel. Even though he was dead, Beowulf took one mighty
swing of the sword and cut his head off for good measure.
We all hope that Beowulf has finally gotten rid of all the evil that could
come to Denmark and the mead hall of King Hrothgar. He is now enjoying all
the gold and treasures he could imagine plus more.

Sean Price

Amazed at what Beowulf had done, Eugene decided that he wanted to fair against his sickness
and go visit the soldier in Herot. In the process of getting dressed in his best attire, he realized that he
feels much better now that he is out of the bed. Cough has went down to slight throat pain and his
chest wasn't bothering him at all. “Stupid doctor's don't know anything!”

Eugene reaches the mead hall shortly after and walks in on Beowulf talking to the people of
Denmark; “....Appreciate what you guys have given me in the form of gold and treasure. I came here
in search of proving my bravery and friendship to the king and will leave a rich man. That is, if my
ship can hold all of this! Before I go back to Sweden, I have one last thing I feel I have to accomplish. I
hear there is a dragon outside of town that needs to be set straight. I know in the last two battles, I
vowed to fight with only my hands, but since I will be fighting this molten demon in the fires he
breathes, I will go into battle with only my mail shirt and a shield. Whatever happens tomorrow will
be God's fate. Now, leave this hall so that my army and I can celebrate my victories. I will go
tomorrow to defeat this dragon once and for all!”

A whole week past and as everyday came, the sicker he got. Bedridden once again but he still
couldn't help but want to know how Beowulf had done. The doctor hadn't been back yet, and no one
was around to get him the paper. He got up, stumbles to the door, and begins to walk out. Once he
gets into the yard, a young mother stops him and asks if he needs help. “I am deathly sick but I just
have to have my Sunday paper,” Eugene responded to the nice woman. “Here, take mine so that you
can get back to bed.” The woman extended a rolled up paper to Eugene and went back into her house.
Eugene struggled to get back into his house and climb into bed. Unrolling the paper, the headline
shocked him; “Beowulf to be Buried” Can this be? How did this happen? The thoughts ran through
Eugene's head faster than he could think to look down and read the article.

Beowulf to be Buried

The once mighty Beowulf went into the cave of the dragon vowing to
single handedly destroy him. As the fight began, all of Beowulf's follower fled
 the scene leaving just him and Wiglaf. Beowulf tried to strike the dragon with
his sword but in his efforts, broke it in half. This enraged the dragon to a point
to where he engulfed Beowulf in flames injuring his neck and throwing him
back. In efforts to help the aging Beowulf, Wiglaf stabbed the dragon which gave
way for Beowulf to cut the dragon in half with his knife in a final act of courage.
The damage had already been done and realizing he was going to die, Beowulf
had one last wish. “Wiglaf, I want you to bring me the treasures the dragon
had, it will make me feel like this was all worthwhile. Once I die, I want you to
build a tomb named “Beowulf's Burrow” and bury all his treasures beside his
ashes.
“Those soldiers who fled the scene of the fight are not worthy of the
teachings that Beowulf instilled in them. They were not brave, honorable, they
betrayed their friendship with Beowulf, and left him for dead. I have sent word
of the results of this battle to his people.”
I know I will always remember Beowulf and the things he has done for
our country. He has gotten rid of a lot of evil beings and has allowed us to live
in peace. Funeral services are going to be held at “Beowulf's Burrow”
tomorrow afternoon. Please come out and show your thanks of what he has done
in his life for our country and for his beliefs.

Sean Price

“Eugene! Eugene! Wake up Eugene.. You must have fell asleep reading your paper.” the
doctor ran over to him and shook him once to get him up. After Eugene didn't respond, the doctor
proceeded to check his pulse. Nothing.