"A SKINK TAIL'' One winter morning Dill woke up to find dew on fresh green grass, moist bright flowers and a breath, that was smoky when he exhaled. It was one of those days when, it's cold, but the sun is shining brightly to make your skin warm in the most lovely way, but your claws are freezing as well as your insides. It's a miraculous feeling.

Grandpa Kdower leaned back on to the earthen side of the hole, and took a long, calm smoke out of a rolled up piece of bark with tobacco inside. Grandpa Kdower was old, and his wrinkled reptile skin had a rusty tint to it. He had eyes that looked wise, but also kind, they were dark, the darkest black there is. The listener, was his grandchild, Suilae . She continued to play and bite her foot nails. All six were short and dirty. Suilae was beautiful and had magnificent, colourful skin, her head was a golden-like yellow that faded into a cedar green. She was a bit conceited and quite clearly knew she was beautiful. She did have some good in her heart though.

If you haven't figured it out by now, they're skinks. The skinks are kindhearted, and live in warm, cozy, but incredibly humid holes. Now and then they live in abandoned crab holes, but that isn't often. By now, Grandpa Kdower had taken a good long smoke, and had enough `rich tobacco,' he called it, to continue.

"Ughh,, umm,'' he grunted. "As I was saying, Dill woke up to a simply beautiful morning, if he could have, he would have painted it, for all to see.

Dill lived in an overturned piece of eroded limestone, which he had dug into.

It wasn't the best, but the stone helped against predators at night.

Meanwhile, Dill had scampered his way up to the top of the rock, with stones tumbling after him. It was around early December and Christmas was coming .

There had been reports lately of a ship about two or three miles off, that had been reported by some friendly cahows. Last time there had been no report, for they did not know what it was. That ship was what they called 'The arrival of the Spaniards', for that is what these men from a far off land called themselves, and spoke with a strange tongue.

Dill twirled the stamen of a pale purple Bermudiana, he pondered of what he should get his brother, Hrou for Christmas. There is a tragic tale of these two's mother, she was out one day when stampeding boars over-ran her, and was not found until weeks later by Hrou and Dill.

After the day wore slowly on, the sky turned dark purple with a partnering bold orange and pink. Dill felt himself drifting into dreams of pleasant things and days of fun. The night encircled him as he closed his ebony eyes and drifted far away. Sam woke up to the drip, drip of rainwater, slowly eroding the stone of shelter above his hole. He shook his head and tail, then blinked his soft refreshed eyes. "A new day'' he murmured, and then crawled quickly out to the dewy grass laying beside the nearby cedar tree. Dill nibbled at a dead fly he found two days ago, not appetising. 'I'll just have to do, hungry as I am.'' He pushed aside a large dead grasshopper he was saving for that night.

Dill never visited his elder brother, he popped by on Christmas or Easter, but the two grew apart after their mother's death, she was the link that kept the two together. But now, neither of them liked one another, and the only reason Dill popped by on Christmas with a present was to give a better view to Hrou's children. But now his children had left with their mother, and Dill had no intention of visiting Hrou, and the same went for Hrou.

That next day Dill mated with no success and had felt very down. He felt exceptionally gloomy, so he decided to do his favourite thing, exploring. Dill ventured for hours, he went along beaches, caves, wave-pools and trees, among these he met all sorts of animals, lizards, birds and small fish. He also met some that weren't as fond of Dill, such as boars and larger fish.

Along his way he started noticing small pieces of wood that smelt of the sea.

At first he thought none of it, the pieces started getting bigger the closer he got to the rocky shore, when he finally found himself on the rocks. Here he saw the largest thing he had ever seen made of cut straight fitted pieces of wood was an arc shaped piece with large trunks sticking out of it, though they had no leaves.

This large bold thing had enormous animals crawling in and out of it, and yet stranger still, they only crawled on their hind legs and carried various shapes out of the arc. Dill was petrified, and laid down with no intention of moving. 'What is this?, Who are these creatures? Is this what they call a ship?' these were just some of the questions that went through his head.

Indeed it was a ship, one they called the 'Sea Venture'. It crashed among Bermuda's rocks long ago before even I was born! Dill stared at the ship in awe, and still did not move at all. Then, suddenly, all Dill could see was pitch black. Dill jumped and scratched at the textured circular shaped darkness. Until at last, he found himself in a glass bottle, a wine bottle in fact, with no top on. Dill lied in this bottle while a smaller one of these strange creatures talked to him and fed him pieces of meat from her dinner.

Dill grew to like her, and she adored him. She said her name was Bermudes, and that she was a human. Dill soon knew they were of the same type as the Spaniards, for he wasn't alive when they landed here. She called him 'Little Dinosaur', and told him that she had discovered a new type of dinosaur and told him of their coming fortunes when they got to a place called, `America'.

After about a period of two days Bermudes pulled another bottle beside Dill or `Little Dinosaur', Bermudes told him it was his new friend she called 'Big Dinosaur'. Dill could barely see through the foggy glass, but could see the image of another skink, he thought though perhaps it was a large lizard or what we call a Warwick Lizard. She often spoke to 'Big Dinosaur' but eventually treated them both the same. Large humans would sometimes come and look at the two 'Dinosaurs', and Dill took it as a compliment.

After time Dill got tired of having small amounts of water and salty rough bits of meat. And his curiosity was killing him to know who the figure in the bottle next to his was. One day when Dill was resting in his bottle he was wakened by Bermudes voice at a thundering tone, (though she was only whispering.) Little Dinosaur, Little Dinosaur, guess what? All the important men had a discussion today on what we call the island, my daddy was there, and now, their going to name the island after me! They are going to call it Bermuda Islands! Dill was happy for her, and then saw her tell the news to the mouth of the other bottle. I wish I could talk to that figure across from me, I feel so lonely, and I'm sure they do too.' Day's past, and Dill could smell the Christmas food cooking. Bermudes often gave him a morsel of the prepared food, this soon became uncommon when elder and larger humans would slap her hand if she did such. Dill was sorrow-trodden with grief and loneliness. At evening time Dill would watch the hut getting darker and yearned to see the Dawn's sunset. In the morning he would sigh, for all he could see was a tinted green world and the inside of a hut, with no windows.

It was Christmas Eve, humans chatted away merrily while Dill simply wished to be with his own kind and his own life back. Bermudes often came to the bottles to report what new delicious thing they were making now. Dill thought it was great she had such enthusiasm, but it often made Dill sadder she was always so happy, and he always so gloomy. Dill laid in silence and fell asleep sadly at the very thought of his position.

Dill woke up, he was behind a tree, the dew could be felt between his claws and his eyes were moist and light. Dill got up and watched the pink sun rise through the thick clouds. 'I'm free.' thought Dill as he hopped about the grass merrily.

When Dill was spinning in joy he caught a glimpse of what looked like another skink. Dill ran towards the figure lying down in hope to have someone to talk to. Perhaps it's the skink from the other bottle. And surely it was, below him Dill tapped the skink lightly with his forefinger. It awoke, yawned and started to rejoice as Dill had. While this skink was dancing, Dill thought him very familiar looking, but he just ignored it. When the skink stopped dancing, it saw Dill. It stared at Dill, cocked it's head and made a sudden gasp and held it's claw to it's mouth. Dill didn't move an inch at any time.

Suddenly the skink exclaimed, `Dill?' Dill looked at this stranger in confusion, `Who is this?' he muttered to himself. `Hrou?, is that you?' The two skinks ran and embraced each-other, they cried, hugged, forgot their pasts and told of their adventures to the bottle. The two brothers danced under the sun together around a small fire.

Continued on page 13 `A Skink Tail' When they found their way back to the boat they only saw an empty rock and few inhabited huts. 'Bermudes had gone to America on `The Deliverence' currently.

She had also freed her two `Dinosaurs' out of their bottles by cutting the bottles with a diamond. This is what they over heard from some housewives they had stolen a large Christmas feast from. They had a wonderful Christmas night, and ate till they bulged. They told stories, talked of their mother and finally dozed off peacefully around the fire.'' Grandpa Kdower leaned back on the warm wall of the hole and looked at Suilae.

"Quite a story'' she sniffed behind her tears.

"Yes,'' said Grandpa Kdower, yes, a good tale.He winked, kissed Suilae, and quietly crawled out of the cozy hole.

SHORT STORY COMPETITION CPN