Corrida de draco

In some spain villages in early ages was it common to take dragons instead of bulls into the arena. The fight would turn out the same way.
It would end with the defeat of the dragon.
But since the dragon was bigger then a bull, it would be more different for the fighter to kill him.
I will describe some of the fights here.

The first fight was in the old arena of Barcelona.
It startet with a rather small dragon, compared to it's bigger brothers. It was three times bigger than the bull. This time it was usual to let the kids fight.
Poor kids from pesant families could take place on voluntairy fights.
The 'picadore' was Romina, a girl aged twelfe. She sat barefoot on a small donkey, carrying a lance and had never fight a dragon before.
Her plan was to stab it's back with her lance to weaken it. But unfortunaly the dragon turned to her and roared.
The donkey was slow and the dragon stomped near.

But the one of the banderillos of this fight entered the arena. Manuel, a barefoot boy aged thirteen. His banderillas raised he jumped on the dragons tail, runned on the back.
He stabbed the two weapons into the dragons shoulder and jumped off very fast.
Children where very fast those days. Very skinny and beautiful too.
The girl smiled and rode to the side of the dragon who was turning to the boy. Her lance ready she encouraged the donkey to run and brought the lancetip into the
dragons side.
The beast roar and lifted its big head, but it saw the boy taking two new banderillas and wanted to be prepared.
So the girl rode back and hit the side again. A small trail of blood run down the white flank. She did it again.
The boy stood before the dragon, jumped away if the beast was trying to snap at him.
In the meantime the girl stabbed the lance a fourth and fifth time into the flank. The boy was waiting for a good oppertunity.
As the lancetip sunk the sixth time in the dragon turned to the girl, threw her off and prepared an assault on her.

The poor girl landed on her back, feet lifted in the air. She let the lance aside and commanded the donkey to flee. But the dragon concentrate at the running donkey.
So the girl took her lance and stabbed a seventh time into the dragon while sitting on the ground.
The boy was on the dragon and placed banderilla three and four into the shoulder.
Suddenly the dragon was screaming. It was running around with the boy on its shoulder. The girl took her lance and ran on her bare feet behind the dragon.
The second banderillo appeared, his name was Nino and he was fourteen and already armed with two of those little spears.

Both kids followed the dragon till he reached the end of the arena. The boy on his back realized the good position and ram his knife into the dragons bleeding shoulder.
Nino ran up on the dragons back and ram his banderillas into, both boys jumped to the ground and ran.
The beast screamed and turned around.
Romina stabbed his flank the eight time and fought the beast well so that the both boys could took new banderillas and while Nino and Romina distracted the dragon,
barefoot Manuel jumped on the beast back, ram the two small spears in and jumped off.

The dragon screamed and lifted his neck upwards, which was causing more pain. Romina attacked the flank further, trusting a nineth time.
She jumped back in frigth as the dragon bite after her and with her lance she tried to protect herself.
While Romina stood before the dragon and tricked him by aiming for his mouth and pulling the lance back and forth both boys where on the back again and together they
bore the banderillas into the shoulder.
The dragon rearing up in pain, the girl ran and trusted her lance into its chest, deep into.
Both boys jumped off and the dragon roar in pain and anger. He reared up, destroying the lance with his foreclaws, the point kepts into it's chest.
Then it jumped up and charged the girl. She ran as fast as the bare soles could carry her.

Manuel and Nino both got new banderillas and while the dragon was charging Romina the boys jumped once again on his back and trusting all four weapons in.
The dragon had sixteen of those weapons stuck into the shoulders.
In pain its reared up on his hindlegs and screamed.
Romina got a new lance. Both boys ran the long back upwards with new banderillas and rammed it into the shoulder too.
In great pain the dragon reared up more, both boys fell, but Romina aimed for its free belly and stabbed the lance in.

The dragon bent over, screaming and hissing. The girl could barely rip her weapon out. It was a bigger area red than just the tip.
Suddenly the dragon sneaked back, hissing and watching the kids.
"He is retreating", Manual said.
"Is that good or bad?", Romina asked.
"Thats very good, it means he has enough and wants to rest", he replied.
"But we dont let him rest?", asked the girl.
"Of course not", Manuel said. "Now we will defeat it".

Romina remembered how sentitive the dragon was acting on the stomach hit. She jumped to the flank and tried to get access to the belly.
The both barefoot boys did the same, they alway did. They placed one banderilla after the other into shoulders and later the back of the dragon.
Romina saw the beast tremble and lift his body. A small space between belly and ground in which she trusted her lance.
The dragon screamed loud, the belly went up and the girl attacked with two deep trusts further.
The boys ran again on the back, which the dragon arched and pushed the underside to the ground.
Banderilla twentyfive and twentysix entered the back. It was almost unable to receive to much pain without rearing up.
Romina smiled as the dragon kept his belly to the ground.
She moved the lance back and forth under the belly, not knowing if it hurt the dragon.
"Hey boys. Make the beast rear".
The boys turned the banderillas around, stabbed their knifes into the back, ripping the banderialls out and trusting them in again.

The dragon started to roar again. They did more damage on the back, blood flew out of the wounds. The dragon wanted to get those boys off his back.
With a great roar he reared up very high.
So Romina had access to the belly again. The dragon was in rage that the boys still where hanging on its back but Rominas attack changed that.
With long, hard belly-blows she defeated the dragon.
Now it was rearing back further. The boys sliding down on the back, still the dragon stood, but Romina with her spear rammed the soft belly again and again.
Blood flew out, blood that the dragon needed. And additional to this the boys used banderillas as throwing sticks, hurting the abdomen.
The dragon reared back. Romina split his bowels with long, hard strokes.
She pushed the lance through the stomach and watched the legs collapse and the dragon falling back.
With a thunder it land on its back, the banderillas on back and shoulder going deep. It was almost death.
"Lets give the beast the killing blow", Romina said, jumping on the underside.
The boys took two swords, climbing on the belly again.
On the quivering stomach their counted to three and with three hard stabs they killed the dragon.

END of 1st Figth