Derek stood in his uncle's garden, staring up at the life-sized statue that loomed above him. It was a strange creature with huge outstretched wings. It had long claws on its hands and feet. Its long spiky tail was curled around its muscular, hairy-looking body.
Although Derek knew it was only a statue, the face frightened him. It had evil-looking eyes, a low forehead, and a long, beaked nose. And its mouth was wide open, as if in the middle of a scream.
"It's a gargoyle," said a voice behind Derek. He turned away from the statue and saw his uncle Tobias.
Derek was staying with him for the weekend. Uncle Tobias was very rich and had traveled all over the world. Along the way he had collected many strange things.
Derek thought that his large house, out in the country, was wonderful. There were spears and blowguns and colorful handmade rugs. There were scary masks and all kinds of statues.
Uncle Tobias was proudest of the statues. He had built a large landscaped garden on the land behind the house. He had placed statues here and there among the bushes, trees, and bright flowerbeds. Tobias had sent Derek out to look at his newest statues.
"That's a gargoyle?" Derek asked as he turned back toward the frightening creature.
"Gargoyles are carved figures that buildings used to have hundreds of years ago. They were placed along roof gutters to carry away rain water." Uncle Tobias pointed to the statue. "There's a hole in the back. Water would pour through there and come out the mouth."
"Did everyone have gargoyles on their roofs, Uncle Tobias?" asked Derek.
"No," answered his uncle. "Only large buildings such as cathedrals and castles used to have them. As a matter of fact, this one came from the castle of an old wizard."
"Do you think it's magical?"
Uncle Tobias laughed. "Well I don't know about that," he said. "But I guess the wizard thought so."
"Why?" asked Derek.
Uncle Tobias pointed to a sentence in Latin that was carved around the body of the gargoyle.
"It says here, 'THE FIRE FROM THE SKY WILL LIGHT THE SPARK OF LIFE."'
"What does that mean?" asked Derek.
Uncle Tobias looked at the statue for a minute. The gargoyle seemed to be looking back at them with a sneer on its frozen face. Derek lowered his eyes with a shudder. He thought he saw the creature's mouth move.
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