Grendel, the very mention of that hideous and vile name is enough to bring up the bile from the back of my throat. Oh, how I long to fight that beast. My hunger for battle with him burns in my breast, and I am waiting for the creature to come again to Herot. That evil creature has plagued my lord Hrothgar's kingdom for some time now, and I have taken it upon myself to rid the land of this monster. Although it pains me so, I will recount to you my experiences with the monster over the past few years.
The first time I challenged him to honorable combat, he merely mocked me and would not fight. Grendel surprised me when he managed to talk, even though the words he spoke were only pathetic insults of my abilities. When I tried to fight him, the bastard proceeded to pelt me with apples, an act only a coward would perform. He broke my nose with this barrage of fruit, and I slipped in my own blood. I tried to grab him, but he tipped over a table of apples and buried me under them. I was shocked and upset at the cowardice of this vile creature, and even as he left Herot, he was still laughing at my sad performance. I new at that instant that I had to kill the monster to preserve my honor, so I immediately left Herot and began to follow his tracks.
I tracked the wraith back to his evil abode in that dank, festering cave that he and his foul, bloated, whore of a mother live in. To reach the monster and to slay him in honorable combat, I had to swim through a lake of fire snakes. The stupid little pests bit me all over my body, leaving their marks in the form of a stinging cut. I lashed out at them with my sword, severing several in two, but there were too many for me to kill them all. I continued to swim through this lake until I came to an opening at the surface. Naturally, since I am a great hero, I was able to overcome the fire snakes with only a few minor cuts and bruises. When I reached the creature's cave, he was sleeping.
