Fantasy fiction; Oz (Imaginary place) -- Juvenile fiction
“Humph!” grunted the old soldier. At the first yawn he had made a
startling discovery—at the second he was sure he had made it. Taking out
his snuff box, the old soldier tip-toed close to the monster and flung
the entire contents in her face.
Then, “Run for your lives!” shouted Grampa, starting off at his best
pace. And it is well that they quickly obeyed this command, for the
sneezes of that dragon shook the entire island and sent the snow in
blinding flurries all around them.
“What—what’s happened?” asked the Prince of Ragbad, peering out wildly
from behind an icy cliff.
“Your fortune’s made, that’s all!” announced Grampa proudly. “More ways
than one of winning a battle.”
Stepping out, and motioning for the others to follow, the old soldier
approached the still quivering monster. Tears streamed from her eyes and
she was still sneezing broken-heartedly.
“Enorma is as false as her teeth!” puffed Grampa, and with astonishment
Tatters and Urtha saw that the dragon was perfectly toothless—having
lost her one and only set at the first pinch of Grampa’s snuff.
“Will you finish her off, or shall I?” asked the old soldier, rattling
his sword in businesslike fashion. Before Tatters could answer Enorma
gave a frightened moan and began scuttling across the snow fields like
an express train bound for Atlantic City.
“Halt! Stop! or I’ll fall on your head! Come back here at once and be
slaughtered!” screamed Bill, flying after her while the others followed
as fast as they could on foot. But in the end Enorma finished herself
for, turning to see how close Grampa and Tatters were coming, she
plunged headfirst into an icy stream and put herself out—completely and
entirely out—for a dragon can no more stand a dash of water than a
furnace, or a witch!
When Grampa and Tatters reached the edge of the stream, Enorma was
floating like a great green log on the surface, only a tiny puff of
smoke to show that she had ever been a roaring, fire-eating, sure-enough
monster.
Gentle little Urtha wept a bit but Tatters soon comforted her. Then he
and the old soldier moored Enorma fast to a tree, so that they would
have proof of their valor when they met the King of the Island. They
were all warm from the encounter with the dragon, but it soon wore off
and it wasn’t long before they began to shiver again.
“Wish we’d brought one of those house plants along,” sighed Tatters.
“Wish I could get my teeth in one of Mrs Sew-and-Sew’s ragamuffins,”
murmured Grampa, trudging gloomily over the snow.
“Bill’s found something,” called Urtha, who was dancing a few steps
ahead. Just then down came the weather cock to announce that he had
discovered the dragon’s cave. It was tunneled out of a huge, snowy hill
and at one end burned a roaring fire. Dragons, as you know, drink flame
as other creatures drink water and Enorma always kept a huge pile of
trees burning in her cavern.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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