"I don't like the job, sir," said John, "and that's the truth. I know how easily accidents happen. It's all fair and smooth, and 'Please rivet me, and I'll eat you last'--and then you get to work and you give a gentleman a bit of a nip or a dig under his rivets--and then it's fire and smoke, and no apologies will meet the case." "Upon my word of honor as a dragon," said the other. "I know you wouldn't do it on purpose, sir," said John, "but any gentleman will give a jump and a sniff if he's nipped, and one of your sniffs would be enough for me. Now, if you'd just let me fasten you up?" "It would be so undignified," objected the dragon. "We always fasten a horse up," said John, "and he's the 'noble animal.'" "It's all very well," said the dragon, "but how do I know you'd untie me again when you'd riveted me? Give me something in pledge. What do you value most?" "My hammer," said John. "A blacksmith is nothing without a hammer." "But you'd want that for riveting me. You must think of something else, and at once, or I'll eat you first." At this moment the baby in the room above began to scream. Its mother had been so quiet that it thought she had settled down for the night, and that it was time to begin. "Whatever's that?" said the dragon, starting so that every plate on his body rattled. "It's only the baby," said John. "What's that?" asked the dragon. "Something you value?" "Well, yes, sir, rather," said the blacksmith. "Then bring it here," said the dragon, "and I'll take care of it till you've done riveting me, and you shall tie me up." "All right, sir," said John, "but I ought to warn you. Babies are poison to dragons, so I don't deceive you. It's all right to touch--but don't you go putting it into your mouth. I shouldn't like to see any harm come to a nice-looking gentleman like you." The dragon purred at this compliment and said: "All right, I'll be careful. Now go and fetch the thing, whatever it is." So John ran up the steps as quickly as he could, for he knew that if the dragon got impatient before it was fastened, it could heave up the roof of the dungeon with one heave of its back, and kill them all in the ruins. His wife was asleep, in spite of the baby's cries; and John picked up the baby and took it down and put it between the dragon's front paws. "You just purr to it, sir," he said, "and it'll be as good as gold." So the dragon purred, and his purring pleased the baby so much that it stopped crying. Then John rummaged among the heap of old iron and found there some heavy chains and a great collar that had been made in the days when men sang over their work and put their hearts into it, so that the things they made were strong enough to bear the weight of a thousand years, let alone a dragon. John fastened the dragon up with the collar and the chains, and when he had padlocked them all on safely he set to work to find out how many rivets would be needed.