The Dragon Megapack

by Wildside Press

  And the king said, “That I know not; let us look and see.”

  And the jaws of the dragon’s heads were opened, and behold there were no tongues in them. Then the king asked the marshal, “Know you aught of this?”

  And the marshal had nothing to say. And the princess looked up and saw her champion again. Then George took out from his doublet the seven tongues of the dragon, and it was found that they fitted.

  “What is the meaning of this, sir,” said the king.

  Then George told the story of how he had slain the dragon and fallen asleep in the princess’s lap and had awoke and found her gone. And the princess, when asked by her father, could not but tell of the treachery of the marshal.

  “Away with him,” cried out the king, “let his head be taken off and his tongue be taken out, and let his place be taken by this young stranger.”

  So George and the princess were married and lived happily, till one night, looking out of the window of the castle where they lived, George saw in the distance another castle with windows all lit up and shining like fire. And he asked the princess, his wife, what that castle might be. “Go not near that, George,” said the princess, “for I have always heard that none who enters that castle ever comes out again.”

  The next morning George went with horse and hound to seek the castle; and when he got near it, he found at the gate an old dame with but one eye; and he asked her to open the gate, and she said she would but that it was a custom of the castle that who ever entered had to drink a glass of wine before doing so; and she offered him a goblet full of wine; but when he had drunk it he and his horse and his dog were all turned into stone.

  Just at the very moment when George was turned to stone, Albert, who had heard nothing of him, saw George’s rose in the garden close up and turn the colour of marble; then he knew that something had happened to his brother, and he had out his horse and his dog and rode off to find out what had been George’s fate. And he rode, and he rode, till he came to Middlegard, and as soon as he reached the gate the guard of the gate said, “Your highness, the princess has been in great anxiety about you; she will be so happy to know that you have returned safe.”

  Albert said nothing, but followed the guard until he came to the princess’s chamber, and she ran to him and embraced him and cried out, “Oh, George, I am so delighted that you have come back safe.”

  “Why should I not,” said Albert.

  “Because I feared that you had gone to that castle with flaming windows, from which nobody ever returns alive,” said the princess.

  Then Albert guessed what had happened to George, and he soon made an excuse and went off again to seek the castle which the princess had pointed out from the window.

  When Albert got there he found the same old dame sitting by the gate, and asked if he might go in and see the castle. She said again that none might enter the castle unless they had taken a glass of wine and brought out the goblet of wine once more. Albert was about to drink it up when his faithful dog jumped up and spilt the wine, which he began to lap up, and as soon as he had drunk a little of it his body turned to marble, just by the side of another stone which looked exactly the same. Then Albert guessed what had happened, and descending from his horse he took out his sword and threatened the old witch that he would kill her unless she restored his brother to his proper shape.

  In fear and trembling, the old dame muttered something over the four stones in front of the castle, and George and his horse and his hound and Albert’s dog became alive again as they were before. Then George and Albert rode back to the princess who, when she saw them both so much alike, could not tell which was which; then she remembered and went up to Albert and parted his hair on his forehead and saw there the star, and said, “This is my George”; but then George parted his own hair, and she saw the same star there.

  At last Albert told her all that had happened, and she knew her own husband again. And soon after the king died, and George ruled in his place, and Albert married one of the neighbouring princesses.

  THE STUDENT WHO WAS FORCIBLY MADE KING, by Anonymous

  Translated by Rev. W. Henry Jones and Lewis L. Kropf

  A student started on a journey, and as he went over a field he found some peas which were cracked. He thought that they might be of use to him as he was a poor lad, and his father had advised him to pick up anything he saw, if it was worth no more than a flea; so he gathered up the peas and put them in his pocket.

  As he travelled he was overtaken by night just when he arrived at the royal borough; so he reported himself to the king, and asked for some money for travelling expenses, and a night’s lodging. Now the student was a comely lad, spoke grammatically, and had good manners. The queen noticed this, and as she had a daughter ready for marriage, she came to the conclusion that he was a prince in disguise, who had come in search of a wife.

  She told this to the king, and he thought it very probable. Both agreed that they would try to find out whether he really was a prince, and asked him to stay with them for two days.

  The first night they did not give him a very splendid bed, because they thought that if he were satisfied, he was but a student, if not, then he must be a prince. They made his bed in the adjoining house, and the king placed one of his confidential servants outside of the window, that he mio-nt spy out all that the student did. They showed the bed to the student, and he began to undress when they left. As he undressed all the peas dropped out of his pocket, and rolled under the bed; he at once began to look for them and pick them up, one by one, and did not finish till dawn.

  The spy outside could not make out what he was doing, but he saw that he did not go to sleep till dawn, and then only for a short time, having spent the night arranging his bed; so he reported to the king that his guest had not slept, but had fidgeted about, appearing not to be used to such a bed. The student got up, and during breakfast the king asked him how he had slept, to which he replied, “A little restlessly, but it was through my own fault.” From this they concluded that he already repented of not having shown them his true position, and thus having not got a proper bed. They believed, therefore, that he was a prince, and treated him accordingly.

  Next night they made his bed in the same place, but in right royal style. As the student had not slept the night before, the moment he put his head down he began to sleep like a pumpkin, and never even moved till dawn. He had no trouble with his peas this time, for he had tied them up in the corner of his handkerchief as he picked them up from under the bed.

  The spy reported to the king next morning that the traveller slept soundly all night. They now firmly believed that the student simply dressed up as such, but in reality was a prince. They tried to persuade him that he was a prince, and addressed him as such. The king’s daughter ran after the student to get into his favour, and it didn’t take much to make him fall in love with her, and so the two got married.

  They had lived a whole year together, when they were sent off to travel in order that the student-king might show his wife his realm. The student was very frightened that he might not get out of his trouble so well, and grew more and more alarmed, till at last he accepted his fate.

  “Let come whatever is to come,” thought he, “I will go with them, and then, if nothing else can be done, I can escape, and go back to college,” for he had carried his student’s gown with him everywhere.

  They started off and travelled till they came to a large forest. The student slipped aside into a deep ditch, where he undressed, in order to put on his student’s clothes and to escape.

  Now there was a dragon with seven heads lazily lying there, who accosted him thus: “Who are you? What are you looking for here? What do you want?”

  The student told him his whole history, and also that he was just going to run away.

  “There is no need to run away,” said the dragon, “that would be a pity, continue your journey; when you get out of this wood you will see a copper fortress, which swivels on a go
ose’s leg. Go into it, and live there in peace with your wife, with your dog and cat, till the fortress begins to move and turn round. When this happens, be off, because if I come home and catch you there, there will be an end of you.”

  The student went back to his travelling companions and continued his way until, emerging from the wood, he saw the fortress. They all went in and settled down as in their own, and all went on very well for two years, and he already began to believe that he really was a king, when suddenly the fortress began to move, and swivel round very quickly.

  The student was downcast, and went up on the battlement of the fortress, wandering about in great sorrow; he there found an old woman, who asked him, “What’s the matter with your Majesty?”

  “H’m! the matter is, old woman,” replied the student, “that I am not a king; and still I am compelled to be one,” and then he told her his whole history up to that time.

  “There’s nothing in that, my son,” said the old woman, “be thankful that you have not tried to keep your secret from me. I am the queen of magic, and the most formidable enemy of the dragon with seven heads; therefore this is my advice: get a loaf made at once, and let this loaf be placed in the oven seven times with other loaves, this particular loaf each time to be put in the oven the first and to be taken out last. Have this loaf placed outside the fortress gate tomorrow, without fail. When the dragon with the seven heads is coming, it will be such a charm against him that he will never trouble you again, and the fortress will be left to you with all that belongs to it.”

  The student had the loaf prepared as he was told, and when the clock struck one after midnight the bread was already placed outside the fortress gate.

  As the sun rose, the dragon with seven heads went straight towards the fortress gate, where the loaf addressed him thus, “Stop, I’m guard here, and without my permission you may not enter; if you wish to come in, you must first suffer what I have suffered.”

  “Well,” said the dragon, “I’ve made up my mind to enter, so let me know what ordeals you have gone through.”

  The loaf told him that when it was a seed it was buried in a field that had previously been dug up: then rotted, sprouted, and grew; it had suffered from cold, heat, rain, and snow, until it ripened; it was then cut down, tied into sheaves, threshed out, ground, kneaded into dough, and then seven times running they put it in a fiery oven, each time before its mates.

  “If you can stand all this,” concluded the loaf, “then I’ll let you in, but on no other condition.”

  The dragon, knowing that he could not stand all this, got so angry that he burst in his rage and perished. The student from that day became lord of the fortress, and after the death of his wife’s parents became king of two lands; and if he has not died yet, he reigns still.

  If I knew that I should fare as well as that student, I would become a student this very blessed day!

  OF MICE & DRAGONS, by Gary Lovisi

  Part I

  First there was a twitching of the delicate nose, then a barely perceptible twinge of furry ear tips, soon followed by a shuddering chill that ran the entire length of the tiny body ending in a very loud and resounding sneeze.

  It was a mighty sneeze, especially by human standards, but for this tiny mouse it was of enormous magnitude.

  “Bless you!” A deep, bellowing voice boomed with resounding approval from on high, like thunder.

  The mouse named Dapple, came to instant wakefulness, opened sleep-drenched eyes, wide—wider—wider still—to find himself eyeball to eyeball with a truly horrible and monstrous creature. A very large monstrous creature at that.

  “Oh, no!” Dapple whispered with dread as paralyzed fear gripped him. His eyes looked into eyes that were watching him so closely—eyes that were as big as pumpkins and just as orange—eyes that were only a very miniscule part of an exceptionally major-sized beastie.

  Dapple was astounded by the huge gapping mouth, the enormous pointed fangs, the rough scarily hide, and the long barbed tail that even now danced menacingly in the air overhead with what seemed to have a mind all it’s own.

  The little mouse bravely smiled with chattering teeth, his eyes stared as if mesmerized, looking into the huge eyes of the terrible monster before him.

  “Why, you’re a mouse, ain’t you?” the huge beast asked in a thunderous voice.

  “Oh, boy! What a mess I am in now! An innocent young rodent can’t even take a nap these days without waking up to discover all manner of unpleasantness. Yes, I am a mouse and I certainly hope you are not hungry, Mr. Dragon.”

  The huge beast blinked it’s enormous lids and then focused on the tiny mouse shaking so fearfully before him. Suddenly the dragon’s huge maw opened wide, revealing many terrible pointy teeth, but suddenly his face broke into a wide grin of disarming friendliness.

  “Nah, little one, not to worry. I doubt if you’ve got a full ounce of meat on those puny bones anyway. Why, I’d expend more energy in digesting you than you’d be worth.”

  Dapple swallowed with hopeful relief and a nervous twitch, but somehow felt vaguely insulted by the large creature’s opinion of his worthiness. Nevertheless he did not complain about the fact and was rather elated by the news. “I am exceptionally happy to hear that, Mr. Dragon.” Then regaining his normal amount of confidence and bravery now that he assumed he would not become a tiny tasty appetizer for the giant behemoth in front of him. He stood up and with a low whistle began a long walk around the creature to investigate. It was quite a long walk for the dragon was very large. Tiny Dapple soon decided he did not want anything to do with this strange creature at all. “Well, then I guess I’ll just be on my way, and it was most nice meeting you, I must say. I hope you have a good day, and… and …oh …no!”

  But the dragon would not take no for an answer.

  “No! No!” Dapple continued as he was lifted high into the air suspended by his long, thin tail—which the monster was now holding most delicately between two huge talons.

  “Not so fast, little one,” the dragon said snorting a short flame from his nose to emphasize his words. Dapple could easily smell the aroma of brimstone that drifted upon the wind and he began to have renewed worries about the possibilities of barbecued mouse suddenly being added to the menu!

  “I hope you have not suddenly found your appetite, Mr. Dragon,” Dapple mumbled nervously as he tried to steady the fear that was coursing through his tiny trembling body. You could never tell what a dragon might do, and the fact that they were mythological beasts and not supposed to exist made things rather more difficult than ever for this pint-sized rodent.

  “Nah, nothing like that, have no fear, little friend,” the dragon said with a smile, placing the tiny creature down carefully upon the end of his long nose. “There, now I can keep a close eye on you and we can discuss this problem of ours face to face.”

  “Ah, what problem of ‘ours’ would that be, Mr. Dragon?” Dapple asked with growing apprehension. He hunched down upon the soft snout and stared into the great orange eyes of the monster before him wanting to run away but knowing there was no way to escape.

  “Ya see, little mousey, the problem is, dragons ain’t supposed to be real. You and I know they’re supposed to be mythological beasts, creatures from imagination and fantasy in your world. I ain’t even supposed to exist here at all.”

  “I can agree with you there,” Dapple offered carefully, wondering where all this was leading with quiet trepidation, and what his part might be in it all.

  “Glad to hear it, little guy,” the dragon prompted with what looked like a rather wry grin. “Well, let’s see now. The thing is, I do exist. I mean, it’s a true, incontrovertible fact that you can see with your very eyes and it can’t be denied by anyone. And you, being an unbiased observer of the present situation, can attest to the fact that I most sincerely do exist. Isn’t that true, little runtling?”

  “Ah, yes, of course, Mr. Dragon. I wouldn’t doubt what you say for a moment. Why, it�
�s just an undeniable fact of reality, I would say, if that makes you feel any better.”

  “It does, and it doesn’t, my mouse friend,” the dragon continued, as Dapple watched in rapt fascination as the creature used its long barbed tail to scratch it’s lizard scaled back. Dapple knew that dragons were not real—but he also knew that reality melted in the cold truth of the creature he saw before him now. Was this all some illusion? Perhaps the result of some bad cheese that had affected his vision? He only wished it were so simple, for he was sure that it was not the case, and that this dragon was just as real as he was.

  “So, then, what’s the big deal about it, oh Great Large One?” Dapple asked with a bit of feigned bravado. “I mean, as the ancient philosophers must have said sometime, or someplace, ‘you’re here, therefore you are!’ Or at any rate it was something to that effect. Leastways, Mr. Dragon, you get the general idea, don’t fight it—you’re here—enjoy it.”

  Well the dragon looked with crossed eyes at the speck of creature sitting so comfortably upon his bulbous nose and for a long moment seemed to be contemplating the rodent’s words. Then with a fire-breathing snort that almost shook poor Dapple loose, the dragon announced he had come to his decision.

  “Well, heck and dreck!” the dragon groaned with evident discomfort, “Ya see, the thing is that by me being here, that means that I definitely had to come from somewhere else. Get it? Of course, I can’t remember at all where that other place was, but it musta been better than this here stinky little world full of nothing but mice. Ah, no offense intended, little fella.”

  “None taken,” Dappled sniffed with some trepidation. “And so, oh Great One…?’

  “And so little mouse, wherever I came from just had to be a better place than this here place—and I want to get back there as soon as I can. And you’re going to help me get back there!”

  Dapple gulped fearfully, he was afraid of just such a conundrum.

  “But how am I going to help you do that, Oh Large Magnificence?” Dapple stammered, his nimble mouse mind scheming away at a multitude of ideas, and quickly discarding each in turn as more ridiculous or dangerous than the previous one. The most dangerous of them all of course, being to anger the monstrous being which was before him.