DRAGON LONGZE STRANDED PRO TEM AT THE KINGDOM OF AVARKAN (BY BOST, 2026) PART 2

Davos’s implications was clear; hence, inconsolable fear and dread took hold of everyone’s chests; and they quaked right to their toes—in unison they then asked, "Tell us, we want to know; what is to be done, what is the key (vital) solution?"

Now that he had them in his palm, Davos said: "Tomorrow is the dragon's birthday. He is demanding to have a present on his birthday. If he gets a nice present, he will be in a hurry to take it away and show it to his friends, and he will fly off and never come back."

Now how did he know it was the dragon’s birthday? But frightened minds are rarely logical.

The crowd had instead readily accepted Devos’s claim and cheered wildly—even the naïve, pure hearted Princess, participating from her balcony, excitedly clapped her hands.

"The present the dragon expects," said Devos, when the clamor died down a little, cheerfully, "is rather an expensive one. But, when we give, it should not be in a grudging spirit, especially to visitors. What every dragon ever wants is a Princess. We have only one Princess, it is true: but far be it for us to display a miserly temper at such a moment. And the gift is worthless that costs the giver nothing. Your readiness to give up your Princess will only show how generous you are."

A shocked silence now permeated in the air. Many stood frozen with gaping mouths, considering the alternative. Some of the crowd began to shed silent tears, for they loved their Princess, though they quite knew that their first duty was to their nation; unfortunately, this required them to be bighearted (charitable, unstinting) and give the dreadful dragon what it wanted. No one considered asking the Dragon, if that was true… Then again, they could not communicate with him, not really, so how could they?

The Princess was devastated as everyone else but desisted shedding tears, for she was brave; she had a terrible foreboding that she might be scorched then eaten, still, she was willing to sacrifice self to save the kingdom. If only there was a way to avert this catastrophe.

Stevor, meanwhile, had stood perfectly still, then sullenly (broodingly) looked away; after a time, he quickly pushed aside all worrisome thoughts and his ire checked (contained), being a pragmatist even at that young age, he next wracked his brains for an apt solution. He could not believe the Dragon was that evil; moreover, his senses pricked (jabbed), as if alerting him to an impending malevolent ploy. He was still too young to discern (comprehend) the ambitious, cunning workings of (Devos’s) an adult mind. Eventually, he went home to ponder more on the plausible solution. He was idly standing by at the back yard when the wolf cup came up to him; Stevor in a gush relayed to him his deep concern. 

02- WOLF CUB TANSAN (5)

Tansan lowered his head, dourly (resolutely) thought for a while, then questioningly looking up and growled: “Are you certain this was the dragon’s wish?”

Stevor understood his meaning, especially when Tansan, gripped his sleeve and tugged at it (pulled): making it clear he wanted to go see the dragon along with Stevor and get some explanation or truth of this matter.

Though humans, save for magicians like Devos, could not really communicate with a dragon, perhaps a wolf might, Stevor thought.

 True enough, Tansan breached the gap of vernacular difficulty and then successfully communicated with the dragon.  It was then that he learned of the dragon’s name being Longze, and his true dragon age.

Longze in turn, learned how Tansan once had lived within a dense forest of a far-off continent; though unfortunately, where hunting was a desired sport. One day Tansan was carefree and happy living with his parents and two other siblings, and the next moment, all had been destroyed. He’d witnessed the traumatic, harrowing death of his parents and his siblings; his life was spared, because of the aristocratic little boy who’d accompanied his father on this hunt, wanted the white wolf-cub as his pet. The little boy wasn’t entirely cruel, but Tansan detested being held captive; then one day, he’d made good his escape, and later still, after much suffering, he’d snuck into the luggage of a passenger boarding a ship, bound for far away lands and so came to be on this island. At the end of his narration, Tansan was surprised to note the dragon Longze’s eyes tearing up and understood that this dragon was a sensitive sentient being.

 Tansan and Longze spent many more hours communicating, sharing their likes and dislikes and in the course of it, becoming fast friends.  Stevor had waited patiently at first, then, not wishing to intrude, waved a hand and returned home. No pressure: he’d done this to allow them privacy of this rare bonding, knowing Tansan would appraise him of the facts later. Stevor was a thoughtful, kind and tolerant friend that way.

At the end of their long, intense exchange, when all that needed to be heard was communicated, Tansan nodded his head with understanding and promised that he would somehow find a way to relay (impart) all this to Stevor and in doing so, clear Longze from all false accusations.

Longze was elated to long at last be able to convey true facts; for being brilliant, he had grasped the persecution that had lately, permeated the air along with the false belief that had deemed him a monster to the apprehensive, trusting (gullible) people. He had been puzzled by the sudden change in those once affectionate pupils directed at him, which lately bore such fretful disdain (contempt); furthermore, the innocent children had lost that wonder glint (sparkle) in their eyes and instead, glared at him with chariness (suspicion) and scorn. This had made Longze so very unhappy; now however, he had hope, that the misunderstanding might soon be cleared up.

03- LONGZE MALIGNED

It took some doing, in fact, it took the entire night, but clever as Tansan was eventually successful and so Stevor was appraised of the true facts. That Longze had no wish to harm anyone, least of all the princess Juyin. He’d rather hoped to befriend everyone and take his leave of the island, which he intended to do pretty soon, now that his injury was almost healed (mended), carrying in his heart and mind fond memories.  More importantly, his birthday was still many months away.

Subsequent morning, Stevor rising at dawn, he went straight to the palace and then he gathered white roses and threw them at the Princess's window till she woke up and looked out.

“What brings you out this early?”  The princes peering down, from her balcony, asked; “It must be important; all right, come up and tell me, “She said.

Stevor was an athletic boy, and so, he nimbly climbed up the white rosebush; once seated in her room, he then quietly relayed to her all the pertinent data that he’d acquired from Tansan. Then leaning forward, he kissed the Princess on the cheek and said: "Before I forget: Many happy returns of the day."

Juyin’s eyes teared; “I wish it was a happy day!” She heaved a sigh; suspecting her uncle Davos would not be persuaded to change his mind that easily, if he was set on sacrificing her. 

"Don’t be sad," said Stevor. "Why, Juyin, my precious Princess—things aren’t as hopeless as you might think. Tansan is a clever little wolf cub, together we have devised a plausible plan, the Dragon, innocent as he is, is also a willing participant. After he’d carefully imparted all the relevant details he said: “All is arranged now.  You just pretend to go along; and leave the rest to us. We got your back. I promise you, no harm will come to you, or anyone innocent. “

For good reason Stevor did not disclose to Juyin, what he’d additionally suspected about her uncle, Sovereign Davos. Why should he unnecessarily worry her.

04- DAVOS (13)JP

That afternoon, Davos exited his palatial quarters, decked out in his official regalia, wearing a special crown, his brocade garments embroidered with the golden symbolic images on it, and arriving in posh carriage, he called on the Princess. His intent was to first deliver the princess to her doom, then going to court, before the assembled officials, summoned there already, announce his rightful claim to the throne.

"Come, little birthday present," he said acerbically (sarcastically). "You look so lovely, my dear; the dragon will be so pleased to have you. And I'm glad to see you're not crying. You know, my child, we cannot begin too young to learn to think of the happiness of others rather than our own. Nation’s welfare always supersedes personal one. I should not like my dear little niece to be selfish, or to wish to deny a trivial pleasure to that, albeit unreasonable dragon, desperate to return to where he belongs, his home and friends."

Princess Juyin acquiescently nodded, her face exhibited no fear and sorrow; she stockily and obediently climbed into his carriage, and soon they were on their way to meet the dragon.

Subsequently, the state carriage stopped at acceptable distance from the pillar, and there was the white dragon, poised to take custody of the princess and, in his pseudo anticipation of devouring a delectable morsal, his massive mouth already a gap (half open).

Davos approached him cautiously and said: "Good morning, sir. We have brought you a small present for your birthday. We do not like to let such an anniversary go by without some suitable testimonial, especially to one who is a stranger in our midst. Our means are small, but our hearts are large. We have but one Princess, but we give her freely—do we not, my child?"

The Princess said she supposed so, and the dragon came a little nearer.

 

05-- HEROIC STEVOR TO THE RESCUE

Suddenly a concealed figure emerging from behind the thick bushes, a voice cried: "Run!" and there was Stevor. 

Princess at once took to her heels, to reach Stevor and Tansan. Tansan taking up defensive position up front, bearing his fangs and growling at Devos.

Davos was furious. "What do you mean, by this?" he cried, "Such impudence; by your rude intrusion on a state matter with your brazen attitude and your antagonistic wolf-cub, are you not afraid of dire punishment?" His meaning was clear, he threatened Stevor with certain death.

But while he was speaking all her precious pets, including the fox, had emerged from concealment (behind cluster of trees), to encircle Davos, so that he was buried way over his head in their thick animal fur that almost choked his lungs.

The Princess, meantime, had run to the other side of the pillar and was peeping around it to see what was going on. It goes without saying, a curious crowd had followed the carriage out of the town; now having reached the scene of the "State Function"—in unison, they all cried out: "Fair play—play fair! Princess has a right to choice, to defend herself.

But some of Devos’s supporters also voiced their discontent: “We can't go back on our word like this. Shame, shame! To give a thing and take a thing? Why, it's never been done. Let the poor dragon have his birthday present." And they also tried to get at Stevor who fended them off with a stick he was holding; meanwhile, the wolf bearing his fangs, growling fiercely stood defensively, ready to launch, to sink those fangs at the first one that would be brazen enough to sneak-attack, from the flanks (sides).

While this was going on, Juyin looked around the big pillar and called to the dragon: "Here’s your chance to clear your name; defend the innocent and punish the culprit!” Strangely enough the dragon understood the princess’s vernacular. As it were, dragons in fairy tales, had always wanted the sacrifice of princesses for friendship’s sake, someone to talk to, not to consume (eat) them.

The Sovereign-wizard Davos, however, could not be restrained (fenced) for long; getting clear of the furballs, he invoked a powerful incantation that forced the dragon to act contrary and to attack the princess.  But the princess was fast on her feet and she fled. She ran and ran, with dragon Longze in hot pursuit, without him not understanding why he was behaving antagonistically; for it was not in his nature to be so belligerent, so violent!

Stevor noting this change in plan, let Tanzan to deal with Davos’s hostile gang (horde), and looped the loose end of the rope that was attached to the pole, on the dragon’s tale, at the very point the dragon had spread his wings to create greater momentum for speed as he run after Juyin. Stevor’s action was to impede dragon’s run; instead, this pulled Longze’s tail, and pulled it very hard, so hard that as he pulled, the pillar had to come around with the tail, and the island had to come around with the pillar, and in another minute the tail was loose, and the island was spinning around the top, exactly like that toy children often play. It spun so fast that everyone on the island fell flat on their faces and held on tight to themselves, because they felt something was going to happen.

All but the magician Davos, who was seriously engaged and choking between the brave Belgian hares that had pressed forward and strategically positioned themselves to contain or stop Davos’s next aggressive aim.

The dragon Longze, meanwhile, had sent the island, with the established kingdom of Avarkan, spinning the way it ought to have gone at the beginning of the creation of the world and the incidental (chance) materialization (manifestation) of this magic island.  

06-iSLAND SWIRLING (1)jp

As the island spun around, all the animals on it began to change sizes. And the men and women and all the children would have changed sizes too, if they had not had the sense to hold on to themselves, very tight indeed, with both hands, which, of course, the animals could not be expected to know how to do.

Princess Juyin, Stevor and Tansan had all huddled together, arms fastening on each other to form one uninterrupted circle, so they were spared also.  Davos had been thrown on the ground, and with his focus spinning, seeing stars in his eyes, he’d forgotten to hold onto himself; therefore, he did change, his height shrunk to two inches.

The spell the wizard had spun (cast) on the dragon Longze, meanwhile, was broken also, and the dragon felt his old self again. Longze was instantly consumed with seething rage for being prior maligned and, for being manipulated presently in this way, forcing him to act contrary to his will. His eyes, hence, searched till he pinpointed the whereabouts of the wizard Davos, who’d done his best to hide behind a small bush.

Longze, however, was far too young to have a fiery breath, only a steam and puff of cloud would come out of his mouth.  He was only three years old in dragon years, remember. But he was still fuming and he desired apt retribution (vengeance) on the very culprit; so, he simply approached Daves, slow and deliberate, then lifted one of his feet and let it come down plump over Devos, to squash him like a pancake. And so, permanently rid Avarkan of this conniving, heartless evil.

He then shook his head; let out a shrilling cry and then opened his wings wide and next instant took to the skies. He’d recovered well enough, so that he could now return home, and when he got home, he would have a tale to tell, to whoever listened.

07- LONGZE FLIES HOME

So now the dragon gone, and all the animals were normal sizes—and at first it seemed very strange to everyone to have great lumbering elephants and a tiny little dormouse, but in time they got used to it and thought no more of this change. 

After the culprit Davos was no more, conscientious, loyal officials and brave generals ensured that law and order, as well as the lasting peace was restored to the kingdom of Avarkan. Princess Juyin received the best counsel, best education, by loyal ministers, tutors and such, preparing her well for the time she would be crowned their ruling Queen. Some time passed, in that lasting peace, all the young children grew up normal and contented.

08- STEVOR AND JUYIN GET MARRIED

Several years ago, there was an announcement on the Avarkan Times, an account of the wedding of the Princess Juyin with Lord Stevor, who was then the newly appointed Prime Minister. Naturally, she could not have married anyone but Stevor, so I suppose they made him a Lord on purpose for the wedding; even though he’d grown up to be a most competent prime minister, well respected and loved by all.

The union of Princess Juyin and Stever had met no opposition from any official or the powerful nobility (aristocracy) and besides, all the citizens (inhabitants) of Avarkan Kingdom, including the animals, both adored and loved them. From thence, the abundant blessing was constantly showered on the loving couple. Avarkan had already thrived under Stevor’s brilliantly implemented policies and all the nobles, officials, military and common citizens alike, lived in eternal bliss. 

Tansan (till ripe old age) was a constant companion to Lord Stevor; even though, soon as Stevor had secured his position of Prime Minister, he’d arranged to have a ship transport willing several wolf packs to comfortably settle on the island. Tansan, as their newly proclaimed alfa king of all the packs, ruled justly and wisely. And eventually, happily married to his chosen, destined alfa mate, and thereon, sired many alfas, his lineage secured.

09- TANSAN'S FAMILY

Few years later, Juyin was crowned the rightful Queen of Avarkan, and she ruled the kingdom wisely, with her trusted adviser, her devoted husband, always by her side, still holding onto his post as the Prime Minister of Avarkan. They had three lovely children born to them, two princes and a lovely princess.

All was well in the island and within Avarkan kingdom and everyone, men or beast, lived happily ever after.

Few times there was a sighting of dragons, charting a course in the sky, towards the North. Longze wanted very much to visit his old friend Tansan, but he was never given the permission to do so; moreover, he was discouraged from having any further contact with the mortal world, while his movements were severely and rigorously restricted by then more obdurate (inflexible, hard-hearted, stony) guardians.

Citizens of Avarkan, nevertheless, constantly cast their eyes to the sky, in search of dragons; and few times, some claimed sightings of one white dragon in particular, one that looked exactly like the one depicted in beloved folk-tale, which was constantly read to children at bedtime, but unfortunately, no dragon had ever set foot on the island ever again.

Fin. 

DRAGON LONGZE STRANDED PRO TEM AT THE KINGDOM OF AVARKAN (BY BOST, 2026) PART 1

 DRAGON LONGZE STRANDED PRO TEM AT THE KINGDOM OF AVARKAN (BY BOST, 2026) PART 1

The Princess Juyin and the (grounds’ keeper’s) gardener's boy Stevor had always gotten  along famously and since very little, were very good friends; having rich imaginations, they often played in the backyard garden, creating adventurous scenarios where the princess was always saved by a dashing, heroic warrior, after Stevor  slayed the bad monster with his wooden sword. At noon, they would take brief respite under the huge elm tree, sipping pretend tea, eating tiny cucumber sandwiches and conversing.

 

01- TEA PARTY BETW FRIENDS JP

"What will you do when you grow up, Princess?" One day asked Stevor, the gardener’s only son.

"I should like to marry you, Stevor," said the Princess. "Would you mind?"

"No," said the Stevor smiling. "I shouldn't mind it at all. I'll marry you if you like—that is, if I have time." For Stevor meant, as soon as he was a grown up and became a general, a mighty warrior, a scholar, or perhaps a high official like the Prime Minister. Meanwhile, he was brilliant in mind and was brave and good at fighting and on top, excelled in all his lessons, getting top marks in the school. Naturally, a great future lay ahead for him.

As for the Princess Juyin, she was a very good little girl, and everyone loved her. She was always kind and polite, even to her Uncle Davos and to other people whom she did not like very much; and though she was not very clever, for a Princess, she always tried to do her best in school. Even if you know perfectly well that you can't do your lessons, you may as well try, and sometimes you find that by some fortunate accident they really are done.

Besides being very pretty, Princess Juyin had a truly good heart; most of all, she loved and deeply cared for all types of animals. Suffice it to say, she had many pets; she was always, without fail, very considerate of all her pets and they were always well cared for, spoiled even. She never was cross at her playful puppy Fido, when it broke her delicate glass figurines in its playful gambols, and she never forgot to feed her bunnies in their little hutch in the backyard. She often rode her white pony right up to the edge of the forest; the dense forest with ancient trees and supposedly inhabited by the fairies, therefore, she was cautioned never to trespass. Being a good girl, she never did. But she wasn’t always good, sometimes Juyin made her nurse quite cross by smuggling to her bedroom little abandoned or forsaken wayward (unruly, willful) animals, like the dear little red fox, which afterwards, she would even let him sleep all curled up under the covers and at the foot of her bed.

02- PRINCESS AND LITTLE RED FOXJP

Thursday mornings were reserved for lovely tea parties with her little aristocratic friends, when the little dukes and duchesses and marquises and countesses all dressed up in their fineries, pretending to be mature adults like their parents. Seated at tiny tables, with soft music wafting through the air, they would have polite conversations, as they partook of the tiny cucumber sandwiches, delectable morsels (tidbits) of pastries, cupcakes and of course tea. Kingdom was well run so life was good for everyone and all the days passed without much variance (dissent).

Avarkan was a beautiful peaceful kingdom indeed, for everybody was kind—except one.

Now that you have read as far as this you know, of course, that the Kingdom of Avarkan was a very remarkable place; and if you are a thoughtful child—as of course you are—you will not need me to tell you what the most remarkable thing about it was. But in case you are not a thoughtful child—and it is just possible of course that you are not—I will tell you at once what that most remarkable thing was. There were some abnormalities, more specifically, animals on this island kingdom that were the wrong sizes! And this was how it had happened.

In most ancient times, when all the  world was just loose earth and air and fire and water mixed up anyhow like a pudding, and spinning around like mad trying to get the different things to settle into their proper places, a round piece of earth got loose and went spinning away by itself across the water, which was just beginning to try to get spread out smooth into a real sea. And as the great round piece of earth flew away, going around and around as hard as it could, it met a long piece of hard rock (which resembled a pole) that had got loose from another part of the pudding mixture, and the rock was so hard, and was going so fast, that it ran its point through the round piece of earth and stuck out on the other side of it, so that the two together were like a very-very-much-too-big spinning top.

Well, when the pointed rock smashed into the round bit of earth the shock was so great that it set them spinning together through the air—which was just getting into its proper place, like all the rest of the things—only, as luck would have it, they forgot which way around they had been going, and began to spin around the wrong way. In other words, instead of clockwise, it spun counterclockwise. Presently Center of Gravity—a great giant who was managing the whole business—woke up in the middle of the earth and began to grumble.

"Hurry up," he said. "Settle down and lie still, can't you?"

03- THE GIANT - JP

So, the rock with the round piece of earth fell into the sea, and the point of the rock went into a hole that just fitted it in the stony sea bottom, and there it spun around the wrong way (counterclockwise) seven times and then lay still. And that round piece of land became, after millions of years, a mysterious island in the middle of the vast ocean, which later became the Kingdom of Avarkan.

Of course, the consequence of the island having spun around the wrong way was that when the animals began to grow on the island, some grew to be the wrong sizes. The guinea pig, for instance, became as big as an elephant, and the elephant—was the size of the silly, tiny mouse. Well, you get the gist of it. But luckily, few of the animals, such as rabbits, dogs, sheep, oxen, horses and foxes, fortunately had remained the normal sizes.

Oh, but because of the reverse polarity, some unusual animals and entities, particularly supernatural ones, also came to be existent, such as dragons, pixies (fairies, elves, sprites) and goblins (trolls) that were typically absent in the usual mortal world. Most of these, nevertheless, were believed to be persisting (living) in high peaks of the snow-capped mountains or in that forbidden dense forest where ancient trees reached up to the sky, though no one had ever seen them.  But we are getting bit ahead of ourselves.

The men and women and children which at present inhabits (populates, dwells in) this magic island, meanwhile, are all quite the right size, why? Because their ancestors had come over in huge ships, with the Conqueror Tonzaq, who was the little princes Juyin’s great, great grandfather, long after the island had formed (rocks and soil settled down) and the woods and fauna (wildlife, animals, creatures and beasts) thrived on it.

04- CONQUEROR TONZAQ - JUYIN'S GREAT GRANDFATHER

Now the natural history lesson is over, and if you have been attending, you know more about Avarkan than anyone there did, except three people: the Lord Chief Schoolmaster, the Princess's uncle Davos—who was a magician, and knew everything without learning it—and of course, diligent Stevor, the gardener's son.

Stevor had a natural inclination to books, and he had read all kinds, pouring over them in the library, till there were no books left unread. His knowledge was far superior to anyone else’s in his classroom.  At the upcoming annual autumn festival, there would be a contest, wherefore a prize was offered to the most learned pupil (student). He was preparing for this event. Wanting to win the coveted prize, which this year happened to be, a beautifully bound book with the Royal arms on the back, titled: The History of Avarkan. After that day, however, when the Princess had said she meant to marry Stevor, the gardener's boy thought it over, and he decided that the best prize in the world would be the Princess’s hand, and this was the prize Stevor meant to take when he grew up; and when you are a gardener's son and have decided to marry a Princess, you will find that the more you learn at school the better.

The Princess always played with Stevor on the days when the little dukes and marquises did not come for tea—and when he told her he was almost sure of the first prize, she clapped her hands and said: "Dear Stevor, dear good, clever Stevor, you deserve all the prizes. And I will give you my pet puppy Fido—and you can keep him till we're married."

The pet puppy Fido had existed on the island way before the settlement of humans, and way before princess found and adapted him; therefore, Fido was a miniature canine about three inches in scale, compared to other normal size dogs that were owned by citizens and aristocrats living on this very island. Anyway, he was quite adorable, and immediately taking to Stevor, he’d reached up and licked his hand. This tickled Stevor, so he giggled and then affectionately, using his pinkie (little finger), gently stroked the puppy’s head. From that moment on they became good friends.

05- FIDO

Stevor took Fido away in his coat pocket. He was the dearest little puppy you ever saw and he was very, very wise. He lay down comfortably in Stevor's pocket, and when Stevor put in his hand, Fido always licked or sucked Stevor's forefinger, with an affectionate confidence, making the boy's heart always soothed or elated with glee. What with the puppy, and the Princess's affection, and the knowledge that the very next day he would receive the History of Avarkan, beautifully bound, with the Royal arms on the cover, Stevor that night could hardly sleep a wink. And, besides, the wolf howled all night, perhaps the wolf cub was jealous, so terribly.

There was only one wolf unfortunately in Avarkan and wolves are pack animals, so he was lonely; unfortunately, for some mysterious reason, there was no other. The wolf as pup, had taken a ride in one of the early settler human’s luggage, and that’s how he came to be on the island.  His independent nature would not let him be domesticated and so he lived and run free at the edge of the woods; in time however, gradually, he came to trust Stevor, as Stevor from time to time, fed him and talked to the lonely wolf cub.  Only one problem; when the wolf cub was lonely, especially during full moon, he would howl with yearning, and the sound revibrated in the air all night long, allowing no one any respite, let alone dreams.  Though annoyed, the people put up with this for they never harmed the animals; moreover, some even pitied the wolf cub, knowing he was all alone, had no pack, no siblings, no mate nothing but humans, and only one solitary friend Stevor.  He was good most of the time though, so no one complained of this rare disturbance during the period of the full moon.

But on this night, he howled long and with excited zeal—and the Princess said, "Oh dear, oh dear, I wish he wouldn't do this all night long, I am so sleepy."

Some ways distance, Stevor reclined in his own warm bed said to himself, "I wonder whatever is the matter with Tansan; as soon as it's light I'll go and see him."  Yes, he’d named the wolf cup that, when first time he’d befriended him, and the wolf had accepted that name.  

06- WOLF-CUB TANSAN

At first daylight, when the sky was painted in pink-and-yellow hue, Stevor got up, quickly washed and breakfasted, then hastened outside, to visit his lonesome friend.

"I'll go to the pillar," thought Stevor, as he went through the town. The pillar, of course, was the top of the piece of rock that had stuck itself through Avarkan millions of years before, and made it spin around the wrong way. It was quite in the middle of the island, and stuck up ever so far, and when you were at the top you could see a great deal farther than when you were not.

As Stevor went out from the town and across the fields, he thought what a pretty sight it was to see the rabbits in the bright, dewy morning, frisking with their young ones by the mouths of their burrows. So Stevor lingered on the spot for a while, watching the family of rabbits, till the morning light grow increasingly red and golden. All this while the wolf Tansan, howled, and howled, till the church bells tinkled, and the chimney of the apple factory rocked again.

But when Stevor got to the pillar, he saw that he would not need to climb to the top to find out what the wolf ‘s howl was about. For there, by the pillar, lay a white dragon. And it was a child dragon, a toddler, no more than three dragon years. Though he was not a full-grown dragon, comparatively, he was still immense in size. His wings were like big umbrellas, with some crumpling, as though soggy, and much rained on, and his eyes were brilliant blue which was unusual for a dragon, and his tail was very, very, very long and thin and tight, like the lash of a carriage whip.

It was licking one of its seemingly injured umbrella-y wings, and every now and then it moaned and leaned its head back against the rocky pillar as though it felt faint. Stevor saw at once what had happened. A flight of dragons must have crossed over the island during the night, and this poor one, flying lower than the rest, must have knocked its wing and tore or broken it against the pillar. And so, injured, unable to fly, he was stranded now on the island.

Stevor had guessed it right.  Previous night, a group of dragons were in flight, going over the island, anxious to reach their destination in the northern hemisphere. The top of the world, peaks reaching up to the Heaven, were permanently shrouded in fog; a most desolate land of immortals, the icy peaks where dragons sometimes visited. This time however, among the adult dragons was the tiny, little, orphaned dragon Longze.  His custodian Torek had reluctantly taken him along, as he was assigned this charge by the Heavenly God, to keep an eye on him. Longze had always been a handful to manage, and this time being no different, he had flown closer to the pole, to satisfy his curious nature; unfortunately, in that storm, destructed by the lightening, his wing had struck the pole, (part of it being impaled,) got injured and so he’d plummeted to the ground.  His absence was at once noted, however, Torek allowed it to be, as a lesson to the wayward (unruly) Longze, knowing Longze would eventually catch up to them at the North pole; once he recovered from his ordeal, and in the meantime, gained some new experience (or understanding).

07- INJURED YOUNG DRAGONLONGZE 2

 Tansun had come across the injured dragon and was doing his best to comfort him; wanting to help, but not wishing to leave his site yet, in case he would fare worse, from his injury. His inability to help, was the cause for his night’s disturbance, hoping someone would respond, and come to offer assistance (help).  But weary humans needed their respite, and no one had shown up, till now that is.

Tansun was overjoyed to see Stevor there and ran up to him, to lick his hand, first time ever. For he was not domesticated.

Everyone is kind to everyone in Avarkan, and so, Stevor was not afraid of the dragon; he had often watched them flying across the sea, but he had never expected to get to know one personally.  Furthermore, he was concerned about the dragon’s apparent condition.  

He tentatively drew near and spoke to him gently:  "I can see that you have suffered an injury; is there anything I can do to help?"

The dragon shook his head. He could not speak human dialect (language), but like all mystical animals, he could understand well enough what was being said.

"Can I get you anything?" Stevor ejected insistently, with deep concern registering in his eyes.

The dragon Longze opened his eyelid and gazed questioningly for a long time at this kind boy. He’d always been warned not to trust humans and to stay clear of them. But this boy seemed genuinely concerned. He had the kindest eyes.

"I bet you are hungry; a bun or two, now," said Stevor, coaxingly. "There's a beautiful bun tree quite close by."

The dragon looked at the direction the boy had indicated, then opened wide his mouth and licked his lips.  Stevor smiled with understanding and nodded his head, then ran up to the bun tree and shook the laden branches.  He returned shortly after with an armful of fresh currant buns, and as he approached, noting something else, he veered his steps to a spot where he picked a few additional strawberry kind pastries, tarts, that had grown on the low bushes someways- off to the pillar. Because, of course, another consequence of the island's having spun the wrong way is that all the things we have to make—buns and cakes and shortbread—grow on trees and bushes, but in Avarkan they must make their cauliflowers and cabbages and carrots and apples and onions, just as our cooks make puddings and turnovers.

Stevor gave all the buns and the strawberry tarts (pastries) to the dragon Longze, saying: "Here, try to eat a little; these buns and tarts area highly nutritious, they will give you the strength you’ll need to perhaps, speedily rejuvenate (fix) that injury.” He was only guessing of course, for what did he know about dragon’s physiology, or tending to Dragons.

08- LONGZE EATS BUNS

The dragon Longze was famished and so, he promptly ate up all the buns, while keeping a (vigilant, alert) watchful eye on this unusual human being; when he had his fill, he nodded rather appreciatively and then began to lick his wing again. Stevor left him and went back to the town with the news, and everyone was so excited at a real live dragon's being on the island—a thing that had never happened before—that they all went out in droves to look at it.

Lord Chief Schoolmaster, instead of going to the prize-giving soiree (event), he, too, went with the rest; moreover, he had Stevor’s prize, the History of Avarkan, in his wide pocket—the one bound in calf, with the Royal arms on the cover—and when he leaned forward to take a closer look,  it happened to drop out, and the dragon ate it, so Stevor never got the prize after all. But the dragon, when he had wolfed (gobbled) it, did not like it.

"Perhaps it's all for the best," said Stevor. "I might not have liked that prize either, if I had gotten it."

It happened to be a Thursday, so when the Princess's friends were asked what they would like to do, all the little dukes and marquises and earls said, "Let's go and see the dragon." But the little duchesses and marchionesses and countesses said they were afraid. Then Princess Juyin spoke up royally, and said, "Don't be silly, because it's only in fairy tales that dragons are depicted as evil and mean.  Dragon’s been here for a while, and I haven’t heard of him hurting anyone. Stevor, each time got quite close in proximity to the dragon, and he wasn’t harmed in the least. We may never get such a chance, aren’t you all curious?  Let's all go and see the dragon. We might take him some acid drops." So, they went. And all the titled children took it in turns to feed the dragon with acid drops, and he seemed pleased and flattered, and wagged as much of his big tail as he could get at conveniently; for it was a very, very long tail indeed. But when it came to the Princess's turn to give an acid drop to the dragon, he smiled a very wide smile and wagged his tail to the very last long inch of it, as much as to say, "Oh, you are so very interesting and pretty!"

09- LONGZE LIKES THE PRINCESS

Longze could not rightly explain it, for he had never had this sort of strange fluttering in his chest before; moreover, he was drawn to her intriguing and unique features, like her porcelain white skin, big wide almond eyes and long locks of hair, she was quite beautiful for a human that is. In his later years, Longze would learn to shapeshift and even assume human form, but at this young age of three those abilities had not yet manifested. He ejected some sounds, but of course, nobody understood his vernacular, except the Princess's uncle Davos, and he, being a magician, was able to decipher this strange lingo (speech, argot, dialect, jargon) of the dragon.  He did not know of Longze’s age, of his innocence, his virtuous (noble and decent) and purely platonic fascination with the princess. Supposing quite the opposite, he suddenly struck on an idea.

Now, you will remember that I told you there was one wicked person in Avarkan, and I cannot conceal from you any longer that this nasty, evil person was non other than the Princess's Uncle Davos. Magicians could sometimes be bad, and some uncles are nasty, as they are at times depicted in some fairy tales.

Princess Juyin’s uncle Davos, the present regent ruler (sovereign) of Avarkan, furthermore was obsessed with his current immense power and privilege that would all end, when Juyin reached the age of consent, for she was the rightful successor (heir), and the throne had always passed down from Sovereign to his offspring, one with direct royal bloodline. Davos, despite his pseudo nice demeanor, secretly hated his niece for this and so, when he smiled at Juyin, his smile never reached his eyes; furthermore, he had no intention of ever surrendering the throne to Juyin. I say this, because she prior had two elder brothers, whom both were now deceased; one had expired due to some mysterious ailment and the other because of some freak accident shortly thereafter. 

Aside from the rule of law, she was too well liked and astutely cared for, so Davos could not as easily dispose of her. He did not like many things—but securing the throne was his top priority.  Now, however, Uncle Davos thought there might be a chance for him to effectively navigate his evil intent—because he knew that he could utilize the old, prejudiced beliefs about dragons, for his own benefit.  He’d noted the dragon’s instant infatuation with the princess; furthermore, he also knew that dragons were pure and gullible, if one knew how to deceive them, and that he did.  For the time being, he had said nothing, but he exchanged a meaningful glance with the dragon, before everyone went home for tea. Now, no one had seen the meaningful glance, except Stevor.

10- DAVOS

Stevor went home and told Fido all about it. The intelligent little creature listened carefully, and then climbed from Stevor's knee to the table, on which stood an ornamental calendar that the Princess had given Stevor for a Christmas present. With its tiny paw, he pointed out a date—the fifteenth of August, the Princess's birthday, and looked anxiously at its master.

"What is it, Fido—good little puppy—then?" said Stevor, and the sagacious animal repeated its former gesture. Then Stevor understood.

11- FIDO  WARNS

"Oh, something is going to happen on her birthday; all right. I'll be on the lookout for it." And he was.

Meanwhile, at first the citizens of Avarkan were quite pleased with the dragon, who’d stayed by the pillar and fed himself from the bun trees, but by-and-by he began to wander. He would creep into the burrows made by the excursionists, sporting on the downs, would see his long, tight, whiplike tail wriggling down a burrow and out of sight, and before they had time to say, "There he goes," his head would come poking out from another tunnel,-hole—perhaps just behind them—or laugh softly to itself just in their ears. And the dragon's laugh was a strange one. This sort of hide-and-seek amused people at first, but by-and-by it began to get on their nerves: and if you don't know what that means, ask Mother to tell you next time you are playing blind man's buff when she has a headache. Then the dragon got into the habit of cracking his tail, as people crack whips, and this also got on people's nerves. Then, too, some of the livestock such as sheep, pigs, or poultry, a chicken here, rooster there (including other sorts of fowl) began to be missed. For he needed real sustenance which the buns lacked.  The nourishment was a necessity for his recovery and for building his strength so he could take flight and return home. The things that went missing were nothing much at first—but it still made people feel uncomfortable. Then one day a favorite rabbit of the Princess's, called Sedrick, mysteriously disappeared, and subsequently her pony was nowhere to be seen. Then came a terrible morning when Fido had gone missing.

Fido was allowed to freely roam, moreover, he had frequently barked ever since the dragon came to the island, and for such a little puppy, he had a real loud bark. People had grown quite accustomed to the noise emanating from here (near) and yonder (far); so, when his barking suddenly ceased and was absent for a long duration, it gave cause for worry to many people, especially Stevor. Unfortunately, after an intensive search, Fido was deemed permanently gone; but I’ll let you in on a secret, the culprit was other than what you might expect.  

Now, would Longze the dragon be that heartless to eat such a small thing? If they thought long and hard, they would have arrived at a different conclusion. As it were, many of the mysterious disappearances could be attributed to one other probable person... But for now, to prolong the suspense, we won’t reveal precisely who that could be.

A boy was sent to wake the army, so that they could affect a more detailed, wide birth search for the latest missing bunch. But the army was gone too! And now the people became more terrified.

12 MONARCH DAVOS GIVES A SPEACH

Monarch Davos, seizing this chance, came out onto the terrace of the palace, and he made the people a speech. He said: "Friends—fellow citizens—I cannot disguise from myself or from you that this dragon we’ve welcomed into our midst, is a terrible menace, a voracious (insatiable, ravenous) beast, as it was foretold by the ancients. This, I’ve read it in the stars…he would be portended (presaged, foretold) ruin of Avarkan, if not appeased and then rid off."

If you haven’t guessed it already, Davos was the real culprit behind these mass disappearances; the dragon Longze had been very good and only took bare minimum sustenance; however, he still got the full blame.

The people thought of the dragon's tail and said, "Hear, hear."

Davos went on: "Something has happened to a gentle and defenseless member of our community. We don't know what has happened."

Everyone thought of the rabbit named Sedrick and groaned.

"The defenses of our country have been swallowed up," said Davos. For literally, it had happened. Devos had ceased this opportunity to rid himself of the opposing generals and portion of the army that had staunch (unwavering) loyalty to the old regime and therefore, posed certain future difficulties.  Two days prior, he had issued orders, launching a secret campaign, supposedly against an offending Dragon, to defend the perimeter of the northern sector, whereas in fact, with his magic, he’d set up traps, quicksand, that had swallowed, the entire dispatched force.

Oblivious crowd, meanwhile, shook their heads, some pointing the finger of blame on the dragon, while (grieving) many mourned the loss of the army.

"There is only one single solution to all this, only one thing to be done!" Davos’s voice swelling (in crescendo, building up), ejected next. "Could we ever forgive ourselves if by neglecting a simple precaution we lost more rabbits, more men—or even, perhaps, our navy, our constables, and our fire brigade? For I warn you that the dragon will respect nothing, especially when he’s fully grown."

 

 

(END OF PART 1)

 

(STAY TUNED FOR PART 2 - THE CONCLUSION)

 

 THE FIERY DRAGON - THE HEART OF STONE AND THE HEART OF GOLD (Revised by BoSt 2025)

 

The adorable little Princess residing (since baby) in a high tower, always woke in her little white bed at crack of dawn when the starlings began to chatter in the pearl-gray morning. As soon as the (forest) woods were awake, she would excitedly throw off the warm quilt and sit upright,  and then (not bothering to don her slippers) with her little bare feet treading on the cold flagstones, she would run up the twisting turret-stairs; beaming in face she would stand on the top of the tower in her white bed-gown then, after an intake of a deep breath, she would kiss her hands to the sun. Subsequently, in her sweet melodious tone, she would greet the woods, the sleeping town below (whom she’d never ventured to) and the fresh new day: "Good morning world, I with joyful, grateful heart, greet you all!"

Next, she would run down the cold stone steps and dress herself in her short skirt and her cap and apron and begin the day's work. She would tidy-up, sweep the rooms spotlessly clean, and then hasten to make breakfast (from available rations) for two, for herself and for her Nurse; afterwards, she would wash the dishes and scour the pans, then with the mourning chores done, she would sit by her old faithful nurse (for of all who should have served her, only one remained faithful ) and listen in rapt attention to her reminiscences of the past, the golden era when her parents were still alive, and she was just a baby. This world she had never truly known, a wonderous world of bygone era, nevertheless, with her fertile imagination, still thrilled and palpitated her heart with special warmth.

Her old nurse, bound by loyalty of the heart, had willingly endured this solitary existence, where both had been virtually held captive in the tower, to present time. And now that the nurse was in her advanced years and rather feeble and had gray streaks adorned most of her hair, the princess had taken on all the responsibilities of menial housework and necessary chores, completing them without grievance and with a smile, while the Nurse sat still and did the sewing, because this was a real Princess with skin like milk and hair like flax and a heart like gold.

The little princess Sabrinetta’s grandmother Sabra had married to St. George, a legendary figure, who had rid the country of the terrible, fierce dragon that had once terrorized the people and beasts. He had ruled the land wisely for many years after that. The country should have by rights, through her(royal) lineage, belonged to Sabrinetta: the woods that stretched away to the mountains, the downs that sloped down to the sea, the pretty fields of corn and maize and rye, the olive orchards and the vineyards, and the little town itself—with its towers and its turrets, its steep roofs and strange windows—that nestled in the hollow between the sea, where the whirlpool was, and the mountains, white with snow and rosy with sunrise.

But when Sabrinetta’s Royal father and mother had died quite unexpectedly because of a hunting accident and left her ambitious cousin to take care of the kingdom, at least, till she grew up he, being ambitious and evil, took everything away from her, and all the courtiers (ministers and imp. People) followed him, and now nothing was left to her, save for the great dragon proof tower that her grandfather, St. George, had built during his reign. And of all who should have been her servants only the good nurse remained by her side. This arrangement of her confinement suited him fine, so he let it be.

As she resided in this tall tower, this was why Sabrinetta was the first person in all the land to get a glimpse of the wonder. This morning again rising at first daylight, while all the majority townspeople were fast asleep, she ran up the turret-steps and looked out over the field, and at the other side of the field there was a green, ferny ditch and a rose-thorny hedge, and then came the wood. And as Sabrinetta stood on her tower she saw a shaking and a twisting of the rose-thorny hedge, and then something very bright and shining wriggled out through it into the ferny ditch and back again. It only came out for a minute, but she saw it quite plainly, and she said to herself: "Dear me, what a curious, shiny, bright-looking creature! If it were bigger, and if I didn't know that there have been no fabulous monsters for quite a long time now, I should almost think it was a dragon."

The thing, whatever it was, did look rather like a dragon—but then it was too small; and it looked rather like a lizard—only then it was too big. It was about as long as a hearthrug.

"I wish it had not been in such a hurry to get back into the wood," said Sabrinetta. "Of course, it's quite safe for me, in my dragon proof tower; but if it is a dragon, it's quite big enough to eat people, and today's the first of May, and the children go out to pick flowers in the wood."

When Sabrinetta had done the housework (she did not leave so much as a speck of dust anywhere, even in the farthest corner of the winding stair) she put on her milk white, silky gown with the moon-daisies worked on it and went up to the top of her tower again.

Across the fields troops of children were going out to gather the may (whitethorn, English hawthorn), and the sound of their laughter and singing came up to the top of the tower.

02- CHILDREN GATHERING FLOWERS IN A FIELD JP

"I do hope it wasn't a dragon," said Sabrinetta, recalling all the terrible tales the Nurse had enumerated (tallied) one stormy night, when they had little else to do, about the of dragon’s horrible temper, his wrath, the time the dragon’s peace had been disturbed.

The children went by twos and by threes and by tens and by twenties, and the red and blue and yellow and white of their frocks were scattered on the green of the field.

"It's like a green silk mantle worked with flowers," exclaimed the Princess, marvelling at nature’s exquisite tapestry and smiled.

Then by twos and by threes, by tens and by twenties, the children vanished into the wood, till the mantle of the field was left plain green once more.

"Most of the embroidery is unpicked," said the Princess, sighing. The sun shone, and the sky was blue, and the fields were quite green, the few remaining clusters of flowers at the edges of the field were very bright indeed, because it was May Day.

Then quite suddenly a cloud passed over the sun, and the silence was broken by shrieks from far off; and, like a many-colored torrent, all the children burst from the woods (forest) and rushed, a red and blue and yellow and white wave, across the field, screaming as they ran. Their voices came up to the Princess on her tower, and she heard the words threaded on their screams like beads on sharp needles: "The dragon, the dragon, the dragon! Open the gates! The dragon is coming! The fiery dragon!"

And they swept across the field and into the gate of the town, and the Princess heard the gate bang, and the children were out of sight—but on the other side of the field the rose-thorns crackled and smashed in the hedge, and something very large and glaring and horrible trampled the ferns in the ditch for one moment before it hid itself again in the covert of the wood.

The Princess went down and told her nurse, but the nurse, instead, at once locked the great door of the tower and put the key in her pocket.

"Let them take care of themselves," she said, when the Princess begged to be allowed to go outside and assist the children to safety. "My business is to take care of you, my precious, and I'm going to do it. Old as I am, I can turn a key still."

So Sabrinetta went up again to the top of her tower and there with a burdened (worried) heart shed some tears, as well, prayed that the children, despite the seeming danger, got to their home in safety. For she knew, of course, that the gates of the town were not dragon proof, and that the dragon could just walk in whenever he liked. In her heart of hearts, she hoped that the dragon would not be too angry and instead, be more tolerant of the disturbance, as children were naturally rambunctious.

The children, meanwhile, had first ran straight to the palace, where the prince (the reigning King) was cracking his hunting whip down at the kennels, and told him what had happened.

03- CHILDREN ARE FRIGHTENED BY DRAGON

"Good sport," said the prince, and he ordered out his pack of hippopotamuses at once. It was his custom to hunt big game with hippopotamuses, and people would not have minded that so much—but he would swagger about in the streets of the town with his pack yelping and gamboling at his heels, and when he did that, the green-grocer, who had his stall in the marketplace, always regretted it; and the crockery merchant, who spread his wares on the pavement, was ruined for life every time the Prince chose to show off his pack.

The prince rode out of the town with his hippopotamuses trotting and frisking behind him, and people got inside their houses as quickly as they could when they heard the voices of his pack and the blowing of his horn. The pack squeezed through the town gates and off across country to hunt the dragon. Few of you who had not seen a pack of hippopotamuses in full cry will be able to imagine at all what the hunt was like. To begin with, hippopotamuses do not bay like hounds: They grunt like pigs, and their grunt is very big and fierce. Then, of course, no one expects hippopotamuses to jump. They just crash through the hedges and lumber through the standing corn, doing serious injury to the crops, and annoying the farmers very much. All the hippopotamuses had collars with their name and address on, but when the farmers called at the palace to complain of the injury to their standing crops, the prince always said it served them right for leaving their crops standing about in people's way, and he never paid anything at all.

04- EVIL PRINCE WITH HIPOPOTAMUS - JP

So now, when he and his pack went out, several people in the town whispered, "I wish the dragon would eat him"—which was very wrong of them, no doubt, but then he was such a very nasty Prince.

They hunted through the field and hunted through the forest; but the pack drew blank; this dragon, contrary to belief, was not innately nasty (confrontational), and even though they had evaded his space, had elected not to show himself.

But just as the prince was beginning to think there was no dragon at all, but only a cock and bull story, his favourite old hippopotamus gave tongue. The prince blew his horn and shouted: "Tally ho! Hark forward! Tantivy!" and the whole pack charged downhill toward the hollow by the wood, prince thinking only of future fame and glory, to annihilate the dragon and destroy his refuge. Forced into defending mode, the Dragon confronted them; however, he did so in manifest form as big as a barge, glowing like a furnace, and spitting fire and showing razor sharp teeth.

05- FIERCE, FIRE BREATHING DRAGON- JP

"The hunt is up!" the prince, drunk with power, bellowed his order. “Charge! “And they all surged (rushed) forward.

Meanwhile, the brave young dragon—instead of behaving as a sensible quarry (target, game) should and running away—ran straight at the pack and the prince perched on his elephant. The prince was mortified now, shocked, seeing his prize pack swallowed up one by one in the twinkling of an eye, by the dragon they had come out to hunt. The dragon’s fury unleashed, he’d swallowed all the unsavory hippopotamuses, just as a dog swallow’s bits of meat. It was a shocking sight. Of the whole of the pack that had come out sporting so merrily to the music of the horn, now not even a puppy-hippopotamus was left, and the dragon was looking anxiously around to see if he’d missed anything. And true enough, he had! 

The real culprit, the once arrogant prince thinking only of his salvation, had in fact slipped off his elephant on the other side, and cowardly ran into the thickest part of the wood. He hoped the dragon could not break through the bushes there, since they were very strong and close. He went crawling on his hands and knees in a most un-Prince-like way, and at last, finding a hollow tree, he crept into it. The woods were soon very still—no crashing of branches and no smell of burning came to alarm the prince. He drained the contents of silver hunting bottle slung from his shoulder and stretched his legs in the hollow tree. He never shed a single tear for his poor tame hippopotamuses who had eaten from his hand and followed him faithfully in all the pleasures of the chase for so many years. For he was a false Prince, with a skin like leather and hair like hearth brushes and a heart like a stone. He never shed a tear, but he just went to sleep.

When he awoke it was dark. He crept out of the tree and rubbed his eyes. The wood was black about him, but there was a red glow in a dell close by. It was a fire of sticks, and beside it sat a ragged youth with long, yellow hair; all around lay sleeping forms which breathed heavily.

"Who are you?" said the prince.

"I'm Elfin, the pig keeper," said the ragged youth. "And who are you?"

"I'm Tiresome, the Prince, your Sovereign." declared the other in an arrogant tone. “You should bow your head to me.”

Elfin nodded slightly, obliging the haughty prince. "And what reason takes you out of your safe palace, your Grace, at this time of night?" then asked the pig keeper, deferentially.

"I've been hunting," said the prince.

The pig keeper laughed. "Oh, it was you I saw, then? A good hunt, wasn't it? My pigs and I were looking on."

All the sleeping forms grunted and snored, and the prince saw that they were pigs: He knew it by their manners.

"If you had known as much as I do," Elfin went on, "you might have saved your pack."

"What do you mean?" asked Tiresome curiously, forgetting his ready scoff (deride).

"Why, the dragon," said Elfin. "You went out at the wrong time of day. The dragon should be hunted at night."

"And I imagined that you were going to say something intelligent." said the prince, mockingly. “Dragons are not nocturnal and besides, a daylight hunt is quite good enough for me, you silly pig keeper."

"Oh, well," said Elfin and shrugged. "Do as you please, Your Grace; however, I feel that I should warn you, that the dragon will surely come and hunt you tomorrow, as likely as not. You have after all, trespassed on his domain, which incidentally he’d quietly existed all this time, without giving anyone least cause for fear or harm. You have disrespected him and caused him to be violent, for that ruin (violation, harm), he will carry a lasting grudge against you."

"You're spouting nonsense," said Tiresome. “Dragons are abomination; they are to be hunted down and terminated (eliminated) without hesitation. Furthermore, you a pig keeper, how dare you try sermon (lecture, admonish) your betters! I should have your head for this breach (infraction), this outrage! “

"I am only being truthful; but my counsel falls on deaf ears." said Elfin shrugging, more to himself. He’d with admirable control, had stopped his tongue from uttering, ‘daft’ (silly, stupid) ears.

06- HANDSOME BOY ELFIN  WITH PIGS

"Well, tell me the truth, then. What is it that, if I had known as much as you do about, I shouldn't have lost my hippopotamuses?"

"You don't speak very good English," said Elfin. "But come, what will you give me if I tell you?"

"If you tell me what?" said the tiresome Prince.

"What you want to know."

"I don't want to know anything," said Prince Tiresome.

Elfin stifled a laugh, “Then you're more eccentric,” He said, instead of the word, ‘daft’, “even than I thought." again, with admirable constraint. "Don't you want to know how to settle the score with the dragon before he settles with you? But first, you must promise that he will just be contained, not destroyed."

" It might be as well; also, another treasure to keep. Oh well, why not.”  The prince somberly, outwardly acquiesced; inwardly meanwhile, he gloated. “Hah, I will have more time to think of ways to torment the captive dragon”

“Well, what are you waiting for, do tell.”

" All right, I will impart the knowledge, as I need some sleep tonight." Elfin reluctantly nodded, not entirely trusting the prince." However, this ancient knowledge, whom I was lucky to be privy to, should not be given freely; hence, what will you give me for it?"

"Half my kingdom," said the prince, "and my cousin's hand in marriage."

"Done," said the pig keeper. "Here goes! The celestial dragon grows small at night! That’s when he is most vulnerable. He sleeps under the root of this tree. He is not aggressive; in fact, when asked politely, he will even oblige one with a spark of light for a campfire. “This said, Elfin fell silent and looked away, thinking of a time in the dead of night, when once he was in dire straits and the dragon had saved his life, with that life giving fire. He hoped, he was not, by his action now, being ungrateful wretch.

“Take me there now; I want to see this for myself.” The prince ordered. And, sure enough, there under the tree was the dragon on a nest of scorched moss, and he was about as long as your finger.

"How can I capture, I mean, contain him?" asked the prince eagerly.

"I suppose there is one sure way," said Elfin, " you can take him away if you've brought anything to put him in. That bottle of yours would do."

So, between them they managed, with bits of stick and by singeing their fingers a little, to poke and shove the dragon till they made it creep into the silver hunting bottle, and then the prince screwed on the top tight.

"Now we've got him," said Elfin. "Remember your promise! You are not to hurt him any. Gently take him home and put Solomon's seal on the mouth of the bottle, and then he'll be contained and be safe enough for you. Later tonight, after I had some shuteye, I shall call on the palace to reclaim my reward. At least this way, I shall have some money (means) with which to buy fine attire and so, be presentable when I meet the princess."

“Sure, you will… In a pig’s eye!” Prince inwardly sneered, looking away to hide his contempt. True enough, the wicked Prince had made promises he had no intention of ever keeping. Returning to the palace, darkness still blanketing the earth that night, the prince summoned the Prime Minister secretly, at once, to his private chambers.

The Prime Minister was urgently awakened from deep sleep, still groggy, he hastily dressed in his garbs and rushed compliantly to the prince’s private chambers. He was briefly informed of the facts, told of the dragon’s capture, then set to task of finishing the job.

Subsequently, the P.M. had obligingly, solemnly put Solomon's seal on the mouth of the bottle, and the bottle was then carried off to be put in the Treasury, which was the impenetrable, strongest building in the palace. For it was made of solid copper, with walls as thick as Waterloo Bridge.                     

                                                                                         ~

Later still that night, Elfin had innocently shown up but was barred entry to the palace by the rude, hostile armed guards. "Go on, be off with you! What do you mean?" They bellowed at him. “You have the goal to show your face here at this ungodly hour and demand to see the prince; just who do you think you are!”

The prince did not even deign to deny or give excuses when two of the guards came forth to report Elfin’s claim, as well, give reasons for the sure ruckus (disturbance) created at the town’s main gate.

"I alone found and captured the dragon. Imagine, a nobody like him having the audacity to spread such lies, such vicious, disrespectful claims.” The prince indignantly complained to his two trusted ministers that happened to be by his side at the time.”  However, as I am benevolent and merciful ruler, otherwise, I would surely claim his head for this bold, brazen audacity…” Then turning to the guards, he ordered: “Clearly, he is insane, so just drive him away, and if he dared to show his face at the gate again, tell him he will be executed on the spot."

"All right," said Elfin, shrugging his shoulders. "I'm better off than he is, anyhow."

"What do you mean?" one of the guards scowled (glowered) at him incredulously.

"Prince has got a kingdom (and a dragon), but I've got clean hands (and five and seventy fine black pigs)." His reaction was duly reported to the prince, who sneered (jeered, scoffed), but outwardly said nothing.

In small hours, few hours before daybreak, not the usual time at noon, at the assembled court, his Parliament, the Prince with some flare and elaboration recounted to his captive, sleepy audience, how clever and brave he had been in finding the fierce dragon and imprisoning it, even though it had cost him his entire hunting party and his longtime pet hippopotamuses and the riding elephants.

Noting his lack of remorse (sorrow), some ministers suspected the prince (their present Sovereign), of duplicity (deceit, lying), however, none dared to voice this; instead, they in unison said: "You are indeed brave and clever, your Majesty." For they knew what happened to people with whom the prince was not pleased.

08- PRIME MINISTER PLACES THE IMPRISONED DRAGON IN BOTTLE, IN TREASURY

Back at the Treasury, the bottle had been securely placed (stored) among the sacks of gold, and the junior secretary to the junior clerk of the last Lord of the Treasury had been duly appointed to sit up rest of the night with it and see if anything happened. The junior secretary had never seen a dragon, and what was more, he did not believe the prince had ever seen a dragon either. The prince had never been a truthful boy, and it would have been just like him to bring home a bottle with nothing in it and then to pretend that there was a dragon inside. So, the junior secretary did not at all minded being left to guard it. They had entrusted him the key, and when everyone in the palace had gone back to bed, he (smuggled in) let in some of the junior secretaries from other Government departments, and together they had a jolly game of hide-and-seek among the sacks of gold and played marbles with the diamonds and rubies and pearls in the big ivory chests. In this care-free manner they had enjoyed themselves very much, but by-and-by the copper treasury began to get warmer, and suddenly the junior secretary cried out, "Look at the bottle!"

All heads turned to look where’d he pointed, and they saw the bottle sealed with Solomon's seal had swollen to three times its proper size and seemed to be pulsating, and furthermore, was blazing red hot. The air, same time had gotten intolerably warmer as the bottle  grew bigger and bigger, till all the junior secretaries agreed that the place was too hot to hold them, and out they went, tumbling over each other in their haste, and just as the last got out and locked the door the bottle burst, and out came the dragon, very fiery, and swelling more and more every minute, and he began to eat the sacks of gold and crunch up the pearls and diamonds and rubies as if they were sugar.

By breakfast-time he had devoured the whole of the prince’s treasures, and when the prince came along, his feet nearing the treasury building, around the bend, he came face to face with the dragon coming out of the broken door of the Treasury, with molten gold still dripping from his jaws.

09- DRAGON HAS EATEN HIS FILL OF THE TREASURY GOLD

The terror-struck  Prince hastily turned and ran for his life, and as he ran, naturally towards the only safe place, the dragon proof tower, the Princess who had awoken early, happened to see him coming, and she ran down at once and quickly unlocked the door to let him in. She had slammed the dragon proof door in a nick of time, right in the fiery face of the dragon, who, instead of being furious, quietly sat down at outside and morosely (sullenly, grumpily petulantly) grumbled, because he really wanted to get back at the despicable Prince.

The Princess, unaware of the committed wrongdoing, ushered Prince Tiresome into the best room, and laid the cloth, and gave him cream and eggs and white grapes and honey and bread, with many other things, yellow and white and good to eat, and she served him just as kindly as she would have done if he had been anyone else instead of the bad Prince who had taken away her kingdom and kept it for himself—because she was a true Princess and had a heart of gold.

When he had eaten and drunk, he asked the Princess to show him how to lock and unlock the main door to the tower. The nurse was asleep, so there was no one to tell the Princess not to, and she did.

"You turn the key like this," she said, "and the door keeps shut. But turn it nine times around the wrong way, and the door flies open."

And so, it did. And the moment it opened, the prince showed (pushed) the Princess out of the main door and cast her outside of her safe abode, just as he had pushed her out of her kingdom, then quickly, heartlessly bolted the door behind her. For he wanted to have the tower all for himself. And there she was, left stranded (forsaken, left )and vulnerable in an open street, and across (on the other side of the way) the assumed, fierce dragon which happened to be sitting, presently, intently  gazing at her. Other than this, however, he did not stir, nor try to eat her; for beknows (unknown) to all citizens, celestial dragons could not do harm or eat innocent Princesses with hearts of gold.

As the dragon initiated no hostile action towards her, the Princess’s fears were allayed (dispelled); however, knowing it would be most improper of her to walk through the streets of the town in her milky-silky gown with the daisies on it, and with no hat and no gloves, she naturally turned the other way, intending to ran out across the meadows, toward the woods.

As it were, she had never been out of her tower before, so, stopping briefly at the perimeter of the fields, she had first bent down and swiftly removed her silk slippers; subsequently, her bare feet had tread (glided) over the plush soft grass, like silk-grass of Paradise it was, an experience  she most immensely enjoyed.

She, without thought, had simply ran right into the thickest part of the dense forest; perhaps, it was to fulfill her yearning secret desire for any adventure; or perhaps it was fate, leading her steps towards what she was meant to go.  And lo and behold, there in a dell she suddenly came upon Elfin and his five and seventy fine pigs. He was idly sitting by, playing his flute, and around him the pigs were dancing cheerfully on their hind legs.

"Oh, dear me," said the Princess rushing towards her perceived rescuer, "please do take care of me. I am so lost and ever so frightened."

"I will," said Elfin, putting his arms around her. "Now you are quite safe. What were you frightened of?"

"The dragon of course," she, with a slight quaking (trembling) in her voice, responded. “The Celestial being may still change his mind and come after me!”

"So, it's gotten out of the bottle," said Elfin. "I hope it's eaten the notorious prince."

"No," said Sabrinetta. "But why would you say that?"

Elfin then briefly told her of the mean trick that the prince had played on him.

"And he promised me half his kingdom and the hand of his cousin the Princess," said Elfin.

"Oh, dear, how brashly inappropriate, the ruling prince can be!" said Sabrinetta with her face flushed crimson, she then strove to gently get out of Elfin’s protective embrace. "How dare he make promises he had no business doing? Doesn’t she get a say in this?"

"What's the matter?" Elfin asked, holding on to her still tighter, reluctant to let her go. "It was of course inappropriate, a shame, or at least I thought so. But now he may keep his kingdom, half and whole, if I may just keep what I have."

"What's that?" in a nervous, shy voice asked the Princess.

"Why, you—my beautiful fairy." said Elfin coyly, noting her flushed face just then, and unable to resist his harmless teasing of her. “And as for the Princess, his cousin—forgive me, dearest heart, but when I asked for her, I hadn't seen the real Princess, which my eyes now behold, and the only one I will ever love, till the end of my existence."

"Are you in earnest with your declaration of ….?" Sabrinetta blushed crimson.

"Of course?" he asked.

"Yes, but five minutes ago you hadn't seen me!"

"Five minutes ago, I was a pig keeper—now I've held you in my arms I'm a Prince, though I should have to keep tending pigs to the end of my days."

"You proclaim that I’ve captivated your heart and that you’ve chosen me; but aren’t you also being brazenly presumptions akin (similar, like) the prince, in deciding my fate?" said the pouting, Princess.

"You asked me to take care of you," said Elfin, feigning being cross, "and I will—all my life long."

Sabrinetta regretting hurting his feelings, moreover, she could not dispute his sound reasoning, nor did she want to, and for the first time taking a long hard look at his features, she noted the genuine sincerity in his eyes, and something more, a hint of vulnerability, also, how captivatingly handsome he truly was.

Sharing the certain kinship of the heart, they sat close but not touching, and then they began to talk of important things, such as the dragon and the prince, and all the time Elfin did not know that this was the Princess. Listening to her concerns however, about the dragon, and the welfare of the common folk, he knew that she had a heart of gold, and in his heart the spark of attraction, perhaps it was true affection, which had ignited into a flame, growing by degrees, till it made him rather uncomfortable, and he rose, to supposedly go check on his pigs.

He returned to her side more composed, "The mistake," then said Elfin, "was in not having a dragon proof bottle. I see that now. I could have long ago, utilizing such, to gently relocate the unfortunate dragon to a safer place. I owed him that much."

"I’m glad you feel the same way as I do and do not blame the dragon for his innate nature, for which he is now unfortunately more feared and hated, more so after the terrible destruction and the burdensome the costs he’d incurred by his decimating the treasury, this on top of the losses of the hunting group, though in every instance he was the victim of his circumstances?" said the Princess.

"Nevertheless, we can try mending some of the harm; I can easily get you one of those flagons (bottles, flasks)—because everything in my tower is dragon proof. We can contain the dragon and transport (deliver) him to safety, and in doing so, prevent any inadvertent (accidental) future harm to any meek and vulnerable beings or creatures (animals)." For she still believed what she had been told all her life, that dragons when hungry fed indiscriminately, whether it be any kind of wild animal, herd (sheep, pack, flock, steer) or the little children.

So, at dawn subsequent morning, she quietly rose and headed towards the town, (started off) to acquire such a bottle; and when he awoke with a start sensing her absence and rushed after her, catching up with her in no time, she still adamantly refused to let Elfin accompany her to town.

"If what you say is true," she stressed, "if you are sure that I have a heart of gold, the dragon won't hurt me, and somebody must stay with the pigs."

Elfin was quite sure (of her golden heart), so he let her go.

She found the door of her tower wide open. The dragon had patiently waited all day long for the prince, and the moment he opened the door thinking he was safe and came out—though he was only out for an instant to post a letter to his Prime Minister saying where he was and asking them to send the fire brigade to deal with the fiery dragon—the dragon ate him. Then the dragon after that had quietly retreated back to the wood, for rest and solitude after the unusually hectic, perhaps exuberant day. Furthermore, having just escaped a near disaster, he did not wish to be found in town when the night fell, and then in his small form be rendered vulnerable and fall prey (a sure target, a victim) to the evil designs of any conniving and powerful men.

Sabrinetta quickly entered the tower and went straight to check in on her nurse; she lovingly caressed her hand and planted a soft kiss in the palm to gently awaken her. By the time the nurse had completed (finished) washing up, Sabrinetta had returned, this time holding a tray of steaming cup of tea and some hot breakfast pastries and sliced fruit tidbits the nurse usually partook every morning.  She set quietly by her side and patiently watched and waited till the nurse completed her routine breakfast; then in a calm, composed manner, explained what had transpired during the night while the nurse had slept, and her careful plans for the future to assure security and well being (welfare) of all. She assured the nurse that since she had a heart of gold, the dragon hadn’t harmed her and would never eat her; the nurse noted that the Princess was quite safe and so, kissed her on the cheek and with prayers on her lips, simply let her go.

Sabrinetta without delay secured the small dragon proof bottle made of burnished brass in her pocket and ran back to the woods and to the dell, finding Elfin sitting among his sleek black pigs, impatiently and with obvious trepidation, waiting for her return.

11- ELFIN  THOUGHT HE'D NEVER SEE HER AGAIN

"I thought you were never coming back," he said as he rushed forward with his extended arms wide open to at once fiercely embrace her. "You have been away for so long, a year, at least."

“Silly boy, “The Princess smiling chided, as her affectionate (loving) gaze held his for a moment or two. She sat down beside him among the pigs, and they held each other's hands, talking till darkness encroached on them. They went then to find the dragon, trailing the scorched ground, each bent, charred blade of grass or branch or moss, followed key identifiable marks carelessly left by the dragon as it had crawled, getting smaller by degrees, till he had reached his favorite place, he then exhausted, had simply curled up under the root of the tree and instantly fallen asleep.

"Now then," said Elfin, "you hold the bottle." Then he poked and prodded the dragon with bits of stick till it crawled into the dragon proof bottle. But there was no stopper. In her haste, she’d neglected to obtain one.

"Never mind," said Elfin. "I'll put my finger in for a stopper."

"No, let me," said the Princess. But of course, Elfin would not let her. He stuffed his finger into the top of the bottle, and the Princess cried out: "The sea—the sea—run for the cliffs!" And off they went, with the five and seventy pigs trotting steadily after them in a long black procession.

The bottle got hotter and hotter in Elfin's hands, because the dragon inside was puffing fire and smoke with all his might—hotter and hotter and hotter—but Elfin held on till they came to the cliff edge, and there was the dark blue sea, and the whirlpool going around and around.

Elfin lifted the bottle high above his head and hurled it out between the stars and the sea, and it fell in the middle of the whirlpool.

11B- DRAGON TRANSFORMS IN THE WHIRLPOOL

The dragon being a celestial being, naturally did not expire; Heaven taking pity on him, transformed the dragon into another form, which he could then, in his new form, shot upwards, to permanently disappear in the clouds.

"The dragon is free now, free to live his life in Heavens, “rejoiced the princess. “You've saved the dragon, all the earthly creatures, all the little children!” But then suddenly noting the (flicker) spasm of pain, which he could not hide, registering in his face, her heart now palpitating with dread, she urgently asked: “Show me your hands."

"I can't," said Elfin, his eyes pricked with tears. “I don’t want to frighten you; but regretfully, I shall never as before, be able to hold your dear hands again. My hands are badly scorched and scarred."

“What?” She screamed and reached for his hands, and sadly, she saw how charred and badly marred his hands were.

The Princess gingerly (cautiously) placed her hands underneath his, if only for support and, despite his stoic words and assurances, her heart in tatters, she could not help but shed copious (profuse) inconsolable tears. Then getting a grip on her senses, she tore pieces of her silky-milky gown to gently cover the worst parts, for no herbal medicine, no poultice of any kind would hell the dragon breath burns. And the two, walking side by side, shoulders barely touching, went back to the tower and told the nurse of all that had happened. And the pigs hearing this, sat outside and mournfully shed tears.

"He is the bravest man in the world," with a heavy heart, whimpered Sabrinetta. "With his heroic deed, he has saved everyone at a terrible cost to him. Why is fate so cruel to allow this? Now, his beautiful hands are scorched, marred forever—My poor, dear, darling, how can I make things better for you!"

Just then, the door of the room was pushed open ajar, and the oldest of the five and seventy pigs came in. It went up to Elfin and rubbed itself against him with little loving grunts.

"See the dear creature," said the nurse, wiping away a tear. "It knows, it knows!"

Sabrinetta stroked the pig, because Elfin’s hands were too painful for stroking or for anything else.

"The only cure for a dragon burn," said the old nurse, "is pig's fat, and well that faithful creature knows it——"

"I wouldn't for a kingdom," cried Elfin, stroking the pig as best he could with his elbow.

"Is there no other cure?" asked the Princess.

Here another pig put its black nose in at the door, and then another and another, till the room was full of pigs, a surging mass of rounded blackness, pushing and struggling to get at Elfin, and grunting softly in the language of true affection.

"There is one other," said the nurse. "The dear, affectionate beasts—they all want to die for you."

"What is the other cure?" said Sabrinetta anxiously.

"If a man is burnt by a dragon," said the nurse, "and a certain number of people are willing to die for him, it is enough if each should kiss the burn and wish it well in the depths of his loving heart."

"The number! The number!" cried Sabrinetta.

"Seventy-seven," said the nurse.

"We have only seventy-five pigs," said the Princess, "and with me that's seventy-six!"

"It must be seventy-seven—and I really can't die for him, so nothing can be done," said the nurse, sadly. "He must have cork hands."

"I knew about the seventy-seven loving people," said Elfin. "But I never thought my dear pigs loved me so much as all this, and my dear too—and, of course, that only makes it more impossible. There's one other charm that cures dragon burns, though; but I'd rather endure life without the use of my hands or be burnt black all over, than marry anyone but you, my dear, my pretty."

"Why, who must you marry to cure your dragon burns?" asked Sabrinetta.

"A Princess. That's how St. George cured his burns."

"There now! Think of that!" aghast, said the nurse. "And I never heard tell of that cure, old as I am."

12- HAPPINESS AT LAST

But Sabrinetta threw her arms round Elfin's neck and held him as though she would never let him go.

"Then it's all right, my dear, brave, precious Elfin," she cried, "for I am a Princess, and you shall be my Prince. Come along, Nurse—don't wait to put on your bonnet. We'll go and be married at the basilica (cathedral, church), this very moment."

So they went, and the pigs came after, moving in stately blackness, two by two. And, the minute he was married to the Princess, Elfin's hands miraculously got repaired. And the people, who were weary of Prince Tiresome and his hippopotamuses, hailed Sabrinetta and her husband as rightful Sovereigns of the land.

Next morning the Prince and Princess along with key religious affiliates, went out to the cliff top by the seashore and after the solemn ceremony, all eyes looking up, loudly apologized to the Celestial dragon, for all the past prejudices, misdeeds and sins of men, still a good lesson had been learned, one they will never forget. Afterwards they expressed their hopeful desire that the dragon will be happy and at peace at long last and living joyful existence among his own kind in Heaven.  For surely, they knew, where he must be.

They could see nothing, not a trace of the celestial dragon; but when they looked out toward the whirlpool, they saw a remanent cloud of steam descending from the clouds to join the whirlpool. The dragon was so moved, he pardoned the humanity for their past transgressions; furthermore, he conveyed (imparted) on that region, one final gift. The local fishermen reported later on that the water there for miles around was hot enough to shave with! And as the water is hot and maintained its therapeutic benefits to present day, along the shoreline sprung up countless hostels (inns and clinics) that prospered, treating and curing all manner of impossible ailments. Meanwhile, citizens of the region remained permanently grateful to the benevolent dragon that had once existed, though reticently (guardedly, evasively), among them.

*⁠*⁠*⁠*⁠*

The Prince and Princess since their happy union, ruled the land well and wisely. The nurse lived with them, and did nothing but fine sewing and narrate stories, chiefly about the benevolent dragon, delighting in the eager, wide-eyed children’s faces as they listened to her accounts, with such innocent, rapt attention. The prince kept no hippopotamuses, and consequently, remained very popular. The five and seventy devoted pigs lived in white marble sties with brass knockers and Pig on the doorplate, and were washed twice a day with Turkish sponges and soap scented with violets, and no one objected to their following the Prince when he walked abroad, for they behave beautifully, and always kept to the footpath, and obey the notices about not walking on the grass. The Princess fed them every day with her own hands, and her first edict on coming to the throne had been that the word pork should never be uttered on pain of death, and should, besides, be scratched out of all the dictionaries.

Fin