The Return of the Dragon Read Online Free

in a long white robe, discovering the answers to all his many questions: What are the stars made of? What causes rainbows? Why does the moon change shape? And—if a boy built himself a huge pair of feathered wings—would he be able to fly?
    Today, however, all the questions seemed to have flown out of his mind. He was wide awake and alert, his eyes fearfully scanning every rock and tree, the fingers of his right hand pleating and re-pleating the hem of his short tunic. A monster was loose on the mountain.
    First, sheep had begun to disappear. Two had vanished from the flock of Niko’s friend Stephanos— simply gone without a trace. Soon more sheep were spirited away—one here, two there—almost, the shepherds claimed, between one blink of an eye and the next. Clumps of bloody wool were found caught in the bushes, and there were strange plots of crushed plants and broken branches — marks where something heavy had crouched, waiting for a chance to kill.
    Then one of the villagers, a man named Jason, actually
saw
the monster. The creature was like no animal ever seen on earth, Jason said, gesturing wildly with his hands. It was a supernatural being with the body of a serpent, the wings of an eagle, and the head of a lion, yellow-fanged, with flaming red eyes. When Jason bravely approached it, dagger drawn, ready to do battle, the creature magically disappeared. He had found its enormous tracks in the soft ground, he told his awed listeners, but the tracks simply ceased at the point where the monster had vanished. Unfortunately a heavy rain in the night washed away the telltale traces. When he led the villagers to the very spot on the following day, there was nothing to be seen.
    Now Niko, his heart pounding at the stir of every leaf and every rustle in the bushes, was afraid. He felt cold, even in the hot sun. He longed to take his flock and go home — but “Sheep have to eat,” his father said. So here he was, waiting on the mountainside, with a scary prickly feeling between his shoulder blades.
    Slowly the sun topped the sky and began its long journey downward toward the horizon. Usually as he followed the sun’s path across the sky, Niko thought about the sun god, Helios, driving his fiery chariot toward his shining palace in the west. But today he just waited impatiently for the day to be over and the sun to be gone. As the sun sank lower and lower, he gave a sigh of relief. Nothing had happened. The monster had not appeared. It was time to call his flock and go home.
    He hurried across the field, gathering the sheep together for the trip down the mountain, to the safe pen behind the little house. He counted the sheep as he urged them along toward home. One, two, three, four, five — that was Daphne’s favorite, a fat ewe with a comical black splotch over her nose — six, seven, eight, and nine. All were there. And then the four lambs, frisking about at their mothers’ heels. Niko had named each one. There was plump little Penelope; Dido, who had a crumpled ear; Ajax, who was always causing trouble; and his own special lamb, Panno, who had soft brown wool, just the color of fresh-baked bread. One, two, three . . . Niko paused, frowning, and counted again. Three. Just three. His heart gave a thump of alarm. Panno was missing.
    He rapidly circled the grazing field, peering under bushes and behind rocks, and calling. Behind him, one sheep began to bleat, and then another. Still no lamb.
    The monster could strike between one blink of an eye and the next, Niko remembered, with an awful sinking feeling in his stomach. Had it been here, after all? Had it somehow crept to the edge of the field and lain there, watching him through the thicket with its flame-pointed red eyes? Niko shivered. But he had to try to find Panno. Quickly he collected his flock and drove them down the hill, through the little village street, and into the family sheep pen. He made sure their water trough was filled, then fastened the gate behind