The Return of the Dragon Read Online Free Page B

one of our lambs disappeared. And Jason — he lives in our village —
saw
the monster. He even saw its footprints. The monster ran along the ground and then the footprints just stopped. It vanished into thin air.”
    The dragon nodded.
    “How big were these footprints?” it asked.
    Niko shook his head. “Nobody saw them but Jason. It rained in the night and washed everything away. But he said they were
huge.
And he could see”—his eyes flickered uneasily toward the dragon’s immense golden feet—“the marks where its claws dug into the ground.”
    The dragon hurriedly curled its golden claws out of sight.
    “I see,” it said unhappily. “I can only assure you, dear boy, that it was not me. That is, not I. I would never attack innocent ovines in such an uncivilized fashion. Decent dragons do not indulge in murderous theft.”
    Niko decided not to ask about the indecent dragons.
    “I know that now,” he said. “Now that I’ve talked to you. It was just . . . surprising . . . coming upon you so suddenly. I’ve never seen a dragon before. And you are . . . awfully large.”
    “Yes,” the dragon agreed in pleased tones. It settled itself more comfortably in the grass.
    “It has been a long time since I’ve had a really good conversation,” it said wistfully. “Do tell me about yourself, dear boy. What do you do all day? And what do you want to do when you grow up? What is your favorite food? Your favorite color? And when is your birthday?”
    In no time at all, Niko found himself talking to the dragon as if they were the oldest and best of friends. He learned that the dragon’s favorite food was lemon pudding and that its favorite color was green; the dragon learned that Niko preferred pomegranates, fig cakes, and purple. Niko told the dragon about how he dreamed of going to Athens one day and of all the things he would like to learn. He asked the dragon its opinion of his plan to make a pair of giant feathered wings, and the dragon replied with a somewhat confusing story about the principles of aerodynamics.
    As Niko and the dragon talked, evening fell. The sky, Niko suddenly noticed, had grown dark. The dragon glimmered before him, golden in the dimness. Overhead, the stars were coming out. The two gazed upward in companionable silence for a moment, lost in the beauty of the night. The dragon gestured with its golden tail.
    “Magnificent,” the dragon said. “Look carefully and you should be able to see six thousand stars. Dragons, of course,” it continued in superior tones, “can see many more.
We
have excellent eyesight.”
    Niko craned his neck back and studied the sky. “People say,” he said, “that the sky is a huge crystal bowl set over the earth and the stars are stuck to the inside of the bowl like little jewels.”
    “They do,” the dragon said crisply. “People say all sorts of things. Not all of them, unfortunately, are correct.”
    Niko flopped over on his back and gazed up at the stars with his mouth open.
    “Beautiful, aren’t they?” the dragon said. “Quite jewel-like. But not jewels, dear boy, not at all. Think about it.”
    Regretfully Niko scrambled to his feet.
    “I wish we could talk more,” he said. “But I have to go home. It’s late. I shouldn’t have stayed so long. My mother and father will be terribly worried.”
    “Before you go,” the dragon said, “I would check beneath the bush over there next to the big rock. I believe you will find what you came looking for.”
    Niko picked his way over to the bush. Beneath its branches lay Panno, sound asleep.
    “He arrived some time before you did,” the dragon said, “obviously confused. I’m sure he will be glad to return home.”
    Niko lifted the sleeping lamb. It was warm and heavy in his arm. Its curly fleece tickled his arms.
    “Thank you,” Niko said. “Thank you for everything.”
    “My pleasure, dear boy,” the dragon said. It reached out one polished claw and patted Niko gently on the