Long, long ago, in the days when even stranger things befell than we see
nowadays, travelers brought news to the little town of
Kisington-by-the-Sea. They said that the terrible Dragon of Hushby had
wakened again from his fifty years' nap; had crept out of his cave in
the mountain, and was terrifying the country as he had done in the
grandfathers' times. Already he had destroyed ten horses; had eaten one
hundred head of cattle, six fair maidens, and twelve plump little
children. Besides which he had killed three brave men who had dared to
fight with him. But now no one ventured near the cave where the dreadful
creature lived, and the land was filled with horror for which there
seemed to be no hope of relief.
[Illustration: HAROLD BEGAN TO READ FROM THE RED-AND-GOLD BOOK]
Moreover, so the travelers said, the King proclaimed that whoever should
put an end to the terror of Hushby might ask of his sovereign whatever
reward he chose, even the hand of the King's daughter. Now when this
news came to Kisington there was great excitement. For Hushby Town was
not far distant from the market-place of Kisington. People gathered in
groups talking in whispers of the Dragon, and looking fearfully out of
the corners of their eyes as they spoke. Who could tell when the
creature might wander in their direction, as the Chronicles recorded
that he had done once, long ago, when he had destroyed the daughter of
him who was Lord Mayor at that time? Kisington had special reasons, you
see, for longing to hear that a hero had conquered the Dragon.
Of all the people in Kisington who heard the news, the one most excited
thereby was a lad named Arthur. He did not look like a hero, for he was
short, and small, and ugly. For this reason no one had ever thought him
especially brave. Most people expect heroes to be great, big men. Arthur
was held to be of little account in Kisington. But though he was a
little fellow, he had a great heart. All his life he had loved tales of
bravery and adventure, and he longed to be a. hero. Besides, he thought
it would be a. fine thing to marry the King's daughter, who, like all
princesses, must be very beautiful.
Arthur lived by himself in a castle which had once belonged to his
uncle. Now that uncle had been an Amateur Magician; that is, he was
always doing things with flaring fires and queer bottles, messes of
strange liquids and horrid smells,--hoping to learn how to turn old iron
into gold, or to discover some other useful secret. No one ever heard,
however, of his accomplishing anything; until one day, with a _Bang!_ he
blew himself up.` And every one heard of that. His will gave all his
Amateur-Magical stuff to Arthur--all his forges and bellows and bulbs
and bottles, the syrups and nasty smells. But Arthur cared nothing at
all about Amateur Magic, and scarcely ever went into the desolate tower
in one wing of the castle, where his uncle's laboratory was gathering
dust.
But after news came about the Dragon of Hushby, things were different.
An idea had come into Arthur's head. "Oh, dear!" he said to himself. "If
only I could find something which would make me big! Only a giant could
kill the Dragon of Hushby, he is so huge and terrible. Perhaps my uncle
may have discovered a secret which would turn me into a giant!"
Eagerly he hurried to the deserted room. Everything was draped in dusty
cobwebs, and when he opened the door the rats went scuttling in all
directions. All among the bottles and boxes and books and bundles he
sought and sought for some discovery which should help him. But though
he found many other curious things, he found not what he sought. Though
he poked in every dark corner and read carefully the labels on every
phial, and the recipes in every book, he found no Secret for Growing
Big. He could have learned, had he wished, "How to Make a Silk Purse Out
of a Sow's Ear"; "How to Make a Horse Drink"; "How to Make an Empty Sack
Stand Upright," and other very difficult things. But all these secrets
were of no use to Arthur, and he thought that his uncle had wasted much
valuable time in making these discoveries. Which, indeed, was true.
Arthur grew more and more discontented every day. But one morning, quite
by accident, he hit his elbow against a hidden spring in a certain
knot-hole of the wall in the dusty laboratory. Immediately a secret
panel opened, and there behind it was a secret cupboard. In the cupboard
was the secretest-looking package, wrapped in a velvet cloth. Arthur
unrolled it eagerly and found a little leather case. When the case was
opened, he saw inside a bit of glass set in gold, with a handle. It
looked quite like a modern reading-glass--only reading-glasses were not
invented until many, many years later. "What can this be?" said Arthur
to himself. And taking up the glass he looked through it. Wonderful!
Everything suddenly seemed to become small--just as it does nowadays
when we look through the wrong end of an opera-glass. But Arthur had
never seen an opera-glass, you know; this was so many hundreds of years
ago.
Arthur looked around the room, and everything had suddenly become so
tiny that it made him laugh. In the window a huge spider--as big as his
hand--had been spinning her web. Now she was no larger than a dot. A
rat scampered across the floor, and as Arthur looked it shrank to the
size of a fly! A bird flew past the window, singing, and it grew
smaller as it flew, while its voice became tinier and tinier till it
sounded like the buzzing of an insect. Amazed, Arthur took down the
glass from his eye. Instantly everything appeared again of its natural
size--all except the spider and the rat and the bird. They remained
tiny as they had seemed through the glass. Arthur had magicked them!
"Ho!" cried Arthur. "This is some of my uncle's Amateur Magic. He had,
indeed, discovered how to make living things grow small. Alas! That
helps me little. I am small enough now. But if only it worked the other
way I might become a giant. What a pity! what a pity! Stay--perhaps if I
reverse the glass something better may be done!"
He was about to turn the glass over and raise it to his eye again, when
he spied a bit of parchment in the box. On it were scribbled some words,
in faded ink.
"A Wondrous Device to Make the Living Small. Thrice More May It be Used
Before Its Virtue Fades."
"Ah!" said Arthur, laying down the glass. "Then, as I feared, the glass
can only make things smaller. But I have an idea! What if I should look
with this glass upon the Dragon of Hushby? Would he not shrink as the
spider and the rat and the bird have done? Yes; and then I should no
longer have need to be a giant, for I could tame him, even I myself in
my proper form! It is a good thought. I may yet be the hero of
Kisington. But I must be careful of the precious glass and not waste its
powers. 'Thrice more may it be used,' so says the scroll. Once, then,
for the Dragon, and two times more for accidents that may happen."
Without more ado Arthur made ready for his great adventure. For arms he
took but two things--the magic glass in his wallet, and a butterfly-net
over his shoulder. In truth, the little fellow looked more like a
schoolboy bound for a holiday in the woods, than a hero in quest of
honor.
Now, first, without saying aught of his intent to any in Kisington, he
journeyed to the Capital City, to gain the King's permission for the
trial.
With the handle of his butterfly-net he thumped upon the door of the
King's palace and said: "Open! I wish to speak with the King!"
The warders looked at him and laughed; he was such a strange little
figure. "What do you want of the King?" they asked.
"Tell him that I come to seek his favor before I go forth to conquer the
Dragon of Hushby."
"Ho, ho!" roared the warders. But they went and told the King what
Arthur said. "He is mad, Your Majesty," they added. "He is a little
fellow, armed with a butterfly-net. Ho, ho!"
The King laughed, too. But he was curious to see this champion. So he
had Arthur admitted. With his net over his shoulder, Arthur marched into
the long hall, between the rows of tittering courtiers, and knelt before
the King. "So you intend to slay the Dragon of Hushby?" said the King.
"It needs a giant for that deed. What will you do, forsooth, you little
fellow, with your butterfly-net?"
"Your Majesty," said Arthur, "do you not remember how David was a little
fellow, when with a stone he slew the giant Goliath? Well, I am another
little fellow; but I have a stone in my pocket with which I mean to tame
a foe more terrible than David's was. And as for this net--wait, and
you shall see!"
"Very well," said the King, laughing, "I will wait and see. But what
reward shall you ask if you are successful?"
"Your Majesty," said Arthur politely, "may I ask to see your daughter? I
have heard that the Dragon-Slayer may hope to win her hand."
At these words of Arthur's the King burst into a roar of laughter, and
clapped his knee, as though it were a mighty joke. And all the courtiers
held their sides and shook with mirth. But Arthur was angry, for he did
not see that he had said anything funny.
"Ho! ho!" roared the King. "Heralds, bid my daughter Agnes to come
hither. He! he! For there is one who wishes to see her. Ha! ha!"
While the room was still echoing with laughter, the heralds entered with
the King's daughter, and Arthur saw why every one had laughed. The
Princess was a giantess,--a head taller than any man present,--and
though she was very beautiful, her face was hard and cold, and she
looked bad-tempered. When she walked, the floor trembled, and when she
spoke, the glasses shivered.
"Who wishes to see me?" she said in a deep voice, crossly.
"Heavens!" said Arthur to himself, "this is a Princess, indeed! It will
be more of a task to tame her than any dragon. But she is very handsome,
and I have my magic glass. When we are married I will turn her into a
nice little girl, just the size for me. So all will be well."
The King pointed to Arthur with his scepter. "Behold our champion," he
said, chuckling. "My daughter, it is for you to hope that this brave
fellow may slay the Dragon of Hushby. For in that case I vow to make you
his wife."
"Huh!" said the Princess, looking down at Arthur and frowning. But
Arthur advanced and made a low bow to her. "For such a great prize, Your
Highness," he said, "a man would venture much."
At these words the Princess looked crosser than ever, and tossed her
head. "Take care that the Dragon does not swallow you at a mouthful,
Dwarf!" she said, very impolitely, and every one laughed.
Arthur turned red with anger. "I will take care," he said. "And I shall
win what I will and conquer where I choose. Farewell, my lady. We shall
have more words hereafter, when I come to claim you for my wife."
"You shall have her if you win her," said the King.
But, of course, no one thought there was any hope for the little fellow.
They believed him to be mad, and when he had gone they nearly died,
laughing at the huge joke. The Princess laughed loudest of all.
Proudly Arthur set forth upon the King's errand, with the magic glass in
his pocket, and the butterfly-net over his shoulder. A number of merry
fellows followed him from the court to see the issue of his mad
adventure. For they thought there would be a thing to laugh at ere the
end of the matter. They jested with Arthur and gibed pleasantly at him.
But he answered them gayly and kept his temper, for he knew that they
meant no harm.
[Illustration: SHE LOOKED BAD-TEMPERED]
But with them journeyed one of a different sort. And this was Oscar, a
burly ruffian, whose joy was in evil, and who followed Arthur hoping for
a chance to rob him, since he seemed a fool who had some precious
treasure in his wallet, which he was forever handling. Him Arthur did
not like, and he watched Oscar, but had no words with him.