In days of old, when there were dragons in the land, a youthful knight
was riding along the high road. It was a beautiful summer day, and the
sun shone so warmly that the rider presently began to feel thirsty, so
coming to a clear stream of water, he swung himself from the saddle
and went to drink. As he parted the bushes to get to the water he
heard a strange rumbling and roaring sound, and looking quickly in the
direction from which it came he saw to his horror an immense dragon
lying by the water-side pinned down by a huge mass of rock which had
rolled down upon the creature as it came to drink.
The knight's first impulse was to flee, for it is better not to meddle
with dragons, even when accident has rendered them helpless, but before
he could regain his horse the creature saw him, and cried, "Good
knight, come and help me, I pray you, to escape from my miserable
position. This rock upon my back is slowly crushing me to death."
The knight hesitated, and was in two minds what to do between his fear
of the dragon and his pity for its unfortunate plight. Seeing this, the
creature called out again, saying, "If you will only set me free I will
repay you richly, for I will give you _The Reward of the World_."
"_The Reward of the World_," thought the knight, "that will indeed be
worth having!" for he had often heard that dragons were the guardians
of immense treasures. So, overcoming his fright, he went up to the
creature, and at the cost of great exertion managed to roll away the
stone that was pressing on its back.
"Poof! That's better," said the dragon, blowing a cloud of smoke out of
its nostrils. "I had begun to think I was doomed to stay in that place
for ever!" He rubbed his sore back reflectively with one scaly paw, and
looked at the knight, who stood waiting.
"Well?" said he.
"You promised me _The Reward of the World_!" said the knight.
"Did I so?" asked the dragon, still tenderly stroking his back. "Well,
you shall have it!" And suddenly he launched himself upon the knight,
winding his horrible coils around his body, and almost crushing him to
death. The unfortunate young man struggled feebly, but he was powerless
in the grip of the monster.
"Your promise!" he gasped. "Is this my reward for having saved your
life?"
"Certainly," replied the dragon. "This is _The Reward of the World_. I
am keeping my word!"
"I don't believe you," said the knight. "It is a trick to excuse your
treachery. What a fool I was to trust a dragon's word!"
[Illustration: AN IMMENSE DRAGON LYING BY THE WATER-SIDE]
"It is just as I say," the dragon replied. "But I confess I owe
you something, and I should hate to eat you feeling that you had a
grievance. I'll tell you what I'll do. I'll submit this question
to the first three people we meet along the road, and if they decide in
my favour you must accept the verdict. Is it agreed?"
"Agreed," said the knight, who was glad of any chance to escape from
the dragon's coils, so the creature released him, and the two set off
together down the road.
They had not gone far before they met the dog.
"Stay a moment, master dog," said the knight. "What do you understand
by _The Reward of the World_?"
The dog replied, "When I was young I was a splendid watch-dog, and
guarded my master's house against all comers. In those days everybody
made a fuss of me. I had plenty of good food to eat, and my own
particular place before the fire. Now, alas! I am old. My sight is so
weak and my powers so feeble that I can no longer work for my living,
and in consequence everybody kicks me out of their way. I eat what
I can get, which is not much. Even the children throw stones at me,
knowing that my teeth are not sharp enough to bite, and wherever I go
people say, 'There is that beastly hound again! Chase him away with a
stick!' That is _The Reward of the World_."
[Illustration: "MY SIGHT IS SO WEAK AND MY POWERS SO FEEBLE"]
There was little comfort for the knight in this, nevertheless he
did not give up hope, but accosted the next creature they met, which
happened to be a horse.
"What is _The Reward of the World_?" the knight asked him.
"Listen," said the horse bitterly, "and I will tell you. All my life I
have laboured diligently for one master. Day in and day out I dragged
his cart to market, working myself to skin and bone in his service.
Now I am grown old and my strength begins to fail, so that I can no
longer earn my keep. To-day I heard him say that he was going to send
me to the knackers' yard and sell my poor old carcass for a couple of
crowns. That is _The Reward of the World_, young master, and may heaven
preserve you from it!"
"You see!" said the dragon, as the two went on, "my words are already
justified. Come, be sensible and let me eat you without further ado!"
"No," said the knight, "we have still one person to ask. Here comes a
fox. Let us see what he has to say about the matter. Reynard, what do
you understand by _The Reward of the World_?"
"How do you mean?" asked the fox. "What is the case in point?"
"Well, you see," explained the knight, "I found this dragon in a
position of uncommon peril, and he promised, if I would rescue him, to
give me _The Reward of the World_. The question now arises as to what
_The Reward of the World_ is."
"I see," said Reynard thoughtfully. "His life was in danger, you say?
How was that?"
"A huge stone had fallen on to his back, pinning him down so that he
could not move. I rolled the stone away, and set him free."
The fox scratched his head and pondered. "If you don't mind," said he,
"I'd rather like to have this matter made a little clearer. Where did
all this happen?"
"A little farther back along the road, by the side of the stream."
[Illustration: "DOES THE DRAGON MIND GETTING UNDER THE STONE AGAIN?"]
"I'll come and look at the place!"
So the knight led Reynard to the banks of the stream, where he stood
gazing for a time at the big stone.
"I want to be quite sure I understand all the circumstances," said he
at last. "Does the dragon mind getting under the stone again for a
moment, so that I can see exactly how he lay?"
"Not at all," said the dragon politely, and he lay down on the bank,
while the knight and the fox together rolled the stone on top of him.
"Splendid!" said Reynard, when the dragon was safely pinned down. "Now
everything is as it was before!" Then turning to the knight, he added,
"If you, knowing what you know now, care to release him again, you are
at liberty to do so, but...." And he winked slyly. There was no need to
say more.
"I am really very much obliged to you," said the knight, as he walked
off down the road with Reynard, leaving the dragon still under the
stone. "That was a capital idea of yours, and it certainly saved my
life. I would like to show my gratitude in some way, and I shall be
honoured if you will accept my hospitality for a few days."
Reynard needed no pressing, but went home with the young man there and
then, and thoroughly enjoyed the good fare with which he was provided.
Since, however, a fox is always a fox, no matter what company he is
in, Master Reynard could not forbear from stealing, and every night
he crept into the hen-house and killed one or two chickens. When the
knight discovered this he was very angry, and picking up a big stick he
gave the fox a good thrashing and drove him forth.
"That is _The Reward of the World_," he said to himself, as he watched
Reynard disappearing into the distance. But whether he was referring to
the way the fox had treated him, or to his own treatment of the fox, I
cannot say.
[Illustration]
[Illustration: NOTHING WAS LEFT OF THE FISHES]