The Book of DRAGONS
E. Nesbit
With illustrations by
H. R. Millar
Decorations by
H. Granville Fell
DOVER PUBLICATIONS, INC.
Mineola, New York
Contents
PAGE
I. The Book of Beasts 1
II. Uncle James, or The Purple Stranger 19
III. The Deliverers of Their Country 39
IV. The Ice Dragon, or Do as You Are Told 57
V. The Island of the Nine Whirlpools 79
VI. The Dragon Tamers 99
VII. The Fiery Dragon, or The Heart of Stone
and the Heart of Gold 119
VIII. Kind Little Edmund, or The Caves and the
Cockatrice 139
List of Illustrations
The Book of Dragons _frontispiece_
The Book of Beasts PAGE 1
"The dragon flew away across the garden." PAGE 9
"The Manticora took refuge in the General Post
Office." PAGE 14
Uncle James, or The Purple Stranger PAGE 19
"By-and-by he began to wander." PAGE 30
"The dragon ran after her." PAGE 36
The Deliverers of Their Country PAGE 39
"The largest elephant in the zoo was carried off." PAGE 44
"He rose into the air, rattling like a third-class
carriage." PAGE 51
The Ice Dragon, or Do as You Are Told PAGE 57
"Sure enough, it was a dragon." PAGE 69
"The dwarfs seized the children." PAGE 73
The Island of the Nine Whirlpools PAGE 79
"The lone tower on the Island of the Nine
Whirlpools." PAGE 89
"Little children play around him and over him." PAGE 97
The Dragon Tamers PAGE 99
"The dragon's purring pleased the baby." PAGE 107
"He brought something in his mouth--it was a bag of
gold." PAGE 117
The Fiery Dragon, or The Heart of Stone and the
Heart of Gold PAGE 119
"The junior secretary cried out, 'Look at the
bottle!'" PAGE 130
"They saw a cloud of steam." PAGE 136
Kind Little Edmund, or The Caves and the
Cockatrice PAGE 139
"Creeping across the plain." PAGE 148
"That smells good, eh?" PAGE 153
_To Rosamund,
chief among those for whom these tales are told,
The Book of Dragons is dedicated
in the confident hope
that she, one of these days, will dedicate a book
of her very own making
to the one who now bids
eight dreadful dragons
crouch in all humbleness
at those little brown feet._
The Book of DRAGONS
I. The Book of Beasts
He happened to be building a Palace when the news came, and he left all
the bricks kicking about the floor for Nurse to clear up--but then the
news was rather remarkable news. You see, there was a knock at the front
door and voices talking downstairs, and Lionel thought it was the man
come to see about the gas, which had not been allowed to be lighted
since the day when Lionel made a swing by tying his skipping rope to the
gas bracket.
And then, quite suddenly, Nurse came in and said, "Master Lionel, dear,
they've come to fetch you to go and be King."
Then she made haste to change his smock and to wash his face and hands
and brush his hair, and all the time she was doing it Lionel kept
wriggling and fidgeting and saying, "Oh, don't, Nurse," and, "I'm sure
my ears are quite clean," or, "Never mind my hair, it's all right," and,
"That'll do."
"You're going on as if you was going to be an eel instead of a King,"
said Nurse.
The minute Nurse let go for a moment Lionel bolted off without waiting
for his clean handkerchief, and in the drawing room there were two very
grave-looking gentlemen in red robes with fur, and gold coronets with
velvet sticking up out of the middle like the cream in the very
expensive jam tarts.
They bowed low to Lionel, and the gravest one said: "Sire, your
great-great-great-great-great-grandfather, the King of this country, is
dead, and now you have got to come and be King."
"Yes, please, sir," said Lionel, "when does it begin?"
"You will be crowned this afternoon," said the grave gentleman who was
not quite so grave-looking as the other.
"Would you like me to bring Nurse, or what time would you like me to be
fetched, and hadn't I better put on my velvet suit with the lace
collar?" said Lionel, who had often been out to tea.
"Your Nurse will be removed to the Palace later. No, never mind about
changing your suit; the Royal robes will cover all that up."
The grave gentlemen led the way to a coach with eight white horses,
which was drawn up in front of the house where Lionel lived. It was No.
7, on the left-hand side of the street as you go up.
Lionel ran upstairs at the last minute, and he kissed Nurse and said:
"Thank you for washing me. I wish I'd let you do the other ear.
No--there's no time now. Give me the hanky. Good-bye, Nurse."
"Good-bye, ducky," said Nurse. "Be a good little King now, and say
'please' and 'thank you,' and remember to pass the cake to the little
girls, and don't have more than two helps of anything."
So off went Lionel to be made a King. He had never expected to be a King
any more than you have, so it was all quite new to him--so new that he
had never even thought of it. And as the coach went through the town he
had to bite his tongue to be quite sure it was real, because if his
tongue was real it showed he wasn't dreaming. Half an hour before he had
been building with bricks in the nursery; and now--the streets were all
fluttering with flags; every window was crowded with people waving
handkerchiefs and scattering flowers; there were scarlet soldiers
everywhere along the pavements, and all the bells of all the churches
were ringing like mad, and like a great song to the music of their
ringing he heard thousands of people shouting, "Long live Lionel! Long
live our little King!"
He was a little sorry at first that he had not put on his best clothes,
but he soon forgot to think about that. If he had been a girl he would
very likely have bothered about it the whole time.
As they went along, the grave gentlemen, who were the Chancellor and the
Prime Minister, explained the things which Lionel did not understand.
"I thought we were a Republic," said Lionel. "I'm sure there hasn't been
a King for some time."
"Sire, your great-great-great-great-great-grandfather's death happened
when my grandfather was a little boy," said the Prime Minister, "and
since then your loyal people have been saving up to buy you a crown--so
much a week, you know, according to people's means--sixpence a week from
those who have first-rate pocket money, down to a halfpenny a week from
those who haven't so much. You know it's the rule that the crown must be
paid for by the people."
"But hadn't my great-great-however-much-it-is-grandfather a crown?"
"Yes, but he sent it to be tinned over, for fear of vanity, and he had
had all the jewels taken out, and sold them to buy books. He was a
strange man; a very good King he was, but he had his faults--he was fond
of books. Almost with his last breath he sent the crown to be
tinned--and he never lived to pay the tinsmith's bill."
Here the Prime Minister wiped away a tear, and just then the carriage
stopped and Lionel was taken out of the carriage to be crowned. Being
crowned is much more tiring work than you would suppose, and by the time
it was over, and Lionel had worn the Royal robes for an hour or two and
had had his hand kissed by everybody whose business it was to do it, he
was quite worn out, and was very glad to get into the Palace nursery.
Nurse was there, and tea was ready: seedy cake and plummy cake, and jam
and hot buttered toast, and the prettiest china with red and gold and
blue flowers on it, and real tea, and as many cups of it as you liked.
After tea Lionel said: "I think I should like a book. Will you get me
one, Nurse?"
"Bless the child," said Nurse. "You don't suppose you've lost the use of
your legs with just being a King? Run along, do, and get your books
yourself."
So Lionel went down into the library. The Prime Minister and the
Chancellor were there, and when Lionel came in they bowed very low, and
were beginning to ask Lionel most politely what on earth he was coming
bothering for now--when Lionel cried out: "Oh, what a worldful of books!
Are they yours?"
"They are yours, Your Majesty," answered the Chancellor. "They were the
property of the late King, your great-great--"
"Yes, I know," Lionel interrupted. "Well, I shall read them all. I love
to read. I am so glad I learned to read."
"If I might venture to advise Your Majesty," said the Prime Minister, "I
should not read these books. Your great--"
"Yes?" said Lionel, quickly.
"He was a very good King--oh, yes, really a very superior King in his
way, but he was a little--well, strange."
"Mad?" asked Lionel, cheerfully.
"No, no"--both the gentlemen were sincerely shocked. "Not mad; but if I
may express it so, he was--er--too clever by half. And I should not like
a little King of mine to have anything to do with his books."
Lionel looked puzzled.
"The fact is," the Chancellor went on, twisting his red beard in an
agitated way, "your great--"
"Go on," said Lionel.
"--was called a wizard."
"But he wasn't?"
"Of course not--a most worthy King was your great--"
"I see."
"But I wouldn't touch his books."
"Just this one," cried Lionel, laying his hands on the cover of a great
brown book that lay on the study table. It had gold patterns on the
brown leather, and gold clasps with turquoises and rubies in the twists
of them, and gold corners, so that the leather should not wear out too
quickly.
"I must look at this one," Lionel said, for on the back in big letters
he read: _The Book of Beasts_.
The Chancellor said, "Don't be a silly little King."
But Lionel had got the gold clasps undone, and he opened the first page,
and there was a beautiful Butterfly all red, and brown, and yellow, and
blue, so beautifully painted that it looked as if it were alive.
"There," said Lionel, "Isn't that lovely? Why--"
But as he spoke the beautiful Butterfly fluttered its many-colored wings
on the yellow old page of the book, and flew up and out of the window.
"Well!" said the Prime Minister, as soon as he could speak for the lump
of wonder that had got into his throat and tried to choke him, "that's
magic, that is."
But before he had spoken, the King had turned the next page, and there
was a shining bird complete and beautiful in every blue feather of him.
Under him was written, "Blue Bird of Paradise," and while the King gazed
enchanted at the charming picture the Blue Bird fluttered his wings on
the yellow page and spread them and flew out of the book.