Knight of the Dragon + Four Fairy Tales

Author: Kenneth Grahame
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2003-01-01
Features: The excerpt marked with is a left-right structure, with the left side being "" and the right side being "." "Dragon, dragon, come out now!" the little one sat restless where he was, whispering. If he had known earlier, he wouldn’t have tormented himself like this. The dramatic turn of events had tickled the dragon so much that he was already up early, practicing how to make his grand entrance in front of the audience. His mind was set, as if time had reversed, and he had turned back into a little dragonling, playing the game of knights slaying dragons with his sisters in their mother’s cave. In this game, our dragon was always the winner. Now, a rumbling sound mixed with groans could be heard by everyone; it soon turned into a thunderous roar that seemed to echo across the plains. Then, smoke filled the cave entrance, and through the smoke, our dragon made his grand appearance. He glowed all over, as blue as the sea, truly magnificent and dazzling. He strode out with great dignity. All the spectators exclaimed, "Wow, wow, wow!" as if he were a powerful rocket! His scales shone brilliantly, his long, sharp tail swished left and right, and his claws dug into the grass and mud on the ground, tossing them high onto his back. The two angry nostrils kept spewing fire and smoke. "Oh, well done, dragon, dragon!" the little one cheered excitedly. He added in his heart, "I didn’t expect he had so much fire and smoke inside!" St. George lowered his spear and pointed it forward, lowered his head, and spurred his horse with his heels, galloping across the grass like thunder. The dragon roared in response, screaming—blue scales, snorting sounds, an open mouth, sharp teeth, smoke, and fire—all swirling into one giant vortex. "Missed!" the spectators shouted. For a moment, the golden armor, the blue scales, the sharp dragon tail, the horse desperately biting the reins and carrying the knight, the knight swinging his long spear high in the air—almost everything seemed to mix together in front of the cave entrance. The dragon crouched down suddenly and roared fiercely, and St. George barely managed to rein in his horse, turning it around to prepare for the next move. "The round is over!" thought the little one. "They’ve performed wonderfully! But I hope St. George doesn’t get too excited. I can trust my dragon—he won’t make a mistake. He’s such an experienced actor!" St. George finally brought his horse to a halt, looked around, and wiped his brow. He spotted the little one and nodded with a smile, quickly raising three fingers. "It seems everything is planned," the little one thought. "Clearly, it’s the third round. I hope the time can be extended. What’s that old fool, the dragon, doing now?" The dragon seized the opportunity to put on a spectacular performance for the audience, leaping and crashing around. His performance included running in large circles, his entire back undulating like waves, from his sharp ears to the tip of his long tail. Because of his blue scales, the effect was particularly striking. The little one remembered that the dragon had recently expressed a desire to succeed and be well-received. St.