wish it would stop," exclaimed Lulu, beginning to cry, as the Dragon went on growling and roaring.

74

"Arnggh! Arnggh!" it roared, and started up on its forefeet as though to talk to these intruders. As it did this, it moved its long body quite to the extremity of its tail, and the Twins could hear its heavy scales rattling at least fifty feet back in the dark passage where the rest of the body and the tail of the Dragon were lying. At these sights and sounds it was all the Private Secretary could do to keep the Twins from running away, but he held them tight by the hands.

"Good morning, Jankow," said he to the Dragon. "How are you feeling to-day? Does the same tooth still bother you?"

"Of course it does," said the Dragon. "How do you suppose you would feel if you had a tooth that had been bothering you for fifty years?"

"I understand," said the Private Secretary, "but thus far the Royal Dentist has always declined to pay you a visit, Jankow, for fear you would swallow him while he was at work."

The Dragon only roared a few more times at this, but at length he asked, "Who are these two young persons you have with you?"

75"These," said the Private Secretary, "are the Royal Hereditary Twins, who have been expected on the Island for a thousand years. You will see that one has the Royal Hereditary malazite blue hair, while the other has the genuine and ancient corazine green hair. Moreover, as you will observe, they both bear the Royal Wishing Wands, which all must obey. It is the wish of his Majesty that they have a pleasant life upon our Island."

75

"Well, I hope they will have a better time than I have had," said the Dragon mournfully. "What self-respecting Dragon would ask a place like mine? I am forced to obey the King or he will close my mouth; and I am obliged to obey the Fairies in the valley below, else they will pinch my tail. And I was once the Royal Army of the first King of Gee-Whiz, a thousand years ago!"

"You will see, my young friends," said the Private Secretary, "that Dragons grow very old and are sometimes, I fear, as short-tempered as they are long-lived; although I mean no offense to Jankow, who really has a tooth which should have been extracted, had he not been so proud of retaining a full set of teeth. And what he says about being the Royal Army is quite true."

 Prev. P 44/123 next