the forceps still clinging fast to the monster's big
front tooth. And the farther they went the more Dragon's body stretched
out.

"Keep going!" cried the King; "we mustn't let go now!" And away marched
the fifty men, and farther and farther stretched the body of the
Dragon.

Still holding fast to the forceps, the King and his army marched into
the Valley, and away across it, and up the hills on the other side, not
even stopping to take breath. When they came to the mountains and the
forests, and could go no farther, they looked back; and behold! the
Dragon had stretched out so far that it was now no bigger around than a
fiddle-string!

"What shall we do now?" asked the fifty men, who were perspiring with
the long pull and the march across the Valley.

"I'm sure I don't know," replied the panting King. "Let us tie this end
of the beast around a tree. Then we can think what is best to be done."

So they tied that end of the Dragon to a big tree, and sat down to
rest, being filled with wonder that the mighty Purple Dragon was now no
larger around than a piece of twine.

"The wicked creature will never bother us again," said the King. "Yet
it was only by accident we found a way to destroy it. The question now
is, what shall we do with this long, thin Dragon? If we leave it here
it will trip any one who stumbles against it."

"I shall use it for fiddle-strings," said Prince Fiddlecumdoo, "for the
crop failed this year, and I have none for my violin. Let us cut the
Dragon up into the proper sizes, and store the strings in the royal
warehouse for general use."

The King and the people heartily approved this plan. So the Prince
brought a pair of shears and cut the Dragon into equal lengths to use
on his violin. Thus the wicked monster was made good use of at last,
for the strings had an excellent tone.

And that was not only the end of the Purple Dragon, but there were two
other ends of him; one tied to a tree in the mountains and the other
fastened to a post of the castle.

That same day the Monarch of Mo gave a magnificent feast to all his
people to celebrate the destruction of their greatest foe; and ever
afterward the gardens of the Beautiful Valley were free from
molestation.

***END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE SURPRISING ADVENTURES OF THE
MAGICAL MONARCH OF MO AND HIS PEOPLE***

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