is a beast, or bird, about the bigness of an elephant.
Its body is made of iron, and it is always red-hot. A more terrible and
cruel beast cannot be imagined; for, if you go near it, you are at once
broiled by the Firedrake.

But the king was not ill-pleased: "for," thought he, "of course my three
sons must go after the brute, the eldest first; and, as usual, it will
kill the first two, and be beaten by the youngest. It is a little hard
on Enrico, poor boy; but _anything_ to get rid of that Prigio!"

Then the king went to Prigio, and said that his country was in danger,
and that he was determined to leave the crown to whichever of them would
bring him the horns (for it has horns) and tail of the Firedrake.

"It is an awkward brute to tackle," the king said, "but you are the
oldest, my lad; go where glory waits you! Put on your armour, and be off
with you!"

{"Put on your armour and be off with you!": p18.jpg}

This the king said, hoping that either the Firedrake would roast Prince
Prigio alive (which he could easily do, as I have said; for he is all
over as hot as a red-hot poker), or that, if the prince succeeded, at
least his country would be freed from the monster.

But the prince, who was lying on the sofa doing sums in compound division
for fun, said in the politest way:

"Thanks to the education your majesty has given me, I have learned that
the Firedrake, like the siren, the fairy, and so forth, is a fabulous
animal which does not exist. But even granting, for the sake of
argument, that there is a Firedrake, your majesty is well aware that
there is no kind of use in sending _me_. It is always the eldest son who
goes out first and comes to grief on these occasions, and it is always
the third son that succeeds. Send Alphonso" (this was the youngest
brother), "and _he_ will do the trick at once. At least, if he fails, it
will be most unusual, and Enrico can try his luck."

Then he went back to his arithmetic and his slate, and the king had to
send for Prince Alphonso and Prince Enrico. They both came in very warm;
for they had been whipping tops, and the day was unusually hot.

"Look here," said the king, "just you two younger ones look at Prigio!
You see how hot it is, and how coolly he takes it, and the country
suffering; and all on account of a Firedrake, you know, which has
apparently built his nest not far off. Well, I have asked that lout of a
brother of yours to kill it, and he says--"

"