deed? And what would you have done? Bring the
horns and tail he must, or perish in the adventure. Otherwise, how could
he meet his lady?--why, she would think him a mere braggart!

The prince sat down, and thought and thought; and the day went on, and it
was now high noon.

At last he jumped up and rushed into the library, a room where nobody
ever went except himself and the queen. There he turned the books upside
down, in his haste, till he found an old one, by a French gentleman,
Monsieur Cyrano de Bergerac. It was an account of a voyage to the moon,
in which there is a great deal of information about matters not generally
known; for few travellers have been to the moon. In that book, Prince
Prigio fancied he would find something he half remembered, and that would
be of use to him. And he _did_! So you see that cleverness, and minding
your book, have some advantages, after all. For here the prince learned
that there is a very rare beast, called a Remora, which is at least as
cold as the Firedrake is hot!

"Now," thought he, "_if I can only make these two fight_, why the Remora
may kill the Firedrake, or take the heat out of him, at least, so that I
may have a chance."

Then he seized the ivory glass, clapped it to his eye, and looked for the
Remora. Just the tip of his nose, as white as snow and as smooth as ice,
was sticking out of a chink in a frozen mountain, not far from the
burning mountain of the Firedrake.

"Hooray!" said the prince softly to himself; and he jumped like mad into
the winged shoes of swiftness, stuck on the cap of darkness, girdled
himself with the sword of sharpness, and put a good slice of bread, with
some cold tongue, in a wallet, which he slung on his back. Never you
fight, if you can help it, except with plenty of food to keep you going
and in good heart. Then off he flew, and soon he reached the volcano of
the Firedrake.

CHAPTER IX.

{Chapter heading picture: p64.jpg}

_The Prince and the Firedrake_.

It was dreadfully hot, even high up in the air, where the prince hung
invisible. Great burning stones were tossed up by the volcano, and
nearly hit him several times. Moreover, the steam and smoke, and the
flames which the Firedrake spouted like foam from his nostrils, would
have daunted even the bravest man. The sides of the hill, too, were
covered with the blackened ashes of his victims, whom he had roasted when
they came out to kill him. The garden-engine