PAGE 51

The Ice Dragon, or Do as You Are Told PAGE 57

"Sure enough, it was a dragon." PAGE 69

"The dwarfs seized the children." PAGE 73

The Island of the Nine Whirlpools PAGE 79

"The lone tower on the Island of the Nine
Whirlpools." PAGE 89

"Little children play around him and over him." PAGE 97

The Dragon Tamers PAGE 99

"The dragon's purring pleased the baby." PAGE 107

"He brought something in his mouth--it was a bag of
gold." PAGE 117

The Fiery Dragon, or The Heart of Stone and the
Heart of Gold PAGE 119

"The junior secretary cried out, 'Look at the
bottle!'" PAGE 130

"They saw a cloud of steam." PAGE 136

Kind Little Edmund, or The Caves and the
Cockatrice PAGE 139

"Creeping across the plain." PAGE 148

"That smells good, eh?" PAGE 153

_To Rosamund,
chief among those for whom these tales are told,
The Book of Dragons is dedicated
in the confident hope
that she, one of these days, will dedicate a book
of her very own making
to the one who now bids
eight dreadful dragons
crouch in all humbleness
at those little brown feet._

The Book of DRAGONS

[Illustration: THE BOOK OF BEASTS]

I. The Book of Beasts

He happened to be building a Palace when the news came, and he left all
the bricks kicking about the floor for Nurse to clear up--but then the
news was rather remarkable news. You see, there was a knock at the front
door and voices talking downstairs, and Lionel thought it was the man
come to see about the gas, which had not been allowed to be lighted
since the day when Lionel made a swing by tying his skipping rope to the
gas bracket.

And then, quite suddenly, Nurse came in and said, "Master Lionel, dear,
they've come to fetch you to go and be King."

Then she made haste to change his smock and to wash his face and hands
and brush his hair, and