How to be a Pirate's Dragon (Hiccup) by Cressida Cowell Page A
Authors: Cressida Cowell
Tags: General, Humorous stories, Historical, Juvenile Nonfiction, Action & Adventure, Juvenile Fiction, YA), Fantasy & magical realism (Children's, Children's Fiction, Science Fiction; Fantasy; & Magic, Medieval, Animals, Dragons, Mythical, Treasure Troves, Pirates, Vikings
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as Hiccup clutched desperately at the shifting coins to steady himself.
"But I appreciate your concern," said Alvin, bringing the sword down with such savage force that it would have cut Hiccup in half -- if he had not spotted it coming and made one last leap out of the way.
So that the blow, instead of separating Hiccup into two pieces, caught Alvin completely off balance, and he stepped back onto the treasure mound behind, one on which they had not fought before ...
... and the treasure unexpectedly reared up beneath him, as if it were alive.
190
18. GRIMBEARD THE GHASTLY'S FINAL SURPRISE
The entire mound reared up and shook itself, cups and jewels and swords and coins cascading down the sides like molten lava.
And something that looked like a big white rope reached out of the treasure and wound its way around Alvin's waist.
It wasn't a rope.
It was a singularly unattractive white tentacle that looked as if it were made out of a quivering piece of fat. The tentacle was dotted with small indentations out of which there oozed a disgusting whitey-gray sticky sludge that smelt indescribably awful.
Alvin shrieked in horror as the treasure dropped away to reveal the creature that had been sleeping underneath it, a creature they had awoken with their swordfight.
It was Grimbeard the Ghastly's last surprise, his FINAL booby trap.
He had left it there to guard the treasure, a monster that Hiccup had heard of in Legends,
191
192
but never seen before, and one that he sincerely hoped he would never, ever have to see again.
It was the same animal that surprised the little lost Deadly Nadder, the day before, if you remember, and it was called a Monstrous Strangulator.
A Strangulator was a gigantic Monster genetically related to dragons, octopuses and snakes. It had tiny withered dragon wings and tiny crippled dragon legs that were basically useless, as it heaved its great body through underground tunnels like a serpent, leaving a trail of gooey slime.
It had never seen daylight and was the color of nothing. Its tentacles had obviously found a way up through to the upper caves of the Wild Dragon Cliffs, for it was transparent, and you could actually see the forms of unfortunate dragons it had eaten moving through its digestive system. Some, further down the Strangulator's great length, were lying quite still. Others that he had eaten more recently were jerking about, and one was trying to fly, trapped in the Monster's great throat.
The naturalist in Hiccup automatically identified the species -- Monstrous Nightmare, Deadly Nadder, Common or Garden times three -- making their slow
193
progress through the Serpent's alimentary canal.
So small was the Creature's brain in proportion to its size that it had difficulty in keeping sensory track of all of its squirming tentacles, and they wandered about as if they had independent lives of their own. The Creature had to concentrate hard to make the tentacle that was holding Alvin move very slowly up to its head so it could have a look at him, unsure of what to make of this weird new animal.
"Isss food?" hissed the Serpent musingly to itself.
[Image: Fishes.]
Hiccup practically cried with relief. For the creature was speaking a dialect of Dragonese, a very ancient form of it, but Dragonese nonetheless.
And Hiccup was of the opinion that if you could talk to your killer, you were in with a chance.
Alvin struggled wildly and slashed at the great squeezing tentacle with the Stormblade.
"Jickle me with your prickle, would you? said the Creature. " Then I'll tickle you with mine. ..."
And languidly, it dangled the tip of its tail in front of Alvin's face.
Hiccup had seen such a tail on much smaller
194
animals. It was filled to the tip with a grass-green venom, pure as glass. There was a plunger a little way down, and the tip just had to penetrate its victim, the plunger go down, and it was goodnight sweet world, hello Valhalla.
"Oh excellent," thought Hiccup to himself.
"But I appreciate your concern," said Alvin, bringing the sword down with such savage force that it would have cut Hiccup in half -- if he had not spotted it coming and made one last leap out of the way.
So that the blow, instead of separating Hiccup into two pieces, caught Alvin completely off balance, and he stepped back onto the treasure mound behind, one on which they had not fought before ...
... and the treasure unexpectedly reared up beneath him, as if it were alive.
190
18. GRIMBEARD THE GHASTLY'S FINAL SURPRISE
The entire mound reared up and shook itself, cups and jewels and swords and coins cascading down the sides like molten lava.
And something that looked like a big white rope reached out of the treasure and wound its way around Alvin's waist.
It wasn't a rope.
It was a singularly unattractive white tentacle that looked as if it were made out of a quivering piece of fat. The tentacle was dotted with small indentations out of which there oozed a disgusting whitey-gray sticky sludge that smelt indescribably awful.
Alvin shrieked in horror as the treasure dropped away to reveal the creature that had been sleeping underneath it, a creature they had awoken with their swordfight.
It was Grimbeard the Ghastly's last surprise, his FINAL booby trap.
He had left it there to guard the treasure, a monster that Hiccup had heard of in Legends,
191
192
but never seen before, and one that he sincerely hoped he would never, ever have to see again.
It was the same animal that surprised the little lost Deadly Nadder, the day before, if you remember, and it was called a Monstrous Strangulator.
A Strangulator was a gigantic Monster genetically related to dragons, octopuses and snakes. It had tiny withered dragon wings and tiny crippled dragon legs that were basically useless, as it heaved its great body through underground tunnels like a serpent, leaving a trail of gooey slime.
It had never seen daylight and was the color of nothing. Its tentacles had obviously found a way up through to the upper caves of the Wild Dragon Cliffs, for it was transparent, and you could actually see the forms of unfortunate dragons it had eaten moving through its digestive system. Some, further down the Strangulator's great length, were lying quite still. Others that he had eaten more recently were jerking about, and one was trying to fly, trapped in the Monster's great throat.
The naturalist in Hiccup automatically identified the species -- Monstrous Nightmare, Deadly Nadder, Common or Garden times three -- making their slow
193
progress through the Serpent's alimentary canal.
So small was the Creature's brain in proportion to its size that it had difficulty in keeping sensory track of all of its squirming tentacles, and they wandered about as if they had independent lives of their own. The Creature had to concentrate hard to make the tentacle that was holding Alvin move very slowly up to its head so it could have a look at him, unsure of what to make of this weird new animal.
"Isss food?" hissed the Serpent musingly to itself.
[Image: Fishes.]
Hiccup practically cried with relief. For the creature was speaking a dialect of Dragonese, a very ancient form of it, but Dragonese nonetheless.
And Hiccup was of the opinion that if you could talk to your killer, you were in with a chance.
Alvin struggled wildly and slashed at the great squeezing tentacle with the Stormblade.
"Jickle me with your prickle, would you? said the Creature. " Then I'll tickle you with mine. ..."
And languidly, it dangled the tip of its tail in front of Alvin's face.
Hiccup had seen such a tail on much smaller
194
animals. It was filled to the tip with a grass-green venom, pure as glass. There was a plunger a little way down, and the tip just had to penetrate its victim, the plunger go down, and it was goodnight sweet world, hello Valhalla.
"Oh excellent," thought Hiccup to himself.
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