How to speak Dragonese by Cressida Cowell
Authors: Cressida Cowell
Tags: Fiction, General, Humorous stories, Children's Books, Action & Adventure, Juvenile Fiction, Action & Adventure - General, Fantasy & Magic, Ages 9-12 Fiction, Children: Grades 4-6, Dragons, Vikings
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playing with the barrel almost as if they were gigantic cats playing with a mouse. Toothless was dive-bombing them, trying to attract their attention, but they took no notice.
They batted the barrel to each other with the wakes from their tails, but they hadn't touched it yet.
Suddenly they withdrew and re-formed in a slightly wider circle.
Inside the barrel Hiccup rose spluttering to the surface. The barrel stopped spinning and there was quiet again, apart from the lapping of the water against the sides. Hiccup knew his dragons, he knew that they would only have retreated to strike now in earnest.
193
He had to fight the urge to burst out of the barrel and swim for the boat.
He knew if he did this he was as good as dead.
But it was so scary not to be able to see what was going on, and so hard to stay completely still when he knew the beasts were all around him, could be underneath him, could be just a meter away, could strike suddenly at any moment from any direction ...
C-C-CRUNCH!!!!!
The left-hand side of the barrel caved in as some immense force crashed into it. The wood just about held from splitting in half. Hiccup caught a glimpse of terrible black teeth no distance away from his nose before they retreated.
"Ziggcrastical!" screamed Hiccup. "HURRY UP!"
The Sharkworms were so close they were nearly touching each other now as they swam round and round. One of them let out a jet of fire like an underwater torpedo, and the barrel burst into flames.
"And now, my clever friend," said Alvin, matching the floating, flaming barrel with the four
194
195
predators surrounding it, "O Defeater of the Seadragonus Giganticus Maximus and the Mighty Monstrous Strangulator -- let's see you get out of THIS situation! I think I may safely say I've got you now ..."
SPLASSSSSSSH!!!!
All four Sharkworms reared out of the water at the same time and spread out their wings.
They were a terrifying sight.
These two-headed beasts had eyes out on stalks, rather like a hammerhead shark. They were sometimes known as Thor's Lapdogs because of those hammer-shaped heads. Their back set of teeth could shoot forward to grab prey and then retreat back, dragging the unfortunate victim with them, as the tongue of a lizard flicks out to catch a fly.
Their hammerhead eyes swiveled on their stalks; their powerful tails lashed the water. They drew back their first sets of teeth in vicious snarls, and the second sets shunted forward as if they had a life of their own, madly snapping together like an automatic killing mechanism.
[Image: A bucket.]
196
For a moment they hovered in a terrible ring, their hammerhead eyes swiveling on their stalks to focus in on their target.
And then they let out a scream and pounced, all of them diving in on the barrel together...
CRACK!
The barrel split from side to side, and to the utter amazement of the watching Vikings, the audience and the Sharkworms themselves ... Hiccup FLEW out of it.
197
[Image: A bucket.]
198
[Image: Hiccup.]
199
20. HICCUP THE GOD
The Romans flocked to the Circuses in their thousands to be entertained.
They expected a glorious theatrical experience -- blood, guts, heroism, feats of astonishing physical prowess.
They were certainly getting their money's worth NOW
This was a sight no one had ever seen before.
A flying boy?
The crowd leaped to their feet, amazed.
Fishlegs nearly fell out of the boat.
And slowly, majestically, Hiccup rose up through the sky with his arms spread out wide, as if held up by magical forces.
[Image: A dragon.]
"Brilliant," whispered Camicazi. "I don't know HOW he's doing it, but it's brilliant."
Hiccup rose and rose up to the metal "ceiling" of the amphitheater, the netting that the sharp teeth of the
200
Flashfangs had failed to bite through in their terror ...
At a single stroke of Hiccup's hand the netting split in two ...
He burst through and hung in the air, every awestruck eye upon him.
The Fat Consul fell to his knees. Even
They batted the barrel to each other with the wakes from their tails, but they hadn't touched it yet.
Suddenly they withdrew and re-formed in a slightly wider circle.
Inside the barrel Hiccup rose spluttering to the surface. The barrel stopped spinning and there was quiet again, apart from the lapping of the water against the sides. Hiccup knew his dragons, he knew that they would only have retreated to strike now in earnest.
193
He had to fight the urge to burst out of the barrel and swim for the boat.
He knew if he did this he was as good as dead.
But it was so scary not to be able to see what was going on, and so hard to stay completely still when he knew the beasts were all around him, could be underneath him, could be just a meter away, could strike suddenly at any moment from any direction ...
C-C-CRUNCH!!!!!
The left-hand side of the barrel caved in as some immense force crashed into it. The wood just about held from splitting in half. Hiccup caught a glimpse of terrible black teeth no distance away from his nose before they retreated.
"Ziggcrastical!" screamed Hiccup. "HURRY UP!"
The Sharkworms were so close they were nearly touching each other now as they swam round and round. One of them let out a jet of fire like an underwater torpedo, and the barrel burst into flames.
"And now, my clever friend," said Alvin, matching the floating, flaming barrel with the four
194
195
predators surrounding it, "O Defeater of the Seadragonus Giganticus Maximus and the Mighty Monstrous Strangulator -- let's see you get out of THIS situation! I think I may safely say I've got you now ..."
SPLASSSSSSSH!!!!
All four Sharkworms reared out of the water at the same time and spread out their wings.
They were a terrifying sight.
These two-headed beasts had eyes out on stalks, rather like a hammerhead shark. They were sometimes known as Thor's Lapdogs because of those hammer-shaped heads. Their back set of teeth could shoot forward to grab prey and then retreat back, dragging the unfortunate victim with them, as the tongue of a lizard flicks out to catch a fly.
Their hammerhead eyes swiveled on their stalks; their powerful tails lashed the water. They drew back their first sets of teeth in vicious snarls, and the second sets shunted forward as if they had a life of their own, madly snapping together like an automatic killing mechanism.
[Image: A bucket.]
196
For a moment they hovered in a terrible ring, their hammerhead eyes swiveling on their stalks to focus in on their target.
And then they let out a scream and pounced, all of them diving in on the barrel together...
CRACK!
The barrel split from side to side, and to the utter amazement of the watching Vikings, the audience and the Sharkworms themselves ... Hiccup FLEW out of it.
197
[Image: A bucket.]
198
[Image: Hiccup.]
199
20. HICCUP THE GOD
The Romans flocked to the Circuses in their thousands to be entertained.
They expected a glorious theatrical experience -- blood, guts, heroism, feats of astonishing physical prowess.
They were certainly getting their money's worth NOW
This was a sight no one had ever seen before.
A flying boy?
The crowd leaped to their feet, amazed.
Fishlegs nearly fell out of the boat.
And slowly, majestically, Hiccup rose up through the sky with his arms spread out wide, as if held up by magical forces.
[Image: A dragon.]
"Brilliant," whispered Camicazi. "I don't know HOW he's doing it, but it's brilliant."
Hiccup rose and rose up to the metal "ceiling" of the amphitheater, the netting that the sharp teeth of the
200
Flashfangs had failed to bite through in their terror ...
At a single stroke of Hiccup's hand the netting split in two ...
He burst through and hung in the air, every awestruck eye upon him.
The Fat Consul fell to his knees. Even
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