"Kushner,.Donn.-.A.Book.DragonUC" - читать интересную книгу автора (Dragon Stories)

dragon."

Nonesuch thought of his grandmother's words. He thought
so long that darkness fell, then another day passed, and
darkness fell again while he crouched motionless. When day
broke again, he rose stiffly and thrust his head into the tunnel,

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behind the heap of treasure. Then he withdrew his head,
turned to the treasure heap, and filled his mouth with coins.

It was hard work, the hardest he had ever done or heard
of: he carried the treasure down into the tunnel, the coins and
jewels in his mouth, the shields and his one reliquary balanced
on his back, between his wings. He went almost as far as he
had gone before into the tunnel, and it took three trips, or
perhaps four, for at the end he had lost count. He made one
last trip to be sure that no fragments of treasure had been left
along the way to tempt adventurers to go further. Now he was
certain that he had brought the treasure to a part of the tunnel
so hot that no humans could live. Before he returned for the last
time to the world outside, he spoke into the glowing darkness
of the tunnel's depth, "There, Grandmother, I've brought all
the treasure to you. Guard it well.''

He spent another day staring at the mouth of the tunnel.
Then he piled all the loose boulders in the cavern into its
entrance and fetched others from the hillside until the entrance
was sealed off. No human would now suspect that the tunnel
existed. Even though Nonesuch knew that the heat would kill
any men who approached the treasure, he wanted to keep
them as far away as possible.

Now, he thought, he was indeed a dragon without a
treasure. Perhaps he had no more dignity than a turtle or a
toad-or even a butterfly. But, since there were no members
of his family left to mock such simple creatures, he did not
feel inclined to do so either.




In the world outside, the siege of the castle con-
tinued. The defenders valiantly drove the enemy
away again; then they were defeated by treachery
when a disaffected knight let the besiegers in at night
through a secret gate. The castle was taken, and destroyed.

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