"Yes, I have some chameleon blood in me from my mother's
side of the family. Now about this dragon business: I am
anxious to see your king and his court and his kingdom. I am
also anxious to know how it is that you came to this valley to
look for dragons."
"I have a map," said William. "See? 'Here There Be
Dragons' is what it says about this valley."
"Who drew that map?" "The Royal Cartographer, Mister
Gibberling," said William.
"Aha! A Gibberling map!" said Bell. "An original! I'll
tell you what. If you take me back with you to the court, and
arrange for me to meet Mister Gibberling, I promise you that I
will produce one real, live dragon upon demand."
"How?" William wanted to know.
"That is my business," said Bell, "and that is my
proposition. Take it or leave it."
"Are you sure you can do it?"
"Yes," said Bell.
"All right," said William. "You produce a dragon when I
ask you to, and I promise that you will get to meet Mister
Gibberling."
"It's a deal," said Bell, turning brown as he jumped into
the saddlebag. "Let's get going."
William mounted his horse and they rode away together.
Chapter 5
The princess' birthday party promised to be a gala affair.
The great dining hall of the palace resounded with music. There
was dancing and wine and big platters of food. There were whole
roasted pigs with apples in their mouths, and there were
chickens and dumplings and great roasts of beef.
All the ladies and gentlemen of the kingdom came, and the
ladies wore dresses of red and yellow and blue and orange and
green and violet. There was a great birthday cake, the size of
an elephant and a half, and it had ten candles on it, because
that was how old the princess was. Everyone brought her
wondrous gifts. There was everything that a person could
