"Roger Zelazny - Dragons" - читать интересную книгу автора (Zelazny Roger)

"Now," he said.

Then something happened. Bell had been the color of the
oakwood table, but now he was dark, red-green in color and
seemed slightly larger than he had been. He opened his mouth,
and a tiny spark came out of it.

Then he was bigger than the package he had come out of. He
was twice as big as he had been only a moment before. He opened
his mouth again, and the king drew back away from the flame
that emerged.

Then Bell was as big as a man, and the platters rattled as
they fell upon the floor, pushed away from him while he grew.

And he kept growing. He grew and he grew, until the table
broke in half beneath him. He grew until he filled half the
great banquet hall.

He opened his mouth and roared with a sound like thunder.
Flames shot forth from the windows of the palace and lighted up
the courtyard outside. Tapestries were scorched. Women screamed
and backed against the wall. Seven knights fainted, and the
captain of the King's Guard ran and hid himself behind the
throne.

William felt something crawling across his foot, and he
looked down under what was left of the table. The first three
advisers were crouched there, shivering.

"Well?" he asked them. "Yes, it is a very good dragon,"
answered the first.

"Only it is not a medium-sized one," said the second.

"No, it is a large, economy-sized dragon," said the third.

"He was the best I could manage on such short notice,"
said William, smiling.

The king pushed the princess behind his back and stood
facing the dragon.

"My, you're a big one," he said. "Please do be careful
with those flames. There are expensive tapestries and people
and things like that about."

The dragon laughed. No one else did.