Scarcely had the King spoken when some of his soldiers came running
with news that they had seen the Purple Dragon eating plum-pudding in
the royal garden.
"What did you do about it?" asked the monarch.
"We did nothing," they answered; "for, had we interfered with its
repast, the Dragon would probably have eaten us for dessert."
"That is true," remarked the King. "Yet something must be done to
protect us from this monster. For many years it has annoyed us by
eating our choicest crops, and nothing we can do seems of any avail to
save us from its ravages."
"If we were able to destroy the Dragon," said Prince Thinkabit, "we
should be doing our country the greatest possible service."
"We have often tried to destroy it," replied the King, "but the beast
always manages to get the best of the fight, having wonderful strength
and great cunning. However, let us hold a council of war, and see what
is suggested."
So a council of war was called. The Wise Man, all the Princes and
Noblemen, the Dog and the Wise Donkey being assembled to talk the
matter over.
"I advise that you build a high wall around the Dragon," said the Wise
Man. "Then it will be unable to get out, and will starve to death."
"It is strong enough to break down the wall," said the King.
"I suggest you dig a great hole in the ground," remarked the Donkey. "Then the Dragon will fall into it and perish."
"It is too clever to fall into the hole," said the King.
"The best thing to do," declared Timtom, "is to cut off its legs; for
then it could not walk into our gardens."
"The scales on its legs are too hard and thick," said the King. "We
have tried that, and failed."
"We might take a red-hot iron, and put the Dragon's eyes out," ventured
Prince Jollikin.
"Its eyes are glass," replied the King with a sigh, "and the iron would
have no effect on them."
"Suppose we tie a tin can to its tail," suggested the Dog. "The
rattling of the can would so frighten the Dragon that it would run out
of the country."
"Its tail is so long," answered the King, gloomily, "that the Dragon
could not hear the can rattle."
Then they all remained silent for a time, thinking so hard that their
heads began to ache; but no one seemed able to think of the right thing
to do.
Finally the King himself made a proposition.
"One thing we might attempt with some hope of success," said his
Majesty. "Should it fail, we can not be worse off than we are at
present. My idea is for us to go in a great body to the castle of the
Dragon, and pull out its teeth with a pair of forceps. Having no teeth, the monster will be harmless to annoy us in any way; and, since we seem unable to kill it, I believe this is the best way out of our difficulty."
The King's plan pleased every one, and met with shouts of approval. The
council then adjourned, and all the members went to prepare for the
fight with the Purple Dragon.
First the blacksmith made a large pair of forceps, to pull the Dragon's
teeth with. The handles of the forceps were so long that fifty men
could take hold of them at one time. Then the people armed themselves
with swords and spears and marched in a great body to the castle of the
Purple Dragon.
This remarkable beast, which for so long had kept the Valley of Mo in
constant terror, was standing on the front porch of its castle when the
army arrived. It looked at the crowd of people in surprise, and said:
"Are you not weary with your attempts to destroy me? What selfish
people you must be! Whenever I eat anything that belongs to you, there
is a great row, and immediately you come here to fight me. These
battles are unpleasant to all of us. The best thing for you to do is to
return home and behave yourselves; for I am not in the least afraid of
you."
Neither the King nor his people replied to these taunts. They simply
brought forward the big pair of forceps and reached them toward the
Dragon.
This movement astonished the monster, who, never having been to a
dentist in his life, had no idea what the strange instrument was for.
"Surely you can not think to hurt me with that iron thing," it called
out, in derision. And then the Dragon laughed at the idea of any one
attempting to injure it.