The Dragon Megapack Read online

  The Dragon Megapack

  Version 1.0

  COPYRIGHT INFO

  The Dragon Megapack is copyright © 2014 by Wildside Press LLC. All rights reserved. Cover art © 2014 by Netfalls / Fotolia.

  * * * *

  “Sympathy for Dragons,” by John Gregory Betancourt, originally appeared in Weird Tales, January-February 2004. Copyright © 1995 by John Gregory Betancourt. Reprinted by permission of the author.

  “The Four Clever Brothers,” by The Brothers Grimm originally appeared in Kinder und Hausmarchen (1823). This version is taken from the 1884 Margaret Hunt translation (published as Household Tales), with paragraphing and punctuation modernized by John Betancourt for this edition.

  “The Fifty-First Dragon,” by Heywood Broun, originally appeared in 1919.

  “The Slaying of the Monster,” by R. H. Barlow and H. P. Lovecraft, originally appeared in 1933.

  “The King of the Fishes,” by Joseph Jacobs, is taken from Europa’s Fairy Book (1916).

  “The Student Who Was Made King” is taken from The Folk-Tales of the Magyars, translated by Rev. W. Henry Jones and Lewis L. Kropf (1889).

  “Of Mice & Dragons,” by Gary Lovisi, is copyright © 2011 by Gary Lovisi. Reprinted by permission of the author.

  “The Dragon of the North,” by Andrew Lang, originally appeared in The Yellow Fairy Book (1894).

  “The Reluctant Dragon,” by Kenneth Grahame, originally appeared as a chapter in Dream Days (1898).

  “John the True,” by Joseph Jacobs, is taken from Europa’s Fairy Book (1916).

  “Vernan’s Dragon,” by John Gregory Betancourt, originally appeared in slightly different form as “Vernon’s Dragon” in 100 Great Fantasy Short Short Stories. Copyright © 1984 by John Gregory Betancourt.

  “How the Dragon Was Tricked,” by J. G. von Hahn, originally appeared in Griechische und Albanesische Märchen. The text is taken from The Pink Fairy Book (1897).

  “Lily and the Lion,” by the Brothers Grimm, originally appeared in Kinder und Hausmarchen (1823). This version is taken from the 1884 Margaret Hunt translation (published as Household Tales), with paragraphing and punctuation modernized by John Betancourt for this edition.

  “The Bit about Dragons,” by Michael Kurland, originally appeared as part of his novel The Unicorn Girl. Copyright ©

  “The Prince and the Dragon,” by Andrew Lang, originally appeared in The Crimson Fairy Book (1894).

  “Why the Red Dragon is the Symbol of Wales,” by W. Jenkyn Thomas, originally appeared in this form in The Welsh Fairy Book.

  “Jabberwocky,” by Lewis Carroll, originally appeared in Through the Looking-Glass, and What Alice Found There (1871).

  “The Dragon’s Teeth,” by Nathaniel Hawthorne, is taken from Tanglewood Tales (1853).

  “The Dragon of Wantley,” attributed to Henry Carey, is a 17th Century text reprinted from Reliques of Ancient Poetry.

  “The Last of the Dragons,” by E. Nesbit, is taken from The Book of Dragons (1900).

  “The Dragon of la Trinità,” by Mary Lovett Cameron, originally appeared in Folklore, Vol. 21, No. 3 (1910).

  “The Little Bull-Calf,” by Joseph Jacobs, originally appeared in More English Fairy Tales (1894).

  “Rich Peter, the Pedlar,” by George Webbe Dasent originally appeared in Popular Tales from the Norse.

  “The Two Brothers,” by The Brothers Grimm, originally appeared in Kinder und Hausmarchen (1823). This version is taken from the 1884 Margaret Hunt translation (published as Household Tales), with paragraphing and punctuation modernized by John Betancourt for this edition.

  “The Mandelbrot Dragon,” by Mary A. Turzillo originally appeared in The Ultimate Dragon. Copyright © 1995 by Mary A. Turzillo. Reprinted by permission of the author.

  “Beowulf” (translation by William Morris and A.J. Wyatt) originally appeared in 1895).

  A NOTE FROM THE PUBLISHER

  Dragons have been a vital part of fantasy literature since the days of Greek and Roman myth, surviving through the oral tradition into the adventures of King Arthur and his knights—and thence into the modern times. They are a vital part of fairy tales, children’s stories, and even modern literature and movies (see Smaug from The Hobbit.) My own very first professional short story sale was about a dragon…see “Vernon’s Dragon,” in this volume. (It holds up remarkably well, for a story written by a 15-year-old, if I do say so myself! Though I do admit to some slight editorial tinkering for several recent republications.)

  When you get to “The King of the Fishes” and “The Two Brothers” you may note some similarities. Both share the same basic storyline, but the treatment and details are strikingly different, so we have elected to include both.

  Happy dragon-hunting!

  —John Betancourt

  Publisher, Wildside Press LLC

  www.wildsidepress.com

  * * * *

  Over the last few years, our “Megapack” series of ebook anthologies has grown to be among our most popular endeavors. (Maybe it helps that we sometimes offer them as premiums to our mailing list!) One question we keep getting asked is, “Who’s the editor?”

  The Megapacks (except where specifically credited) are a group effort. Everyone at Wildside works on them. This includes John Betancourt (me), Carla Coupe, Steve Coupe, Bonner Menking, Colin Azariah-Kribbs, A.E. Warren, and many of Wildside’s authors…who often suggest stories to include (and not just their own!)

  A NOTE FOR KINDLE READERS

  The Kindle versions of our Megapacks employ active tables of contents for easy navigation…please look for one before writing reviews on Amazon that complain about the lack! (They are sometimes at the ends of ebooks, depending on your reader.)

  RECOMMEND A FAVORITE STORY?

  Do you know a great classic science fiction story, or have a favorite author whom you believe is perfect for the Megapack series? We’d love your suggestions! You can post them on our message board at http://movies.ning.com/forum (there is an area for Wildside Press comments).

  Note: we only consider stories that have already been professionally published. This is not a market for new works.

  TYPOS

  Unfortunately, as hard as we try, a few typos do slip through. We update our ebooks periodically, so make sure you have the current version (or download a fresh copy if it’s been sitting in your ebook reader for months.) It may have already been updated.

  If you spot a new typo, please let us know. We’ll fix it for everyone. You can email the publisher at [email protected] or use the message boards above.

  THE MEGAPACK SERIES

  MYSTERY

  The Achmed Abdullah Megapack

  The Charlie Chan Megapack*

  The Craig Kennedy Scientific Detective Megapack

  The Detective Megapack

  The Father Brown Megapack

  The Girl Detective Megapack

  The Jacques Futrelle Megapack

  The Anna Katharine Green Mystery Megapack

  The First Mystery Megapack

  The Penny Parker Megapack

  The Philo Vance Megapack*

  The Pulp Fiction Megapack

  The Raffles Megapack

  The Sherlock Holmes Megapack

  The Victorian Mystery Megapack

  The Wilkie Collins Megapack

  GENERAL INTEREST

  The Adventure Megapack

  The Baseball Megapack

  The Cat Story Megapack

  The Second Cat Story Megapack

  The Third Cat Story Megapack

  The Third Cat Story Megapack

  The Christmas Megapack

  The Second Christmas Megapack

  The Classic American Short Stories Megapack, Vol. 1.
/>   The Classic Humor Megapack

  The Dog Story Megapack

  The Doll Story Megapack

  The Horse Story Megapack

  The Military Megapack

  The Sea-Story Megapack

  SCIENCE FICTION & FANTASY

  The Edward Bellamy Megapack

  The First Reginald Bretnor Megapack

  The Fredric Brown Megapack

  The Ray Cummings Megapack

  The Philip K. Dick Megapack

  The Randall Garrett Megapack

  The Second Randall Garrett Megapack

  The Edmond Hamilton Megapack

  The C.J. Henderson Megapack

  The Murray Leinster Megapack

  The Second Murray Leinster Megapack

  The Martian Megapack

  The E. Nesbit Megapack

  The Andre Norton Megapack

  The H. Beam Piper Megapack

  The Pulp Fiction Megapack

  The Mack Reynolds Megapack

  The Darrell Schweitzer Megapack

  The Science-Fantasy Megapack

  The First Science Fiction Megapack

  The Second Science Fiction Megapack

  The Third Science Fiction Megapack

  The Fourth Science Fiction Megapack

  The Fifth Science Fiction Megapack

  The Sixth Science Fiction Megapack

  The Seventh Science Fiction Megapack

  The Eighth Science Fiction Megapack

  The Robert Sheckley Megapack

  The Steampunk Megapack

  The Time Travel Megapack

  The Wizard of Oz Megapack

  HORROR

  The Achmed Abdullah Megapack

  The Second Achmed Abdullah Megapack

  The E.F. Benson Megapack

  The Second E.F. Benson Megapack

  The Algernon Blackwood Megapack

  The Second Algernon Blackwood Megapack

  The Cthulhu Mythos Megapack

  The Erckmann-Chatrian Megapack

  The Ghost Story Megapack

  The Second Ghost Story Megapack

  The Third Ghost Story Megapack

  The Haunts & Horrors Megapack

  The Horror Megapack

  The Lon Williams Weird Western Megapack

  The M.R. James Megapack

  The Macabre Megapack

  The Second Macabre Megapack

  The Arthur Machen Megapack**

  The Mummy Megapack

  The Occult Detective Megapack

  The Darrell Schweitzer Megapack

  The Vampire Megapack

  The Weird Fiction Megapack

  The Werewolf Megapack

  WESTERNS

  The B.M. Bower Megapack

  The Max Brand Megapack

  The Buffalo Bill Megapack

  The Cowboy Megapack

  The Zane Grey Megapack

  The Lon Williams Weird Western Megapack

  The Western Megapack

  The Second Western Megapack

  YOUNG ADULT

  The Boys’ Adventure Megapack

  The Dan Carter, Cub Scout Megapack

  The Doll Story Megapack

  The G.A. Henty Megapack

  The Girl Detectives Megapack

  The E. Nesbit Megapack

  The Penny Parker Megapack

  The Pinocchio Megapack

  The Rover Boys Megapack

  The Tom Corbett, Space Cadet Megapack

  The Tom Swift Megapack

  The Wizard of Oz Megapack

  AUTHOR MEGAPACKS

  The Achmed Abdullah Megapack

  The H. Bedford-Jones Pulp Fiction Megapack

  The Edward Bellamy Megapack

  The B.M. Bower Megapack

  The E.F. Benson Megapack

  The Second E.F. Benson Megapack

  The Algernon Blackwood Megapack

  The Second Algernon Blackwood Megapack

  The Max Brand Megapack

  The First Reginald Bretnor Megapack

  The Fredric Brown Megapack

  The Wilkie Collins Megapack

  The Ray Cummings Megapack

  The Guy de Maupassant Megapack

  The Philip K. Dick Megapack

  The Erckmann-Chatrian Megapack

  The Jacques Futrelle Megapack

  The Randall Garrett Megapack

  The Second Randall Garrett Megapack

  The Anna Katharine Green Megapack

  The Zane Grey Megapack

  The Edmond Hamilton Megapack

  The Dashiell Hammett Megapack

  The C.J. Henderson Megapack

  The M.R. James Megapack

  The Selma Lagerlof Megapack

  The Murray Leinster Megapack***

  The Second Murray Leinster Megapack***

  The Arthur Machen Megapack**

  The George Barr McCutcheon Megapack

  The Talbot Mundy Megapack

  The E. Nesbit Megapack

  The Andre Norton Megapack

  The H. Beam Piper Megapack

  The Mack Reynolds Megapack

  The Rafael Sabatini Megapack

  The Saki Megapack

  The Darrell Schweitzer Megapack

  The Robert Sheckley Megapack

  The Lon Williams Weird Western Megapack

  * Not available in the United States

  ** Not available in the European Union

  ***Out of print.

  OTHER COLLECTIONS YOU MAY ENJOY

  The Great Book of Wonder, by Lord Dunsany (it should have been called “The Lord Dunsany Megapack”)

  The Wildside Book of Fantasy

  The Wildside Book of Science Fiction

  Yondering: The First Borgo Press Book of Science Fiction Stories

  To the Stars—And Beyond! The Second Borgo Press Book of Science Fiction Stories

  Once Upon a Future: The Third Borgo Press Book of Science Fiction Stories

  Whodunit?—The First Borgo Press Book of Crime and Mystery Stories

  More Whodunits—The Second Borgo Press Book of Crime and Mystery Stories

  X is for Xmas: Christmas Mysteries

  SYMPATHY FOR DRAGONS, by John Gregory Betancourt

  Sir Horace, the greatest knight in all Mordovia, tracked the dragon Grothnir back to its lair in the Pyrénées. On a cold, wind-swept plateau three thousand feet above the lush green valleys of France, he dismounted his horse, drew his sword, faced the cave, and bellowed:

  “Ho, monster! I have come to slay you!”

  He sensed movement within the darkness. Bracing himself, he raised his sword and prepared for battle—of which there came none.

  “Grothnir!” he bellowed after ten minutes of waiting. “Show yourself, spawn of evil!”

  Again he sensed movement, and two great yellow eyes suddenly regarded him from the depths.

  “Come out!” Sir Horace shouted.

  “No,” said the dragon, its voice low and rumbling.

  Sir Horace blinked, hardly believing his ears. A dragon that would not do battle? Impossible! Perhaps the monster had misunderstood.

  “Come out!” he repeated, in his most commanding voice.

  “No,” said the dragon.

  Sir Horace ranted. Sir Horace railed. He called the dragon a coward, a simpering weakling, a mockery of all that was draconian. Still Grothnir refused to fight. In desperation, he threw rocks at its eyes. He even gathered snow from the peaks above and pelted the beast with snowballs. But for all his efforts, for all his insults, the great creature remained steadfast in its refusal. And Sir Horace knew better than to venture into its lair, for within such close confines he would be roasted by the monster’s breath.

  They had reached an impasse.

  * * * *

  Sir Horace made his camp outside the cave’s mouth. Each morning he renewed his challenge to the dragon; each morning it refused. Once a week villagers from Les Fleurs brought him fresh provisions and checked on his progress; once a week he reported, “I have it cornered. I will starve it out
.”

  But as the weeks turned into months, and the months threatened to turn into years, still the dragon Grothnir remained safe within its lair.

  Once, on a particularly beautiful spring morning, he thought he heard cracking and chewing from within the cave. He listened intently. Yes—he definitely heard something. Perhaps Grothnir had caught a foolish rat. Well, vermin would little sustain it.

  “Grothnir!” he bellowed, as had become his custom. “Come out!”

  “Soon,” came the rumbling reply.

  Sir Horace raced to his tent and began to sharpen his sword. Soon! The word sent his blood racing. Soon!

  * * * *

  Each day for a fortnight, the dragon repeated its promise. By the fifteenth day Sir Horace felt his patience wane.

  “Soon!” he snorted. “I will be an old man before we do battle! How much longer will you make me wait, O serpent?”

  “Tomorrow,” promised Grothnir.

  Filled with hope and ambition, Sir Horace retired early to his prayers.

  * * * *

  The next day, Sir Horace rose before dawn, made his morning ablutions, and crossed to Grothnir’s cave. The day had come! Today he would slay the dragon. He wore a garland of fresh flowers on his shield; he carried his sword unsheathed. As he walked he whistled, and his step had a merry bounce.

  “Ho, dragon!” he called at the cave’s mouth. “Come out!”

  “Step back,” came the reply. “I must stretch my wings.”

  Obligingly, Sir Horace removed himself to the far edge of the plateau. Yet he remained steadfast in his vigilance; he would not give the serpent a chance to fly away.

  Slowly Grothnir emerged into the sunlight, sixty feet long from smoking snout to barbed black tail. Sir Horace noticed how thin it was, how its hide hung slack and its bony ribs and hips stuck out. The dragon’s scales had lost their rainbow sparkle from a year underground; its gold eyes blinked, dull and listless. Slowly it shook dust from its leathery wings, then stood on its hind legs and roared at the sky.

  The ground shook, but Sir Horace kept his feet. Even half starved, the dragon looked impossibly huge and strong. Yet, remembering its cowardice, he drew new strength. It feared him! It had taken nearly a year of starvation to force Grothnir into the open. It knew he must inevitably triumph!

  He stepped forward boldly, raising his shield against the monster’s flaming breath.

  “Come out!” the dragon called.

  Sir Horace peeked around his shield, but the dragon was not talking to him. He followed its gaze to the mouth of the cave, where ten or twelve smaller versions of Grothnir watched. The dragonlings, thin and bright-eyed, were little bigger than a man, with twin plumes of smoke rising from their nostrils. One still had a bit of shell stuck to its shoulder.