Read Online How to speak Dragonese by Cressida Cowell - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Cressida Cowell
Tags: Fiction, General, Humorous stories, Children's Books, Action & Adventure, Juvenile Fiction, Action & Adventure - General, Fantasy & Magic, Ages 9-12 Fiction, Children: Grades 4-6, Dragons, Vikings
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him and carried on talking.
"I see you mow the Grimbeard's
138
Grapple, and the Flash cut Lunge, and the Deathwatch Parry, and the --"
"Will you STOP!" panted Hiccup, frantically parrying all of these moves, and getting his sleeve cut off in the process. "My name really is Hiccup ... I really am a Hooligan ..."
"I don't believe you," said the little girl. "You're a Roman SPY! Admit it, or I will UNZIP you from your BREADBASKET to your OYSTERGOBBLER! Oooooooh, your defense is a bit WEAK, you know, you should really work on that... otherwise, a person could just nip through -- and ..."
She made a perfectly executed lunge which Hiccup parried at the last minute but which cut off his second sleeve.
[Image: Camicazi.]
"Whoops!" crowed the little girl joyfully. "There goes the other one!"
"I --AM --NOT --A --ROMAN ..." gasped Hiccup, his back against the wall.
"Well, a Hooligan isn't much better," said the little girl, pausing for a second and then carrying on. "My mother says the only good Hooligan is a dead Hooligan."
"That's funny," panted Hiccup, "because my
139
father says that the only good Bog-Burglar is a dead Bog-Burglar -- and the really amusing thing is, unless we join together, in about two weeks' time, we are both ping to be VERY GOOD, and VERY DEAD."
"Oh BOTHER," sighed the girl, stopping at last.
[Image: A man.]
140
Now that she wasn't moving around so much, Hiccup could see that she really was quite a small girl, at least a head shorter than he was. "I was really looking forward to spilling some blood."
She grinned at Hiccup. "You're not a bad sword-fighter, actually, for a boy, of course ..."
"Thanks," said Hiccup, still trying to catch his breath.
The little girl stuck out her hand for a handshake. "My name's CAMICAZI, the Heir to the Bog-Burglars. Nice to meet you. What are you doing here, anyway?"
"We got kidnapped just like you," replied Hiccup. "And we're also looking for a dragon that I've lost. He's about so high, green eyes, a Common-or-Garden ..."
"Oh, yes," said Camicazi. "The soldier who brings the food told me about HIM. He bit the Prefect on the nose when they brought him in!"
"Good old Toothless," said Hiccup.
"The Prefect really doesn't like HIM," said Camicazi.
"Yes, I know," said Hiccup. "Toothless once did a poo in his helmet, and a Treacherous never forgives."
141
"They've put him in Level Seven, Top Security."
"Oh poor, poor Toothless," said Hiccup. "I can't bear to think of him being trapped. He hates small spaces -- he can't even go down rabbit holes, despite rabbit being his favorite food; he stays at the entrance shrieking his head off --"
But at that very moment the door to the prison cell opened again. It was a stout soldier carrying a small green ball in one hand.
"I've got a present for Hiccup Horrendous Haddock the Third from the Prefect," leered the soldier.
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He threw the ball roughly at Hiccup and it struck him heavily in the stomach, winding him severely. The little ball unrolled itself with a furious "D-d-d-do you m-m-mind ?" and with a sudden burst of happiness Hiccup realized who it was.
"Toothless!" he exclaimed joyfully, once he had got his breath back. "TOOTHLESS!"
He bent down to pick up his dragon. The poor little animal had lost so much weight he was all skin and bones. Hiccup could feel his ribs sticking out, and his tail had gone all floppy and lost its pointy fork, which is what happens if a dragon is imprisoned or deeply unhappy.
For a moment Toothless pretended that he didn't care --"Y-y-yucky - put me down!" -- and then he put his little dragon arms around Hiccup's neck and hung on for dear life, whispering in Hiccup's ear, so that only he could hear, over and over again, "Th-th-thank you ... thank you... T-T-Toothless would have died. if he spent one more hour in that h-h-horrible place... TH-TH-THANK YOU..."
143
144
12. THE MASTER ESCAPER
It may not sound like much, but one of the first facts you learn about dragons is that
"I see you mow the Grimbeard's
138
Grapple, and the Flash cut Lunge, and the Deathwatch Parry, and the --"
"Will you STOP!" panted Hiccup, frantically parrying all of these moves, and getting his sleeve cut off in the process. "My name really is Hiccup ... I really am a Hooligan ..."
"I don't believe you," said the little girl. "You're a Roman SPY! Admit it, or I will UNZIP you from your BREADBASKET to your OYSTERGOBBLER! Oooooooh, your defense is a bit WEAK, you know, you should really work on that... otherwise, a person could just nip through -- and ..."
She made a perfectly executed lunge which Hiccup parried at the last minute but which cut off his second sleeve.
[Image: Camicazi.]
"Whoops!" crowed the little girl joyfully. "There goes the other one!"
"I --AM --NOT --A --ROMAN ..." gasped Hiccup, his back against the wall.
"Well, a Hooligan isn't much better," said the little girl, pausing for a second and then carrying on. "My mother says the only good Hooligan is a dead Hooligan."
"That's funny," panted Hiccup, "because my
139
father says that the only good Bog-Burglar is a dead Bog-Burglar -- and the really amusing thing is, unless we join together, in about two weeks' time, we are both ping to be VERY GOOD, and VERY DEAD."
"Oh BOTHER," sighed the girl, stopping at last.
[Image: A man.]
140
Now that she wasn't moving around so much, Hiccup could see that she really was quite a small girl, at least a head shorter than he was. "I was really looking forward to spilling some blood."
She grinned at Hiccup. "You're not a bad sword-fighter, actually, for a boy, of course ..."
"Thanks," said Hiccup, still trying to catch his breath.
The little girl stuck out her hand for a handshake. "My name's CAMICAZI, the Heir to the Bog-Burglars. Nice to meet you. What are you doing here, anyway?"
"We got kidnapped just like you," replied Hiccup. "And we're also looking for a dragon that I've lost. He's about so high, green eyes, a Common-or-Garden ..."
"Oh, yes," said Camicazi. "The soldier who brings the food told me about HIM. He bit the Prefect on the nose when they brought him in!"
"Good old Toothless," said Hiccup.
"The Prefect really doesn't like HIM," said Camicazi.
"Yes, I know," said Hiccup. "Toothless once did a poo in his helmet, and a Treacherous never forgives."
141
"They've put him in Level Seven, Top Security."
"Oh poor, poor Toothless," said Hiccup. "I can't bear to think of him being trapped. He hates small spaces -- he can't even go down rabbit holes, despite rabbit being his favorite food; he stays at the entrance shrieking his head off --"
But at that very moment the door to the prison cell opened again. It was a stout soldier carrying a small green ball in one hand.
"I've got a present for Hiccup Horrendous Haddock the Third from the Prefect," leered the soldier.
142
He threw the ball roughly at Hiccup and it struck him heavily in the stomach, winding him severely. The little ball unrolled itself with a furious "D-d-d-do you m-m-mind ?" and with a sudden burst of happiness Hiccup realized who it was.
"Toothless!" he exclaimed joyfully, once he had got his breath back. "TOOTHLESS!"
He bent down to pick up his dragon. The poor little animal had lost so much weight he was all skin and bones. Hiccup could feel his ribs sticking out, and his tail had gone all floppy and lost its pointy fork, which is what happens if a dragon is imprisoned or deeply unhappy.
For a moment Toothless pretended that he didn't care --"Y-y-yucky - put me down!" -- and then he put his little dragon arms around Hiccup's neck and hung on for dear life, whispering in Hiccup's ear, so that only he could hear, over and over again, "Th-th-thank you ... thank you... T-T-Toothless would have died. if he spent one more hour in that h-h-horrible place... TH-TH-THANK YOU..."
143
144
12. THE MASTER ESCAPER
It may not sound like much, but one of the first facts you learn about dragons is that
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