Butterfingers Read online

  But it was nothing – perhaps the wind, perhaps an echo.

  Ned's heart was thumping and his breath seemed loud. "Be brave, Ned," he said to himself. "Remember, be like a knight." He kept in his mind an image of the Princess Bella; it made him feel a little more courageous. Slowly he edged along the wall, feeling with his hands for the crevices and cracks as he went. The crevice narrowed and stretched back into further darkness.

  If the dragon returned, he would be found. Found and eaten. A terrible fear gripped Ned. Supposing the princess had already become a meal for the dragon and he had come all this way in vain!

  "It's no good worrying about such things," he said to himself. "I'll find out soon enough. Meanwhile, I must go on."

  He crept further into the gloom. The rocky walls dripped with moisture and were horrid to touch. He felt terribly alone. Then, ahead, he saw a dim light.

  As Ned made his way forward, he realized that the passage opened out into a long cave. His eyes widened. There, on the floor of this cave room in the middle of the mountain, was a rich purple Turkish carpet; hanging from the ceiling, an ornate gold lantern shed its flickering light in the dimness. Unlit torches lined the walls and Ned saw that these followed the passage beyond the cave, deeper into the mountain. He could make out the intricate patterns on the carpet, bright with rich reds, blues and purples, yet stained with dark blotches. The light from the lantern cast strange shadows on the uneven walls. Ned's own shadow appeared huge, a strange, half-bent, creeping silhouette which exaggerated his gangly form, his spiky hair and his tensed shoulders. His shadow bent and rippled across the ridges of the rock and seemed to splinter into creases and cracks.

  As Ned looked closer, he suddenly realized that the spattered stains on the carpet could only be (and here he could not suppress a shudder) the remains of the dragon's meal. He now made out several bones, bits of gristle and odd remnants of fur and feather. The carpet was stained with blood and the stench of old flesh filled the musty air.

  Ned shivered, and his shadow shivered too, vast and quivering on the cave walls. He felt very vulnerable, standing there in the middle of that room.

  Then, in the distance, he heard a roar! The dragon was returning!

  But before he could panic, he felt something moving at his neck. It was Mouse. In his fear and exertion he had forgotten her. "Oh, Mouse," he whispered, but the little creature scampered under his jerkin and down his trousers, and darted across the carpet to disappear into a crevice.

  Ned's head swivelled round after her. The crevice was little more than a crack in the rock, yet it looked almost wide enough for a skinny boy. Mouse had shown him a hiding place. Could he reach it in time? He heard his heart thumping in his chest.

  He ran swiftly across the Turkish carpet, across the bones and the mess, across the great divide of the room, with his shadow leaping ahead of him as he went.

  Suddenly there was a rush of wind and smoke! His heart lurched and he gasped. The dragon was back and an ear-splitting roar filled the cave!

  Ned froze. Then he came to his senses and squeezed into the crevice.

  Just in time, Ned! Just in the nick of time!

  For smoke billowed into the cave and heat and noise filled the space. Then the huge scaly body of the dragon entered. Magically, all the torches on the walls lit up!

  Ned saw the huge beast in every fearful Detail: the glittering black scales, the red, gaping, many-toothed mouth. In one cruel claw dangled a sheep; in the other was a golden goblet. The dragon closed its wings and dropped the sheep and the goblet on the floor. The sheep bleated piteously and scuttled across the carpet. With a harsh laugh, the dragon sent out a tongue of flame, which hit the sheep like a whip. Ned shut his eyes in horror. When he opened them again the sheep was dead!

  BONES!

  AS NED CROUCHED, HIDDEN FROM VIEW, HE SAW THE DRAGON TEAR AT THE FLESH OF THE SHEEP IT HAD KILLED. Chewing, chopping, grinding, burping, the dragon enjoyed its meal.

  At last, with a loud belch and a puff of smoke, it was finished. There was a horrid mess left on the floor: bits of bone, hooves and other indigestible parts of the poor sheep. The dragon gave a huge yawn, opening its jaws wide and dribbling a little as it did so.

  But instead of going to sleep, it moved out onto the rocky ledge, reared up and opened its wings. With a huge roar and a blast of smoke, it took off into the air. Immediately the torches along the walls went out.

  Ned looked around for Mouse but she was nowhere to be seen. He really was totally alone now. But he took his courage in both hands, left the crevice and started to creep over to the passage that led from the far end of the cave. Without the torches, the further he went from the lantern, the darker it got. He had lost track of how long he had been in the cave, for day and night had no meaning here. He felt like a mole, or a worm that finds its way blindly, in the dark earth. All Ned could do was carry on, though a heavy dread sat in his heart. Cautiously, peering ahead in the gloom, he felt his way forwards.

  It was not far and yet it seemed so. At last a little glow of light could be seen ahead. Ned quickened his pace. Suddenly his feet bumped against something; something that gave way with a rattle. His heart missed a beat, but then he bent down and felt something hard, which seemed to crumble at his touch.

  Ned drew back his hand in horror, his chest heaving in panic! He had touched a dead man! A dead man, still dressed in armour! His eyes gradually made sense of the shapes. There, lying crookedly across the floor as if thrown down, lay the skeleton of a knight!

  Ned wanted to run back, but he made himself be calm. Eventually he felt able to look closer and saw that the bones had been picked clean. A plumed helmet sat atop a white skull, the teeth grinning mirthlessly. From under the helmet flowed long dark locks of hair; silver gauntlets covered the arm hones; and the still dimly shining breastplate lay over empty ribs.

  His stomach lurching, the boy put out his hand and traced the engraving on the breastplate: a prancing lion, still showing a faint red tinge. This was the skeleton of Sir Pevner! The knight had made it all the way into the mountain to rescue the princess, yet had been killed! All that was left of him was a pile of bones and a few pieces of armour.

  Sir Pevner. the king's champion, bravest of all the knights, had failed to destroy the dragon. The terrible monster had killed him and Ned couldn't help thinking that it could only be a matter of time before he became the dragon's next meal! He mustn't think of that. He must only think of the Princess Bella. Ned looked down at poor Sir Pevner's skeleton. "No giving up yet, Ned," he said to himself. "It's up to you now. You came all this way to find Bella, and find her you will!"

  The boy carried on towards the light. The passage curved round before opening out again into another cave. Cautiously, he peered in.

  This cave was a little brighter, lit this time by rounded orbs of light coming from a golden candelabra suspended horn the centre of the roof. There were unlit torches around the walls of the cave, which were hung with crimson drapes. Pieces of furniture were tipped over, as it thrown into the room, and another Turkish carpet lay on the rocky floor, this one clean and bright, covered with a scattering of gold coins and shiny beads. A large gilt mirror stood propped up near a wall and Ned tiptoed in and hid behind it. He peeped round . . .

  And gave a silent gasp at what he saw.

  THE GOLDEN TREASURE CHAMBER

  THERE WAS A HUGE PILE OF TREASURE, LYING ALL HIGGLEDY-PIGGLEDY, ONE THING BALANCED UPON ANOTHER, REACHING UP NEARLY TO THE CEILING. There were half-open chests full of coins; there were rolls of silks and satins; there were strings of jewels, necklaces and crowns. There were golden goblets and paintings in gilded frames; there were the heads or arms of bronze and marble statues poking through a muddle of shiny objects; there were pieces of glittering armour, large gold chains of office, leather-bound books – Ned could hardly believe his eyes: all this splendour mixed up together, one precious thing on top of another, in a heap within the dark mountain!

  The pile o
f treasure seemed to give out a light of its own, a golden gleam shining like a flame within the rocky cave. Ned stared and stared; then he craned his head and looked up. There, balanced precariously on the very top, was a small gilt chair, and on this chair sat the Princess Bella! Ned's heart lurched. She was alive! She looked just the same: bright, shining, golden-haired, attired in the white dress she had been wearing on that wonderful – terrible – morning of her birthday. She was staring into space, a lost, empty look on her small perfect face.

  Ned crept out from behind the mirror into that glowing place; all the goblets and bowls shone in the light of the candelabra, and in each winking gold or silver surface a tiny reflection of a princess glittered. There were hundreds of tiny princesses, in hundreds of tiny glittering mirrors, and each gave off light, as the princess herself gave off light. How strange it was, Ned thought, to see such light inside such darkness; to see the princess sitting high up on the top of a sort of mountain – inside a mountain.

  Then Ned saw her bend her head to her hands and heard the sound of sobs.

  He quickly stepped forward. "Don't cry, Princess," he said. "I am here to save you."

  The princess's head came up in a flash. She stared at Ned, one tear slowly rolling down her cheek. She wiped her eyes and looked at him, astonished.

  "You! Ned the stableboy, Ned of the violets! How did you get here?" she whispered.

  She leaned forward, looking down on him. Ned noticed that her hand was tied at the wrist by a long, loose green cord attached to an iron ring in the ceiling of the cave.

  "Oh, thank goodness," she said, still whispering. "But I can hardly believe it's you. I've been expecting a knight to save me!"

  Ned hung his head. This wasn't going quite the way he had intended.

  "Oh," she whispered, seeing his face. "I didn't mean it like that. I've never been so pleased to see anyone. But, oh, Ned, whatever can you do to help me?"

  "Lots of things," he said. "Why, I've come to defeat the dragon and take you back to the palace!"

  "Ssh!" said the princess, looking anxiously at the cave entrance. "If you've come to save me, you'd better hurry up. It's very nice to see you, I'm sure, but—"

  She stopped. Her eyes widened as they swept over Ned's odd assortment of armour. A curious expression came over her face.

  "Ah well," she said at last, "an attempt at being a knight at least, if not quite what I had in mind. What I did have in mind were my father's knights, in shining armour – but they are all gone, all killed by the dragon, or they ran away in fear. Oh, Ned, I heard them ride up and challenge the dragon. But it soared out and turned its fire on them. I heard the horses gallop off, if they were lucky. Otherwise they were eaten."

  Ned gulped.

  "So much for knights," Bella went on with a little grimace. "I thought that's what they were supposed to do – kill dragons! How you got here is a mystery to me. I know you, Ned. I've heard what they call you: Clumsy Ned. Butterfingers." Ned blushed. "And yet here you are. It's a kind of miracle."

  She sat up straight in her chair and looked directly at him. "Well? What will you do? Do you have a plan?"

  "Um . . . something will turn up, I'm sure," said Ned quickly. "When will the dragon return?"

  "I don't know. It's probably gone to find more treasure, though if this pile gets any bigger it'll all fall down. The dragon won't let me go. Why it keeps me here I'll never know. Perhaps I'm part of its treasure. No, I'll never escape. Besides, I'm tied by this magic cord. You'll have to kill the dragon. And please be quick."

  Ned moved a little closer and looked up at Princess Bella. He took in her forget-me-not blue eyes, her golden hair and her rose-coloured lips. Suddenly killing a dragon seemed an easy thing. Now that he had found Bella, he felt as brave as any knight.

  THE ECHO

  BELLA DREW HERSELF UP AND LOOKED HER MOST PRINCESSY.

  "And how will you kill it? Do you have a weapon?" she asked, suddenly imperious. "Or merely a bunch of violets to give it?"

  "Oh, I have .,. this little knife."

  She tossed her head. "Useless!" she said. "Do you have any proper armour?"

  "Just these bits . . . and pieces," said Ned, rather shame-faced. "Oh, Ned!" she said, exasperated. "Do you have anything with which to kill a dragon and save me? Which is presumably why you came? Do you have anything?"

  Ned sighed; he felt sad and hopeless. He put his hands in his pockets and shrugged.

  Then he smiled. "I brought this," he said. From his pocket he took the golden ball and threw it up to the princess. She caught it and stared.

  "What on earth do you think I can do with this?"

  Ned gulped. "Play with it?"

  "Play with it?"

  All of a sudden, as the princess raised her voice, the whole cave – indeed, it seemed, the whole mountain – was filled with an echo!

  Play with it . . . Play with it . . . with it . . . with it . . .

  "It's your special treasure . . ." cried Ned in a rush.

  Treasure . . . treasure . . . sure . . . ure . . . went the echo.

  "Don't shout!" whispered the princess. "There's this terrible echo. That's why I've been trying to whisper. Keep your voice down."

  "It's your special treasure," hissed Ned.

  "Don't talk to me of treasure," she said, in a strange, high voice. "I've had enough of treasure; it's dragons who love treasure. I'm treasure; all this around me is treasure! My father, my palace, my garden, my liberty – those are my special treasures, not . . . not a – a ball!" She couldn't help but raise her voice in indignation. Ball . . . ball . . . ball . . . Ill . . . went the echo.

  Ned sat down on the hard floor. He felt ashamed. "Sorry," he mumbled. "Perhaps when the dragon sleeps, we can creep past it and climb down the mountain and escape."

  Bella gave a little shake of her shoulders. "I'm tied by this magic rope, boy. Can't you see? Really!" She gave a great sigh of impatience. "It can't be cut and it can't be untied." She leaned back in her chair and closed her eyes as if suddenly very tired.

  Ned stood up. Bella opened her eyes. They looked at each other quietly.

  "Then, Princess," he said finally, "I must kill the dragon."

  "Oh, Ned," Bella whispered. "The knights came in an army and yet could not defeat the dragon. You are all on your own!"

  "I came with an army!" said Ned.

  "You did? Where is it?" she asked excitedly.

  "Well – there were three of us to begin with – me, my dog Tuff and Dilly the pony. Then, after a bit, some other animals joined us—"

  "Animals?" said the princess.

  "A pig, and um . . . an . . . an otter . . . um . . . and a mouse . . . and . . ."

  The princess stared at him.

  "Um, and . . . a lark . . ."

  The princess continued staring.

  "And a fox! We all came to save you!"

  "Oh, I see, yes," said Bella. "That'll help. Nothing like a few farmyard friends to sort out dragons. Nothing like the power and might of an old pony and a dog, a pig, an otter and a mouse! And what was it? A lark! And a fox? Just the thing. Well done! Don't know why you didn't bring a couple of chickens and a goat!"

  Ned couldn't help it, he really couldn't. "I don't know why we bothered, Miss Sarky-pants!" he snapped.

  Princess Bella gasped! Then suddenly she laughed. The laugh escaped her in a sweet sound and she looked surprised, as if a laugh was the most unexpected thing in the world. It echoed round and round the cave. It was a good sound to hear.

  "We came together, my lady," said Ned, a little ashamed of his outburst now. "I'm . . . well, worried, you see. Because all these animals took fright when the dragon flew out, and they ran away," said Ned. "I told them to go," he added quickly. "They might have been eaten otherwise. Well – that left just me."

  "Oh, Ned—" the princess started sadly.

  "I don't know what has happened to them," continued Ned. "Dilly, my pony, and my dog Tuff – why, they've been with me since . . ." He gu
lped and couldn't go on.

  There was a silence while the princess observed the golden ball in her lap. She started to toss it, idly, from hand to hand, the loose green cord moving with her as she did so. Then, with a little flick, she suddenly threw it up into the air. It flashed gold against the darkness of the rocky ceiling, and fell back into her hands. And with the movement, her heart lightened. She looked at Ned and, with a quick, surprising smile, threw the ball down to him.

  "Catch!" she whispered.

  He tried to catch it, but it bounced against his thumb and he dropped it. It rolled along the floor and he ran to pick it up.

  "Butterfingers," said the princess. Ned hung his head, but when he looked up again, he saw on her face a soft, tender smile.

  "You must keep hidden," she said softly. "Don't let it find you. Please, please, dear Ned, don't let the dragon find you."

  Ned turned to go back down the passage. Suddenly he felt courageous and full of strength.

  "Where are you going?" Bella cried anxiously. "Don't leave me!" And the echo rose up: Leave me . . . leave me . . . me.

  "Leave you?" said Ned, remembering to whisper. "I could never leave you. But I intend to save you! I am going to get a sword!"

  A SWORD

  NED KNEW WHERE TO FIND A SWORD. He went swiftly back along the darkening passage until he came to the skeleton of Sir Pevner. He shivered anew as he saw it lying crookedly on the floor.

  Half under the skeleton lay Sir Pevners shield. Ned bent down and grasped the edge of it. As he pulled, the bones gave way, knocking against the breastplate with hollow sounds which echoed up the passage. Ned shuddered. He stood up clutching the shield, slipped his arm into the straps and held it in front of him.

  He looked down at the skeleton again: in the still-clenched gauntlet he saw what he was searching for – the silver sword. He prised it from the knight's fist, then grasped the hilt and held it aloft. As the long blade flashed in the dimness, he made out on its surface the engraving of a lion.