Page 82 (1/2)

"Is that your wish?" Firedrake stretched and looked down at the dwarf, frowning "Come on, out with it We’re all tired"

But Gravelbeard shook his head so hard that his hat alold anymore," he cried "Not a bit I couldn’t care less about it What I want," he said, spreading his stumpy arms wide, "what I want is to stay in this cave That’s ons

"What for?" asked Burr-Burr-Chan suspiciously

"I’d like to make it even more beautiful," whispered Gravelbeard He looked around hiht, very carefully, very slowly I can see the On the walls, inside the colu taken off the rock there -- and they’d be shining and sparkling in all the colors of the rainbow" He sighed and closed his eyes "It would be wonderful"

"Hmm," murmured Burr-Burr-Chan "Doesn’t sound like a bad idea But the dragons must decide"

Firedrake yawned and looked at Maia The she-dragon was so tired that she could scarcely keep on her feet She had breathed out so much fire that for the first tilancing at the stone dragons "I don’t need this cave anymore, now that I don’t have to hide fro disturb them?"

Gravelbeard looked around

"Who do you mean?" he asked uneasily

"Co the dwarf his tail Hesitantly Gravelbeard settled between the spines, and Firedrake carried hions who had turned to stone Maia and the others followed theons Nettlebrand was after," explained Firedrake, when Gravelbeard juon "Twigleg lied to you to keep Nettlebrand eager for the hunt We wanted to lure him here"

The dwarf inspected the petrified bodies with interest

"They stopped drinking ht," said Maia

She settled on the floor The snoas ht pools of water were forround, but it was too late now for Nettlebrand to disappear into thes can happen quickly," ainst one stone paw "Stone grows fast People don’t realize that"

No one was really listening to him Firedrake settled drowsily on the floor beside Maia Burr-Burr-Chan and Sorrel were preparing a old off her plane They were all weary after the battle that was now behind them Only Ben really listened to Gravelbeard’s re down beside the dwarf Twigleg cla like this before? So live that turned to stone?"

"Certainly" Gravelbeard laid his hand on the dragon’s stony scales "It happens to fabulous creatures very easily Your castles are full of theed lions, unicorns, des find theh, which of course they aren’t Usually there’s a breath of life left in them somewhere But humans don’t know that They display them as if they’d actually made them Huh!" The drinkled his nose scornfully "Conceited folk, hu back his hat and looking up at the stone dragons, "the shell isn’t very thick yet It could easily be cracked open"

"Cracked open?" Ben looked at the dwarf incredulously

"That’s right" Gravelbeard straightened his hat "But, personally, I like the up so suddenly that Twigleg slipped off his knee "Firedrake, listen to this"