Giuseppe tells him what he’s thought of doing.
He guides him to a completely secret cave. Puff goes in the cave to hide himself from the soldiers.
Giuseppe brings along another dragon that lives in the mountains, so that Puff isn’t alone. He also brings food and drink to the cave.
To make sure that no one gets suspicious, he locks the cave with a key.
***
The next day, Blejan Meraud says to Jago Jory, “I changed my mind.”
Jago Jory answers, “It’s okay.”
Blejan Meraud says, “I will help the dragon.”
Jago Jory answers, “Well done.”
But the elves don’t know that the dragon is in the cave.
In the forest it is brisk and the sun is rising. The sky is azure blue; the birds are flying in the sky. It will be a sunny day and the plants are growing.
When they get to the sea, they meet the knight.
Blejan Meraud says, “Have you seen the dragon?”
Giuseppe answers, “The dragon is in a cave. I’ll show you the way.”
Giuseppe gives Blejan Meraud the key to the cave.
Blejan Meraud opens the cave; but the dragons stay inside.
The elves cross the forest and return to the castle.
Manon comes into the courtyard and takes the elves into the living room.
That night, as everyone sleeps, Queen Fanny goes into the courtyard, opens the gate and leaves the castle. Fanny nears the cave and meets the wren.
He swoops down from the sky, sits on a tree and says, “How beautiful; the sun is rising, the sky is azure blue, the birds are flying in the sky and it is hot.”
The wren flies into the sky and Fanny covers her head and her crown. She goes straight to the dragon’s cave.
When she finds the dragons, she says to them, “I’ll free you, come out.”
But, again, Puff doesn’t come out; instead, he says, “I’ll only come out when the princess herself gives me my freedom.”
Fanny crosses the forest and returns to the castle.
When she arrives in the castle, Fanny waits until Manon looks out of her window. Manon comes into the courtyard and Fanny says, “Come on, we’ll go into your living room.”
The elves, the prince and the girls are in the living room.
The next day, Manon runs to the king and wants to speak to him.
Manon says, “I know where the dragon is now.”
Frédéric asks, “In the forest?”
Manon answers, “In a cave.”
Frédéric commands, “Go and free the dragon.”
Manon says, “I’ll go now.”
The next day, Manon asks Giuseppe to escort her.
When they get to the forest, they meet the wren. The wren says, “How beautiful; the sun is rising, the sky is azure blue, the birds are flying in the sky and it is hot.” The wren flies up into the sky.
Giuseppe leads Manon to the cave. Manon is surprised to find two dragons.
Puff says, “I’m in the cave.”
Manon says, “Here you are. I’m setting you free. Come out of the cave and go into the mountains, where the other dragons are. Then don’t come back to our kingdom again.”
Puff says, “All right.”
And now the dragons come out.
The other dragon asks, “What should I do?”
Giuseppe says, “Go back to the mountains, where the other dragons are.”
The dragon answers, “Okay, I’ll go now.”
Manon and Giuseppe cross the forest and the mountains and return to the castle.
When they arrive at the castle, Fanny comes into the courtyard and sees Manon and Giuseppe.
Manon says, “Come, we’ll go into my living room.”
Manon says, “Have I done well?”
Blejan Meraud answers, “Thank you for freeing the dragon.”
Manon is satisfied and happy. She says, “You’re welcome. Now I know that the dragon shares his hoard of gold. I understand and now I’m not scared of the dragon anymore; he’s not dangerous.”
Frédéric says, “You’ve done a good job.”
Manon says, “The dragon is gone forever.”
Everyone is happy.
It is a beautiful spring day.
THE END
About the author:
Caterina Nikolaus, born in 1997 in Trento/Italy, is German and lives in France since 2010. “The Dragon and the Princess” is her first book. It was originally written in Italian language during the 2010 NaNoWriMo’s “Young Writer’s Program”. http://www.nanowrimo.org/
She also writes compositions for the flute.
Her blog is here: https://caterina-nikolaus.blogspot.com/
You can find her on Facebook, too.
See the book in other languages at Kobo. And her compositions.
Legal notice:
“The Dragon and the Princess”
Written By Caterina Nikolaus
Originally published in Italian as: “Il drago e la principessa”
Copyright © 2010-2021 Caterina Nikolaus
All rights reserved
Translated by Charlotte Donnelly
Cover Design © 2010 Jasmin Weigelt
The Dragon and the Princess Page 3
