A brave squire, an earnest page, and a strong-willed princess set out on their own missions to slay the dragon—putting a fresh twist on classic tropes—in this repackaged edition of the illustrated middle grade fantasy TheDragonslayers.
When the witch Grizelda decides to get revenge on King Mildred, she doesn’t go halfway. She makes the fiercest dragon the kingdom has ever seen. Now the kingdom is in dire need of a dragonslayer.
With most knights reluctant to face the fire-breathing beast, the king decides to add an incentive: whoever slays the dragon will get half his kingdom and will marry his daughter, the princess Wilhelmina (a.k.a. Willie). Two unlikely candidates take up the challenge: the squire Elizar and the young page Brian. Willie, however, has no intentions of marrying anyone, so she sets off to face the dragon herself.
The quest soon becomes a race. Who will find the dragon first, and will they survive the encounter? Citește tot Restrânge
ISBN-13:9781665979108 ISBN-10: 1665979100 Pagini:128 Dimensiuni: 155 x 239
x 27
mm Greutate: 0.23 kg Ediția:Reissue edition Editura:ALADDIN PAPERBACKS
Notă biografică
Bruce Coville has published more than one hundred books, which have sold more than sixteen million copies. Among his most popular titles are My Teacher Is an Alien, Into the Land of the Unicorns, and The Monster’s Ring. Bruce also founded Full Cast Audio, a company that creates recordings of the best in children’s and young adult literature. He lives in Syracuse, New York, with his wife, Katherine. Visit him at BruceCoville.com.
Katherine Coville is an artist, a sculptor, and a dollmaker who specializes in highly detailed images of creatures never before seen in this world. She has illustrated several books written by her husband, Bruce Coville, including Goblins in the Castle, Aliens Ate My Homework, and the Space Brat series. Bruce and Katherine live in Syracuse, New York, with a varying assortment of pets and children.
Extras
Chapter 1: Making a Dragon 1 Making a Dragon “Do you have the lizard snot?” asked Grizelda.
“Right here,” said Phrenella, holding up a tiny green bottle.
Midnight thunder rumbled in the distance as Grizelda rubbed her hands together with delight. “Good,” she cackled. “We’re ready to begin!”
The two witches were standing in front of Grizelda’s cottage—a thatch-roofed dwelling hidden deep in the Forest of Wonder. Golden leaves were falling all around them. Between the witches, suspended above a low-burning fire, was a huge black cauldron filled with a bubbling brew. A dozen or so goblins, the strange, green-skinned creatures who did Grizelda’s bidding, lurked at the edges of the clearing. “Let the conjuring commence!” cried Grizelda. Rolling up her sleeves, she began to wave her skinny arms over the cauldron.
“Goblins, bring your ingredients!” ordered Phrenella.
As the goblins lumbered forward with the things Grizelda had sent them to gather, she began to chant strange and incomprehensible words. One by one, the goblins tossed their treasures into the bubbling cauldron. The fire made their shadows flicker and dance around the edge of the clearing.
The wind began to pick up. The storm was getting closer.
Phrenella stood near the fire, muttering the names of the things the goblins tossed into the cauldron, as if checking them against a list. “Moondust and mildew, toad tongues, bat wings, fireflowers and wormwood…” These were just the beginning of the list. Soon there were other things, things too strange and fierce to mention.
The cauldron began to boil more fiercely. A smell of fear and sulfur rose from the strange brew.
“No eye of newt?” asked Phrenella at last.
“Eye?” cried Grizelda. “What eye? I’m using the whole thing!”
She pulled a tiny wriggling thing from her pocket. “Behold!” she cried, pointing to the squirming creature. “The dragon-to-be!”
With that, she hurled the newt into the cauldron. Raising her arms above her head, she began a new chant, her words low and menacing at first, then growing steadily louder until finally she was shrieking her incantation.
“Powers of the deep and dark
Grizelda calls! Send me your spark—
Use my hate to fuel this fire;
Let it work my heart’s desire.
Let King lose child, as I lost mine,
Let him drink revenge’s bitter wine.
Raise the dragon, raise him now,
To fill Grizelda’s hate-born vow!”
Suddenly the storm broke. Grizelda erupted in wild laughter as bolts of lightning streaked through the jet-black sky, sending the goblins scurrying for shelter. Thunder seemed to shake the trees where they stood. A shaft of lightning sizzled into the very center of the clearing—into the cauldron itself.
With a tremendous explosion, the cauldron flew into thousands of pieces. For a moment all was silent. Then a tiny creature—something like a lizard, yet somehow… different—scrambled from the wreckage. Rearing on its hind legs, it spit fire at one of the goblins, which ran shrieking into the forest as flames singed its pants.
The tiny dragon gave a piercing cry, then turned and raced in the other direction. Soon it had disappeared among the trees.
“He’s not very big,” said one of the goblins, sounding puzzled.
“Oh, he’ll grow,” cackled Grizelda. “He’ll grow. By spring he’ll be—remarkable!”
Grabbing her broom, she leapt astride it and soared into the darkness. Her shrieks of laughter seemed to hang in the air behind her as she vanished in the wild October sky.
Descriere
Descriere de la o altă ediție sau format: Bruce Coville's signature humor shines in this repackaged edition on Dragonslayers, which brings a fresh twist on classic tropes.
