World's Oldest Living Dragon by Kate McMullan Read Free Book Online Page A

Month, I order you to stop screaming!” she yelled.
    They stopped.
    â€œYou have to help save DSA,” she told them. “Go over with the aged knights. Crowd around them. That will make it look like they are students.”
    â€œYes, Erica,” said Charley Marley.
    â€œKeep your eyes on Wiglaf, Janice, Angus, and me,” she told them. “Follow what we do. For if we fail, DSA will go up in flames!”
    â€œYes, Erica!” they all said.
    Erica ran back to the front of the formation. The other students crowded in among the aged knights.
    â€œForward, march!” cried Sir Poodleduff.
    And all together, they marched through the gatehouse, over the drawbridge, and onto the grass in front of DSA.
    Emboldened by such a large crowd, Mordred scampered after them.
    Wiglaf’s heart beat like a drum as he went. Verses of the Grizzlegore poem skipped around inside his brain. Bits of the dance steps popped into his head. He felt dizzy.
    â€œLook! Look!” everyone started shouting.
    Wiglaf looked up. At first, he did not see Grizzlegore. Then he spotted the dragon curled on a tree branch not far from the drawbridge. He was a sickly green color. The horn on his nose flopped sadly over to one side. He was badly bent and had a hump on his back.
    â€œMy, my,” said Grizzlegore, his voice trembling with age. “How nice that the whole school is coming out to greet me.”
    The creature smiled. Wiglaf thought that for the world’s oldest living dragon, he sure had a nice new set of false fangs.
    â€œLet’s not waste time,” said Grizzlegore. “I’m already old as the hills. Who knows how much time I have left? So! Hand over your gold and I’ll be gone.”
    Mordred elbowed his way to the front of the group.
    â€œWe will give you no gold, dragon!” he cried.
    The shocked dragon’s mouth dropped wide open.
    Wiglaf watched, horrified, as his fangs fell from his mouth.
    â€œDrat my dentist!” cried the dragon. “There goes another set of choppers!”
    Then from his toothless mouth he shot an angry tongue of flame. Flame so hot that everyone began to cough and sputter. Mordred’s hair began to smoke.
    â€œZounds!” cried Mordred. “I am on fire!”
    He zoomed over to the moat and plunged his head into the water.
    â€œGo get the gold,” Grizzlegore growled as best he could without his fangs. “Bring it to me. Now! Or your school is toast.”
    â€œReady, and!” called Sir Poodleduff.
    And everyone who had taken the time to learn the rhyme shouted out:
    â€œIn days of old, when knights were bold…”
    Wiglaf and Erica jumped to face each other. They drew imaginary swords.
    Behind them, the aged knights and DSA students followed along.
    â€œAnd damsels knew the score…”
    Everyone put their index fingers to their foreheads.
    â€œA dragon kept a hoard of gold…”
    Now they put their fingers up to their heads and made terrible, angry faces.
    â€œHis name was Grizzlegore.”
    Everyone held up their right hands in the shape of a claw.
    â€œBy my scales!” cried the delighted dragon. “You know the poem! Well, go on. Go on!”
    And so they did. Those who knew the rhyme recited it. And everyone did their best with the dance.
    â€œGrizzlegore lived in a cave
Outside the town of Gwail,
And he was known to flame and rave.
He had a spiky tail.”
    After they said the first eight verses, the aged knights had to recite on their own. But by that time, Grizzlegore was writhing with happiness at hearing himself immortalized in his poem. No one had anything to fear from this fire-breather.

    The aged knights kept reciting.
    â€œThe dragon rose inside his cave.
He lowered his massive head.
The knights were bold and very brave,
Yet from the cave they fled.”
    Now Grizzlegore held up a claw for them to stop.
    â€œThat is one of my favorite verses,” he told them.