AbdulHannanMujawar/ch_development · Datasets at Hugging Face

text stringlengths 0 83

"Why did your mother tie your tails?"

"Oh, she is sometimes gone for several weeks on her hunting trips, and
if we were not tied we would crawl all over the mountain and fight with
each other and get into a lot of mischief. Mother usually knows what she
is about, but she made a mistake this time; for you are sure to escape
us unless you come too near, and you probably won't do that."

"No, indeed!" said the little girl. "We don't wish to be eaten by such
awful beasts."

"Permit me to say," returned the dragonette, "that you are rather
impolite to call us names, knowing that we cannot resent your insults.
We consider ourselves very beautiful in appearance, for mother has told
us so, and she knows. And we are of an excellent family and have a
pedigree that I challenge any humans to equal, as it extends back about
twenty thousand years, to the time of the famous Green Dragon of
Atlantis, who lived in a time when humans had not yet been created. Can
you match that pedigree, little girl?"

"Well," said Dorothy, "I was born on a farm in Kansas, and I guess
that's being just as 'spectable and haughty as living in a cave with
your tail tied to a rock. If it isn't I'll have to stand it, that's
all."

"Tastes differ," murmured the dragonette, slowly drooping its scaley
eyelids over its yellow eyes, until they looked like half-moons.

Being reassured by the fact that the creatures could not crawl out of
their rock-pockets, the children and the Wizard now took time to examine
them more closely. The heads of the dragonettes were as big as barrels
and covered with hard, greenish scales that glittered brightly under the
light of the lanterns. Their front legs, which grew just back of their
heads, were also strong and big; but their bodies were smaller around
than their heads, and dwindled away in a long line until their tails
were slim as a shoe-string. Dorothy thought, if it had taken them
sixty-six years to grow to this size, that it would be fully a hundred
years more before they could hope to call themselves dragons, and that
seemed like a good while to wait to grow up.

"It occurs to me," said the Wizard, "that we ought to get out of this
place before the mother dragon comes back."

"Don't hurry," called one of the dragonettes; "mother will be glad to
meet you, I'm sure."

"You may be right," replied the Wizard, "but we're a little particular
about associating with strangers. Will you kindly tell us which way your
mother went to get on top the earth?"

"That is not a fair question to ask us," declared another dragonette.
"For, if we told you truly, you might escape us altogether; and if we
told you an untruth we would be naughty and deserve to be punished."

"Then," decided Dorothy, "we must find our way out the best we can."

They circled all around the cavern, keeping a good distance away from
the blinking yellow eyes of the dragonettes, and presently discovered
that there were two paths leading from the wall opposite to the place
where they had entered. They selected one of these at a venture and
hurried along it as fast as they could go, for they had no idea when the
mother dragon would be back and were very anxious not to make her
acquaintance.

[Illustration]




Chapter 14.

OZMA USES THE MAGIC BELT


For a considerable distance the way led straight upward in a gentle
incline, and the wanderers made such good progress that they grew
hopeful and eager, thinking they might see sunshine at any minute. But
at length they came unexpectedly upon a huge rock that shut off the
passage and blocked them from proceeding a single step farther.

This rock was separate from the rest of the mountain and was in motion,
turning slowly around and around as if upon a pivot. When first they
came to it there was a solid wall before them; but presently it revolved
until there was exposed a wide, smooth path across it to the other side.
This appeared so unexpectedly that they were unprepared to take
advantage of it at first, and allowed the rocky wall to swing around
again before they had decided to pass over. But they knew now that there
was a means of escape and so waited patiently until the path appeared
for the second time.

The children and the Wizard rushed across the moving rock and sprang
into the passage beyond, landing safely though a little out of breath.
Jim the cab-horse came last, and the rocky wall almost caught him; for
just as he leaped to the floor of the further passage the wall swung
across it and a loose stone that the buggy wheels knocked against fell
into the narrow crack where the rock turned, and became wedged there.

They heard a crunching, grinding sound, a loud snap, and the turn-table
came to a stop with its broadest surface shutting off the path from

"Why did your mother tie your tails?"

"Oh, she is sometimes gone for several weeks on her hunting trips, and

if we were not tied we would crawl all over the mountain and fight with

each other and get into a lot of mischief. Mother usually knows what she

is about, but she made a mistake this time; for you are sure to escape

us unless you come too near, and you probably won't do that."

"No, indeed!" said the little girl. "We don't wish to be eaten by such

awful beasts."

"Permit me to say," returned the dragonette, "that you are rather

impolite to call us names, knowing that we cannot resent your insults.

We consider ourselves very beautiful in appearance, for mother has told

us so, and she knows. And we are of an excellent family and have a

pedigree that I challenge any humans to equal, as it extends back about

twenty thousand years, to the time of the famous Green Dragon of

Atlantis, who lived in a time when humans had not yet been created. Can

you match that pedigree, little girl?"

"Well," said Dorothy, "I was born on a farm in Kansas, and I guess

that's being just as 'spectable and haughty as living in a cave with

your tail tied to a rock. If it isn't I'll have to stand it, that's

all."

"Tastes differ," murmured the dragonette, slowly drooping its scaley

eyelids over its yellow eyes, until they looked like half-moons.

Being reassured by the fact that the creatures could not crawl out of

their rock-pockets, the children and the Wizard now took time to examine

them more closely. The heads of the dragonettes were as big as barrels

and covered with hard, greenish scales that glittered brightly under the

light of the lanterns. Their front legs, which grew just back of their

heads, were also strong and big; but their bodies were smaller around

than their heads, and dwindled away in a long line until their tails

were slim as a shoe-string. Dorothy thought, if it had taken them

sixty-six years to grow to this size, that it would be fully a hundred

years more before they could hope to call themselves dragons, and that

seemed like a good while to wait to grow up.

"It occurs to me," said the Wizard, "that we ought to get out of this

place before the mother dragon comes back."

"Don't hurry," called one of the dragonettes; "mother will be glad to

meet you, I'm sure."

"You may be right," replied the Wizard, "but we're a little particular

about associating with strangers. Will you kindly tell us which way your

mother went to get on top the earth?"

"That is not a fair question to ask us," declared another dragonette.

"For, if we told you truly, you might escape us altogether; and if we

told you an untruth we would be naughty and deserve to be punished."

"Then," decided Dorothy, "we must find our way out the best we can."

They circled all around the cavern, keeping a good distance away from

the blinking yellow eyes of the dragonettes, and presently discovered

that there were two paths leading from the wall opposite to the place

where they had entered. They selected one of these at a venture and

hurried along it as fast as they could go, for they had no idea when the

mother dragon would be back and were very anxious not to make her

acquaintance.

[Illustration]

Chapter 14.

OZMA USES THE MAGIC BELT

For a considerable distance the way led straight upward in a gentle

incline, and the wanderers made such good progress that they grew

hopeful and eager, thinking they might see sunshine at any minute. But

at length they came unexpectedly upon a huge rock that shut off the

passage and blocked them from proceeding a single step farther.

This rock was separate from the rest of the mountain and was in motion,

turning slowly around and around as if upon a pivot. When first they

came to it there was a solid wall before them; but presently it revolved

until there was exposed a wide, smooth path across it to the other side.

This appeared so unexpectedly that they were unprepared to take

advantage of it at first, and allowed the rocky wall to swing around

again before they had decided to pass over. But they knew now that there

was a means of escape and so waited patiently until the path appeared

for the second time.

The children and the Wizard rushed across the moving rock and sprang

into the passage beyond, landing safely though a little out of breath.

Jim the cab-horse came last, and the rocky wall almost caught him; for

just as he leaped to the floor of the further passage the wall swung

across it and a loose stone that the buggy wheels knocked against fell

into the narrow crack where the rock turned, and became wedged there.

They heard a crunching, grinding sound, a loud snap, and the turn-table

came to a stop with its broadest surface shutting off the path from