“I hope so,” grumbled Ian. “I’m going to look for another one of ‘em winged dogs for Mabel.”

“I hope so,” grumbled Ian. “I’m going to look for another one of ‘em winged dogs for Mabel.”

“Hold on, hold on, hold on,” said the Hooded Person of Unknown Gender. “Are you really here to slay a dragon?”“Yes! Why else would I be so far from home?”“Sightseeing?” suggested the Female.”

“Out of all the things you would expect when facing a dragon, silence was not on the list. Roaring? Certainly! Snarling? Why, yes - of course! Fire-breathing? Couldn’t possibly do without it. Wouldn’t feel right if it wasn’t there.But silence?No. Definitely not.It was as out of place as a potter at a blacksmith’s.”

“Instead she looked very hard at the woman's chin. On it was a single white hair - visible even in the heavy dusk - that closely resembled a piece of thread hanging off a scrap of fabric. The woman forgot about Rusty for a moment. "I call her Hephzibah," she said with pride. "It's taken years for her to grow.”

“I hope so,” grumbled Ian. “I’m going to look for another one of ‘em winged dogs for Mabel.”

“Toads are to dragons what carrots are to unicorns.”