Marcin Mortka
Illustrations: Wojciech Stachyra
Tekst: Marcin Mortka Ilustracje: Wojciech Stachyra Redaktor prowadzący: Agnieszka Nowak Redakcja: Anna Włodarkiewicz Korekta: Alicja Laskowska, Anna Kijania Projekt graficzny okładki: Kamil Pruszyński Skład i łamanie: Bernard Ptaszyński © Copyright for text by Marcin Mortka, 2016 © Copyright by Wydawnictwo Zielona Sowa Sp. z o.o., Warszawa 2018 All rights reserved Wydanie I Wszystkie prawa zastrzeżone. Przedruk lub kopiowanie całości albo fragmentów książki możliwe jest tylko na podstawie pisemnej zgody wydawcy. ISBN 978-83-8073-732-7 Wydawnictwo Zielona Sowa Sp. z o.o. 00-807 Warszawa, Al. Jerozolimskie 94 Tel. 22 379 85 50, fax 22 379 85 51 wydawnictwo@zielonasowa.pl www.zielonasowa.pl
CHAPTER 1
Sergei
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he sky above the Dragon Forest was perfectly blue and the sun shone with so much energy, as if it wanted the world to break the world record of laziness that day. George the dragon wasn’t going to go against its wishes and he was snoring happily on the meadow, just like his good friend Muddy and Gacko, the third member of the Dragon Police, whose snoring was coming from the wood. Butterflies and bees, tired of flying among the flowers, sat comfortably on the dragons’ muzzles and were resting. „I hope that it’s going to be a quiet day,” panted out George. „So do I,” mumbled Muddly. „It’s such a nice day...” 7
George felt so lazy that he couldn’t even be bothered to nod. All of a sudden, the quiet of the afternoon was broken by the roar of trumpets, then the ground trembled with the thud of hooves. „What now?” George raised his head, scaring the bees and butterflies away. „Don’t tell me it’s that again...” „I don’t understand why they want to do this.” Muddy could hardly open his eyes. „In this heat...” For a while, both dragons hoped that they were having illusions because of staying in the sunshine for a long time, but sadly...The cloud of dust on the horizon revealed a knight on the horse, then a second and a third one...They were galloping towards the dragons, yelling and waving their spears. The ground trembled under the hooves of the riding horses and the sun was reflected in the blades of the weapons they were raising. „For the king!” yelled the first one. „For the kingdom!” the second one shouted.
„Behind you!” shouted the third one, who had the slowest horse and could hardly keep up. „The nap is over,” declared Muddy. „Get up, George, it’s time to get down to work. Gacko, wake up! The knights of the king Jack are arriving!” The dragons got up reluctantly and brushed themselves off, scaring away the last butterflies which were now circling above their heads. Muddy stretched, George flapped his wings and Gacko openes his eyes and blinked. „What is going on?” he asked. „For the king!” yelled the first of the attacking knights. „I see,” grunted Gacko. „I understand everything now.” Muddy looked closely at the closest attacker and swept him off the saddle with a precise blow of his tail. The knight traced an arch in the air and he would have probably fallen on the ground if George hadn’t taken him over. The dragon slapped him in the helmetcovered head and snapped him in the nose.
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„Let me go!” yelled the knight. „Let me go right now!” „All right,” said the dragon and dropped the daredevil in the grass. Then he looked around and said: „Watch out, Muddy!” Indeed, the second knight was going faster and faster and he was heading towards his dragon friend with a raised spear. Luckily, Muddy noticed the danger right in time. He turned, squinted, opened his jaw wide and shot a stream of sticky mud in the direction of the attacker. George burst into laughter. When Muddy was little, other dragons made fun of him because he couldn’t breathe fire, shoot ice or steam like the others but
soon it turned out that his unique gift was very useful in fighting the knights of king Jack. The knight, shot with a stream of mud, fell on the ground with a moan and lay there motionless. „How am I supposed to clean this now!” he sighed with regret. „What did I get into this war for...?” „I’ll revenge you, my friends!” the third knight was galloping towards the two dragons. He aimed with his spear at one dragon, then the other, unable to decide which one he should attack, so Muddy and George decided to make it easier for him. Simultaneously, they jumped aside and the rushing attacker went between them. That’s when Gacko, who liked to hang upside down from a tree like a bat, saw his chance. With his tail, he took the knight galloping under him out of his saddle, dropped him on the ground and then fell on him with a loud sigh. „And done!” observed George.
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The first knight was unable to get up from the grass. Apparently, his armour was too heavy. The second one was wailing loudly, busy with cleaning his armour while the third one, barely sticking out from under Gacko’s butt, was loudly appealing to the dragon, asking him to get up. Meanwhile, three horses of the knights, free from the weight of their heroic riders, bowed politely to the dragons and with relief, they started to nibble on the grass. „This place must be cleaned up!” Muddy groaned and rolled a catapult out of the bushes. „Could we shoot out mine first?” suggested Gacko. „It’s terribly uncomfortable.” Three dragons loaded a stunned knight onto the catapult and sent him to where he’d come from. The man sped with a scream into the sky and disappeared behind the horizon. That’s where The Fence, which separated the land of King Jack’s and the Dragon Forest, stretched. The same fate befell his companion, who was
busy polishing his armour, and finally, George reached for the warrior who had landed on the ground first. To his surprise, the knight had managed to get up and take out his sword. „Don’t you dare, you disgusting reptile!” he yelled and aimed at the spot between the dragon’s eyes. „I’d sooner die than let you devour me!” „But I don’t feel like eating you at all!” declared George. „I’ve heard you taste awful and you’re hard to chew because all your armour and helmets.” „So, tear me into pieces!” shouted the knight. „You wanted to tear me into pieces, didn’t you?” „I did not.”
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„So I’m going to die defending my honour!” moaned the knight. „I am Sergei and bards are going to sing songs about me and princess Isabel...” „Sing?” asked Gacko with enthusiasm. „Can you sing?” „No!” this infuriated Sergei. „I am a knight, not some bard! They are going to sing about me!” „Oh, come on,” Gacko was losing his patience. „This knight is boring. He belongs on the catapult. Let’s send him back home and resume our nap.” He wanted to grab the brave Sergei but the knight jumped away with a crunch of the armour and waved his sword again. „I won’t let you lay a finger on me!” he yelled, raising his head high with pride. „My life will cost you a lot and there will be more...” „What for?” asked George suddenly. The other dragons looked at him with curiosity. „What is it to you?” Muddy opened his eyes wide. „They come, they get a slap on the wrist, we throw them to the other side of the Fence.
It has been going on for as long as I can remember. What is there to worry about?” „Precisely. Let’s send this shouter back home and let’s go to sleep.” Gacko yawned but George wasn’t convinced. He looked at the knight. „Why do you come here to fight us?” he repeated the question. „Because you are disgusting reptiles!” the man was shaking with anger. „It is our duty to fight you and defend our kingdom!” „But we are no threat to you!” said George, surprised. „We live peacefully in the Dragon Forest and bother no one!” „But you are horrible reptiles and...Ouch! Let go of me!” squeaked Sergei when George grabbed him hard and lifted him up. „Finally!” Muddy guffawed and he was so delighted that he sneezed out some mud. „Get him on the catapult, I can’t listen to this shouter anymore.” George shook his head pensively. „No,” he said firmly. „I think I’m going to keep him.” 15
„Ugh!” Muddy made a grimace and Gacko shook his head with disgust. „Seriously, George? Have you forgotten about what happened when you started farming trolls? Or when you caught that kraken? „What?” knight Sergei, who was almost invisible in the huge hand of the dragon, goggled his eyes. „What did you say? Do you want to imprison me, you disgusting reptile?” „I’d prefer to call it ‚farming’,” stated George. „What do you like eating?” he asked the knight with consideration. „Do you know how to use a litter box or do you need to be walked?” Sergei was so upset and shocked that he turned red, then blue, steam went out of his ears and finally, he fainted. At the same time, the ground trembled again, but this time slower and not as strong. Someone was coming from the direction of the Dragon Forest. „Howdy, boys!” called dragon Muzzly, yet another member of the Dragon Police and he waved his tail 17
which was split in two at the end. „We’ve come to take over from you!” „Already?” George asked, politely surprise and, just in case, he hid the passed out knight under his wing. „Time flies.” „Did anything happen?” asked Muzzly’s companion, Stewie, who kept blowing smoke out of his nostrils. „Oh, horses! May we eat them?” Three horses which belonged to the knight were busy nibbling on the grass and hearing this, they raised their heads anxiously.
„We’re not allowed to eat knight horses,” George reminded him patiently. „Don’t you remember the rules? The knights of King Jack keep looking for an excuse to attack. If we started eating their horses, they would rush here from all corners of the world to revenge them!” „That’s a shame!” Stewie sighed and blew some steam, then looked at the horses threateningly. „Did you hear that? Eat up and go to the Fence!” Horses nodded their heads and then returned to their meal. „All right, take care, boys!” called Gacko and together with the others, he headed to the edge of the Dragon Forest. „Have a peaceful shift!” „Good-bye!”
CHAPTER 2
Dragon Forest
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n their way, Gacko and Muddy tried once more to make George abandon his new idea but they soon understood that it was in vain. They suggested going over to Cookie the dragon’s inn to have some lamb with pork scratchings but George said he wasn’t hungry. He said good-bye to his friend and rushed to his cave. „Faster, faster!” he hurried himself. He was worried that the clanking knight he was holding under his arm might wake up and start yelling. „Howdy, George!” Puffball stuck his head out of the puddle they were passing by and smiled at the sleepy dragon. „How was your shift? 21
„It was rather… erm… quiet,” replied George and he stopped. „And how are you? When are we going to start building a dam? Do you still want to extend your puddle?” „I do!” Puffball lightened up. „I’m so glad you remember! I’ll let you know next week!” Then George had a chat with the old, partially blind Bacon and promised to catch him some grass snakes for making stewed fruit drink, greeted the yawning Dumpling, whose young ones had recently hatched, and who couldn’t get much sleep and finally, he joked a bit with Foldy, the biggest fatso in the forest. All inhabitants of the Dragon Forest liked George, who always found time to help his neighbours and friends and he was able to enjoy their kindness in return. Thanks to that, he didn’t have to think about a bigger problem, a solution to which he hadn’t found yet. Every dragon came to this world with a gift which made him special. Some dragons had more than one
head, others could fly, breathe fire, swim, search for treasure or even do magic tricks, while George hadn’t found anything special about himself yet. He didn’t know much about magic, he could barely light a bonfire with his fire, he was afraid of water and his wings were too weak for him to get up in the air. Although he had many friends and everyone liked him, he felt that one day someone would ask: „George, what can you actually do?” That was why the young dragon was relentlessly searching for his gift and experimented in every way possible, with no success. His quest to find gold in the Gloomy
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Mountains ended in a big failure. Not even Foldy wanted to touch the mud and nettles cake he baked and the affordable, eco-friendly huts he invented, which were supposed to replace the traditional dragon caves, proved a failure. (George had completely forgotten that some dragons liked to breathe fire in their spare time). For the lack of a better idea, he joined the Dragon Police which were guarding the forest against the knights of King Jack but he had never stopped thinking about his future. So one day, when he was lying on the meadow and watching butterflies sunbathing on Muddy’s back, he got the idea to start farming various strange creatures. „Perhaps the Dragon Forest needs a famous breeder,” he thought. „Someone who knows about more than just sheep and goats.” His first two farms, of trolls and krakens, did not end well but the little dragon wasn’t going to give up. He bolted into his cave, put the still unconscious knight into the cage, previously occupied by trolls, shut the little door and
rushed outside. He needed to speak with the Threehead, the wisest dragon in the Dragon Forest, immediately.
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„I’ve heard that Threehead knows a lot about everything,” he thought, hurying up. „Perhaps he knows something about people too?” The old dragon was strolling through the Magical Clearing and picking enormous saffron milk cups and
even more enormous boletuses the place was famous for. He needed them for making magic potions and, most of all, for the excellent mushroom soup which attracted half of the forest. The problem of the old dragon, though, was the fact that he only had one pair of glasses for his three heads which made picking mushroom take much longer than it should. „I want to wear glasses too!” demanded Head No 1. „You know nothing about picking mushroom!” „Yes we do!” Head No 2 was offended. „At least I do because that dummy on the neck next to mine would most likely just pick polypore.” „Dummy?!” Head No 3 was mad. „If it weren’t for me, you wouldn’t have brought the glasses from the cave in the first place, you fools! And by the way, which one of you is wearing them now?” „I had them a moment ago…” Head No 1 was worried. „Wait, wait, where have I...?”
„May the meteor squash you!” grunted Head No 2. „And what now? What if we don’t find them?” George, who had very good eyesight, noticed the pair of glasses laying on the moss right away. „Here they are!” he called. He was about to bend down and hand the glasses to Threehead but he hesitated because he had no idea which of his three heads would like to wear them next and he did not want to cause an argument. Threehead’s heads, however wise they might be, could argue and sulk for weeks. Fortunately, the wise dragon was so happy to see George that he forgot about the argument for a moment. „George!” said all of his three heads at the same time. „We’re so happy to see you!” 28
„Likewise.” the little dragon smiled. „Threehead, I would like to ask you a favour. All of you, I mean. I wanted to start a new farm and …” „A new farm?” frowned Head No1. „Have you already forgotten what happened when your kraken laid roe? The little krakens spread over half of the Forest and we kept scratching for weeks.” „Don’t you remember the time when the trolls escaped from their cage and the whole forest stank?” asked Head No 2 reluctantly. „What new idea do you have this time?” inquired Head No 3, looking at the little dragon attentively.
„I’ve caught a knight,”– mumbled George. „A knight?!” called the three heads. „One of King Jack’s?” „Yes.” „It really is a bad idea!” Threehead shook all three of his heads at once. „I’m only going to keep him for some time,” insisted George. „And I’m going to keep an eye on him. I might learn a thing or two about the reason why they keep attacking us!” „And what do you want to know that for?” asked the surprised heads. „They attack, so what? As far as we can remember, and we remember a lot, none of us has ever 30
been hurt. It seems that it ends worse for them than for us, doesn’t it?” „But I’m so curious! I must learn as much as possible about knights!” Gniewko folded his clawed hands. „Everyone knows that you are the wisest dragon there is, Threehead. Do you know....erm...anything about their lifestyle?” Threehead sighed three times and reluctantly gave George all the information he needed. George rushed back to his cave, repeating everything he’d heard in his head. „Now I know everything!” he yelled, bolting into the cave. „Feed him three times a day, walk after a meal and a nap, polish his armour once a week, the adult ones don’t need to be vaccinated and their teeth...Hey, what’s this?” The cage was empty.