The Seven Dragons

The Seven Dragons
By Edith Nesbit
1899
CONTENTS
THE BOOK OF BEASTS
THE PURPLE STRANGER
THE DELIVERERS OF THEIR COUNTRY
THE ICE DRAGON; or DO AS YOU ARE TOLD
THE ISLAND OF THE NINE WHIRLPOOLS
THE DRAGON TAMERS
THE FIERY DRAGON or THE HEART OF STONE AND THE
HEART OF GOLD

I.
THE BOOK OF BEASTS
HE happened to be building a Palace when the news came, and he left
all the bricks kicking about the floor for Nurse to clear up--but then the
news was rather remarkable news. You see, there was a knock at the
front door and voices talking downstairs, and Lionel thought it was the
man come to see about the gas which had not been allowed to be
lighted since the day when Lionel made a swing by tying his
skipping-rope to the gas-bracket.

And then, quite suddenly, Nurse came in, and said, "Master Lionel,
dear, they've come to fetch you to go and be King."
Then she made haste to change his smock and to wash his face and
hands and brush his hair, and all the time she was doing it Lionel kept
wriggling and fidgeting and saying, "Oh, don't, Nurse," and, "I'm sure
my ears are quite clean," or, "Never mind my hair, it's all right," and,
"That'll do."
"You're going on as if you was going to be an eel instead of a King,"
said Nurse.
The minute Nurse let go for a moment Lionel bolted off without
waiting for his clean handkerchief, and in the drawing-room there were
two very grave-looking gentlemen in red robes with fur, and gold
coronets with velvet sticking up out of the middle like the cream in the
very expensive jam tarts.
They bowed low to Lionel, and the gravest one said:-
"Sire, your great-great-great-great-great-grandfather, the King of this
country, is dead, and now you have got to come and be King."
"Yes, please, sir," said Lionel; "when does it begin?"
"You will be crowned this afternoon," said the grave gentleman who
was not quite so grave-looking as the other.
"Would you like me to bring Nurse, or what time would you like me to
be fetched, and hadn't I better put on my velvet suit with the lace
collar?" said Lionel, who had often been out to tea.
"Your Nurse will be removed to the Palace later. No, never mind about
changing your suit; the Royal robes will cover all that up."
The grave gentlemen led the way to a coach with eight white horses,
which was drawn up in front of the house where Lionel lived. It was No.
7, on the left-hand side of the street as you go up. Lionel ran upstairs at

the last minute, and he kissed Nurse and said:-
"Thank you for washing me. I wish I'd let you do the other ear.
No--there's no time now. Give me the hanky. Good-bye, Nurse."
"Good-bye, ducky," said Nurse; "be a good little King now, and say
'please' and 'thank you', and remember to pass the cake to the little girls,
and don't have more than two helps of anything."
So off went Lionel to be made a King. He had never expected to be a
King any more than you have, so it was all quite new to him--so new
that he had never even thought of it. And as the coach went through the
town he had to bite his tongue to be quite sure it was real, because if his
tongue was real it showed he wasn't dreaming. Half an hour before he
had been building with bricks in the nursery; and now the streets were
all fluttering with flags; every window was crowded with people
waving handkerchiefs and scattering flowers; there were scarlet
soldiers everywhere along the pavements, and all the bells of all the
churches were ringing like mad, and like a great song to the music of
their ringing he heard thousands of people shouting, "Long live Lionel!
Long live our little King!"
He was a little sorry at first that he had not put on his best clothes, but
he soon forgot to think about that. If he had been a girl he would very
likely have bothered about it the whole time.
As they went along, the grave gentlemen, who were the Chancellor and
the Prime Minister, explained the things which Lionel did not
understand.
"I thought we were a Republic," said Lionel. "I'm sure there hasn't been
a King for some time."
"Sire, your great-great-great-great-great-grandfather's death happened
when my grandfather was a little boy," said the Prime Minister, "and
since then your loyal people have been saving up to buy you a
crown--so much a week, you know, according to people's
means--sixpence a week from those who have first-rate pocket-money,

down to a