Robert Peate

The Terrible Price

There weren't always dragons in the Valley. At that time, when Ered was young, life was peaceful and good. He worked with his father in the smithy and played with his mates everywhere else: in the village, in the fields, in the forest. The first time he saw a dragon, the first thing he heard was a cry in the village: “Dragon!” The same word repeated. His head turned this way and that, and he looked up all around, but the tops of the houses and trees blocked his view . . . until a dark shape passed directly overhead. He looked up just in time to see it flying away from his position. Though it was spring, he felt a chill. Then he saw the dragon wheel around and turn toward the village again. Something in him said, Run. Then he remembered the rule of being chased: run sideways. His father had used a word like “perpendiculous”, but Ered knew it as sideways. He would not run in front of a horse, an ox, or a dragon. But he had to save his family first. He ran inside their hut.