‘Oh, don’t,’ said Elsie, ‘don’t cry! Poor dragon, what’s the matter?’
‘Oh!’ sobbed the dragon, ‘I’m only so glad you’ve come. I—I’ve been so lonely. No one to love me. You do love me, don’t you?’
‘I—I’m sure I shall when I know you better,’ said Elsie kindly.
[p201]
‘Give me a kiss, dear,’ said the dragon, sniffing.
It is no joke to kiss a dragon. But Elsie did it—somewhere on the hard green wrinkles of its forehead.
‘Oh, thank you,’ said the dragon, brushing away its tears with the tip of its tail. ‘That breaks the charm. I can move now. And I’ve got back all my lost wisdom. Come along—I do want my tea!’
So, to the waiting crowd at the gate came Elsie and the dragon side by side. And at sight of the dragon, tamed, a great shout went up from the crowd; and at that shout each one in the crowd turned quickly to the next one—for it was the shout of men, and not of crows. Because at the first sight of the dragon, tamed, they had left off being crows for ever and ever, and once again were men.
The King came running through the gates, his royal robes held high, so that he shouldn’t trip over them, and he too was no longer a crow, but a man.
And what did Elsie feel after being so brave? Well, she felt that she would like to cry, and also to laugh, and she felt that she loved not only the dragon, but every man, woman, and child in the whole world—even Mrs. Staines.