"'Nay,' said I, 'the jewel is yours; you must cast it at the Dragon, and I will wish that the fairies may aid us.'
"And so we stood at the door of the cave, and the Dragon, seeing us, came forward with wide-opened jaws.
"The Princess clung to my arm with one hand, but with the other she cast the jewel, while with all my desire I wished that my fairy powers might not fail me now.
"Whether, however, it was that the fairies willed it so, or perchance because she was a girl, the Princess's aim was not straight, and she hit, not the Dragon, but a great boulder in the shadow of which he was lurking; and then a truly remarkable thing occurred, for the boulder, immediately it was struck by the jewel, tumbled forward, and falling upon one beside it, imprisoned the Dragon between the two, where he has remained to this day."
And Shin Shira pointed dramatically to the rocks, from which an extra large puff of spray belched forth, with a groan and a cry which almost convinced me that what he told me must be true.
"And what became of the Princess after that?" I inquired, being anxious to hear the end of the story.
"Why," resumed Shin Shira, "we picked up the jewel and hurried away from the spot, and presently came at the top of the cliffs to the Castle, the ruins of which may still be seen up yonder—to where the King dwelt.
"I cannot tell you with what joy the Princess was received, nor with what honour and favour I was rewarded by the King—and, indeed, by all of the people—as the Princess's deliverer.
"It is enough to say that the King called a great assembly of people, and before them all said that as a fitting reward he should give me the fairest jewel in all his kingdom, and handed me the very stone which had been cast at the Dragon, and which was valuable beyond price, being one of the most perfect and flawless stones in the world.
"I was glad enough to have the gem, but I had fallen madly in love with the Princess's beauty, so I made bold to remind the King that the fairest jewel in his kingdom was not the gem he had given me, but the Princess, his daughter.