“Well,—she’s eleven and nine months, and I’m only nine and seven months,” she said, just as if she were arguing something.
“I only happened to, Pat,” said Phyllisy.
“She’ll tell you some time; then you’ll know him too,” said the Princess. “I want to show you somebody splendid. Tip your heads up. Do you see four stars that make a long diamond,—three brighter and one not so bright at the point? That’s Draco’s head,—the great Dragon. See his spiky wings lifted. His tail comes down this way. Look,—a curl,—so.” She swung her finger around. “Isn’t he fine? Keep your eye right on him and I’ll tell you who he is. He isn’t one of your common, everyday dragons you meet so often.—Is your eye on him, Pat?”
Pat tipped her head up, then she tipped it down and nodded. The Princess squeezed the young Other One, who was sleepy, in the hollow of her arm, and began in a story-telling voice: “There was once a young man named Jason, who had a great many adventures. One of them was when he set out to bring home the fleece of a ram. (A ram is a grown-up lamb, Kitten.” The Kitten made a funny little bleating noise, like a mother-cat; but she was only partly awake.) “And this was a golden fleece. And it hung on a tree all-by-alone, where any one might have stolen it,—ONLY, it was guarded by a great dragon that lay curly at the foot of the tree, and never closed his eyes, watching it. And that was the very identical Dragon you’re looking at this minute.”
“Tell us what happened then, Dearie,—when he didn’t close his eyes,” urged Phyllisy, after they had looked again at the Dragon.
“He did!” the Princess closed the words off—snap!—so they were tight shut,—and the Others giggled. “Jason gave him some magic drops that put him to sleep, and carried off the fleece.”
“What did they do to the Dragon when they found the fleece was gone?”
“I wasn’t exactly there, Phyllisy; but you may judge by this, they made him a Star Person to reward him because he was a good reliable dragon until he met a Bewitchment that he couldn’t help.—And he’s very happy there in the Sky, half surrounding the indispensable Little Bear who carries the Sailor’s Star on the tip of his tail. He’s still guarding something very precious, you see.”
“You haven’t told us about the indispensable little bear,” said Phyllisy.
“Tell about little bear,” the Kitten murmured.