But they were not listening.
They had all flown to the tops of their trees and were balancing on the topmost branches, bending forward and listening intently. For there was a soft humming, grumbling, hissing, bleating, gurgling sound coming from somewhere very far away!
“That’s the Ogres,” said Nurse, looking very grave—and the sound got a tiny bit louder.
Then a little cold, tinkling, rippling, singing, shivering, clinking sound began as well—so faint that it was just like a funny little whisper, and “That’s the Dragon and he’ll be here first!” cried all the Fairies together, looking graver still, and they began to flutter round Peggy and the Giant, staring at the Ring, which was winking and flashing long green darts of light over everything and everybody.
“What shall I wish?” asked Peggy, glancing at the Giant, who was obviously too tired out to move another step. (The sounds were every second getting louder and louder.) “I—I should rather like to see them,” she added shyly, “if I can make the dear Giant quite safe.”
“Wish me to be invisible,” said the Giant wearily. “Then I shan’t have to get up. I’ve been practising it, so you won’t have any difficulty.”
“Yes, that’ll do nicely,” said Nurse. The noise had suddenly become so loud that Peggy could hardly hear her. “And you get as much behind the trunk as you can,” she went on to Peggy at the top of her voice, “and I’ll sit on a branch in front of you and hide you. If they do see you, you’ve only got to wish yourself invisible too.”
The noise had now changed to the rattling kind that a million luggage trains would make if they were all driven along in a row at once, and Peggy could hear tree after tree crashing to the ground. She had only just time to wish, and see the Giant disappear completely, when a great red creature plunged down through the branches above into the open space in front of the Fairies, and fell on his side, quite close to Peggy’s tree, lashing his tail and panting like a dog.
Tongues of red and blue fire flashed and darted up and down his scaly back, and his scarlet wings spreading across the grass withered it up at once. Peggy did feel glad she hadn’t missed the sight! But she took the precaution to wish that he should not crush the Giant, in case invisible Giants could be crushed.
In a few seconds the Dragon rolled on to his little short stubbly feet and waddled up to Nurse.