“Very well,” said Merlin, “then I will tell you. Beneath the stones you will find two great dragons, one red, the other white. During the day these monsters sleep, but at night they awaken and fight; and it was because of their terrible underground battles that your tower could not be made to stand. The night following the raising of the stones they will fight for the last time; for the red dragon will kill the white one, and after that, O Mighty King, you may build your tower in peace.”
Then the Wise Ones trembled, and silently they followed the King and Merlin across the plain to watch the fatal raising of the stones.
When at last the mighty boulders had yielded to the combined strength of all the workmen, there, before the eyes of the crowds that had gathered, lay the two dragons—fast asleep.
“Now send the people away,” said Merlin to the King, “but you and I must stay here and watch, for at midnight the dragons will fight their last battle.”
And when the crowds had dispersed, and the Wise Men slunk away one by one, Vortigern and the boy Merlin sat alone together on the brink of the pool as the evening shadows fell.
The air grew chill. Presently the moon arose, shedding its weird light upon the strange scene; and still the dragons slept on. Toward midnight Merlin leaned forward, and, lightly touching the King’s arm, whispered:
“See! They are about to awaken. Make no noise!”
Then slowly, and still drowsily, the great white dragon stirred and opened his hideous eyes, while along his whole scaly body there ran a shudder. This seemed to arouse the red monster from his dreams, for before King Vortigern could draw breath, the two terrible creatures had risen on their bat-like wings far above his head, and, with fire streaming from their nostrils, were gnashing upon each other with their fangs, and striking at each other with their ugly claws.
For an hour or more the awful battle continued, sometimes far above their heads, and sometimes perilously near them on the earth; and it seemed to the King that neither would ever be able to gain an advantage—so well were they matched. After a while, however, the white beast began to show signs of weakening; and at last with a mighty crash, he fell to the ground—dead. Then the red dragon spread his wings, and with a strange hissing sound vanished into the shadows of the night, never to be seen again by mortal eyes.
“Tell me,” said the King when he could find sufficient voice to speak. “Tell me, O wonderful boy that you are, what do these strange things mean?”