“So that’s the way you keep your word, is it? You ungrateful bumpkin! Take that, and that!”
Then, he flung the pot of hot chocolate at the fellow’s head, and followed up his attack, with the ladle and cloth, batting him out of the cave.
What happened just after that, the dairyman never could, or would tell. He was so stunned, that he lay insensible for several hours, as he thought. The scalding, from the hot chocolate, made his face smart fearfully. Tearing off part of his shirt, he bandaged up his head and features as best he could, and then hobbled back home. It was weeks, before his broken head was mended enough, and the ugly scars on his face had healed. At last, he showed himself on the street, where the small boys made his life a burden.
Henceforth the neighbors nicknamed him “The Dwarf’s Guest,” but he never set up a candy store. [[66]]
VII
TWO GOOD NATURED DRAGONS
The whole family of dragons, that are scattered all over the world, have a very bad reputation. It is said that they feed on fat girls, and will not taste anything but nice, tender, juicy maidens. If they try to eat old folks, and grown up people, they get a stomach ache at once. Then, it takes many bottles of medicine, besides keeping them a long time on a baby’s diet of milk and bread, while they are getting well, before they are in full health again.
But when they regain their appetite, they roam around through the country, devouring maidens by the dozen. Then all the fathers, that have lovely daughters, must be on their guard. They keep their girls at home, for fear there will be none of them left.
This habit of the dragons to relish, on their bill of fare, only lovely maidens, makes the brave young men want to fight and kill the monsters, because, with so few girls left, they fear that they may not be able to get wives, and, without these, they cannot have homes or be husbands. [[67]]