Once upon a time there rincess who had a dragon. It was a very small dragon. She was a very small princess. She called it Fluffy.

  “Be good to Fluffy,” her nursemaid told her. (It was the nursemaid who’d brought her her pet.) “If yood to him, he’ll be good to you.”

  Years passed. The princess grew up. So did the dragon. The king, who had beeirely ignorant of the princess’ pet in the back garden, finally took notice that there was something big and fire breathing out there. “Dragon!”

  He was too old to fight dragons. So he did what kings have always done. He offered to trade his daughter for the sughter of the dragon. The annou went out that any prince who slew the dragon could marry the princess.

  “Hmm,” thought the princess. “I’m not sure I’d like a priter than Fluffy.” She warned Fluffy to find a nice remote cave in the mountains, just in case. He did. But meanwhile, he hung out in the back garden. He liked his princess. She brought him écirs when the cook baked them for the king.

  The annou brought four princes.

  The first prince was announced in the king’s audience hall. He looked around at the gold ors. He ted the jewels in the king’s . “I’ll kill your dragon for you,” he promised.

  He didn’t look at the princess, sittio the king.

  “Hmm,” thought the princess. “I like Fluffy better than him.” She slipped out and had a chat with Fluffy.

  The king had a Very Brave Courtier (actually the nursemaid’’s brother; he knew Fluffy, too) show the prihe way to the back garden. Fluffy reared up and id a barrier of fire in front of the prince.

  “On sed thought,” the prince said to himself, “There weren’t that many jewels in his .” And he left.

  The sed prince passed the princess in the hall to the audien. His eyes passed over her to the pretty maid behind her. He wi the maid. “Would you like to hold my sword?”

  “Hmm,” she thought. “I like Fluffy a lot better than him.”

  This time Fluffy chased the horse away before the pri to the back garden. The prince discovered that the pretty maid still had his sword. (She was the nursemaid’s niece. She liked Fluffy, too.) He had to walk home.The prince came in dragging a small, dirty dog on a rope.

  “Is that a present for Princess Melisande?” asked the king.

  “Oh, the poor thing,” said Melisande.

  “Oh,no, sire,” answered the prince, in shocked tones. “This is just a mutt. He’s bait for the dragon. While the dragos the dog, I’ll jump out and cut his head off.” He beamed.

  “Yht him here to be eaten?” gasped Melisande. She motioo a footman to take the rope.

  The king might be busy, but he wasn’t clueless. “This one hasn’t a ce with Melly,” he said to himself.

  At dihat evening, the prie a roast specially prepared for him, rich with gravy and herbs. At the bottom of his dish, he found a piece of the rope from the dog’s neck.

  “Oh, I am sorry,” apologized the footman. “The cook was in such a hurry. It was a rush job when they said you wa to eat.”

  “Not me,” choked the priurning rather green. “It was for the dragon.”

  The prince left soon after dinner, apologizing that he was allergic to one of the herbs. He’s have to tackle the dragon aime.

  Earlier that afternoon, the kennel master stood looking dubiously at a small wet creature of doubtful parentage.

  “Maybe if we feed him up a bit, he’ll begin to look like something, Princess.”

  “He looks like he has some sheepdog in him, don’t you think?”

  “More like a bit of sheep,” the kennel master muttered.

  The kennel man had known the princess since she was, as he put it, “Nothing but a pup herself, and as in need of house training.” He was married to the nursemaid’s sed cousin’s sister-in-w, so was family.

  “I know you make something of him.”

  “Well, robably find some pce for him.”

  “I knew I could t on your soft heart, John.”

  He sputtered a bit and blushed. But as she walked away, he smiled. That dog would get a good home.

  The st prince came directly into the audien. Before presenting himself to the king, he looked at the princess. And smiled.

  She smiled back. “Hmm,” she thought. “He might do. He just might do.”

  She slipped out and warned Fluffy. When the prince appeared and pulled his sword, Fluffy took off for his cave. Everyone was very impressed that this prince had scared the dragon away.

  The princess found that she did like this prince. Very much.

  Ohey were married, she introduced him to Fluffy. Fluffy approved of him, too.