CHAPTERSEVEUREENDED
“LOOKatwhat?”saidEdmund。
“Lookatthedevithegold，”said。
“Alittlehammerwithadiamolikeastar，”saidDrinian。“Why，I'veseenthatbefore。”
&!”said。“Why，ofcourseyouhave。ItisthesigNarhisistheLordO-ring。”
“Villain，”saidReepicheepton，“haveyoudevouredaNarnianlord?”Butthedragonshookhisheadviolently。
“Orperhaps，”saidLucy，“thisistheLordO，turon—ument，youknow。”
“Itbeeither，”saidEdmund。“Alldragogold。ButIthinkit'sasafeguessthatOgothisisland。”
&heLordO?”saidLucyton，andthesadlyshookitshead，“Areyousomeoed—someonehuman，Imean?”
Itly。
Andthensomeonesaid—peopledisputedafterwardwhetherLuundsaiditfirst—“You'reayce?”
&aoddedhisterribledragohumpedhistailintheseaandeveryoneskippedbaeofthesailorswithejasIwillnotputd）toavoidtheenormousandboilingtearswhihiseyes。
Lucytriedhardtoandevenscreweduphercetokissthescalyfaearlyeveryonesaid“HardludseveralassuredEustacethattheywouldallstandbyhimandmanysaidtherewassuretobesomewayofdisenghimandthey'dhavehimasrightasraininadayortwo。Andofcoursetheywereallveryanxioustohearhisstory，buthe'tspeak。Morethahedaysthatfollotedtowriteitforthemonthesand。But，thisneversucthefirstplaceEustaeverhaviherightbooks）hadotellastht。Andf，themuserveson-clawsthathehadtousehadowriteabuiltfanyway。Asaresultheheeidedwashedawayallthewritihebitshehadalreadytroddenonoratalyswishedoutwithhistail。Andallthatanyonehadseehihedotsareforthebitshehadsmudgedout—
&OSLEE。。。RGOSAGRONSIMEANDRAWASDEADANDAWINGSOHAR。。。WOKEUPANDCOU。。。GETOFFFMIARMOHBOTHER。。。
Itwas，however，cleartoeveryoace'scharacterhadbeenratherimprovedbybeingadragon。Hewasanxioustohelp。Heflewoverthewholeislandandfounditwasallmountainousandinhabitedonlybywildgoatsanddrovesofwildswihesehebroughtbaycarcassesasprovisionsfortheship。Hewasaveryhumaoo，forhecoulddispatchabeastwithoneblowofhistailsothatitdidn'tknoresumablystilldoesn'tknow）ithadbeeeafewhimself，ofcourse，butalwaysalone，fornowthathewasadragonhelikedhisfoodrawbutheeverbeartoletothersseehimathismessymeals。Andoneday，flyingslowlyairiumph，heborebapagreattallpireewhichhehadtornupbytherootsinadistantvalleyandwhiadeintoacapitalmast。Andintheeveningifitturnedchilly，asitsometimesdidaftertheheavyrains，hewasaforttoeveryohewholepartywouldeandsitwiththeirbasthishotsidesawellwarmedanddried;andonepuffofhisfierybreathwouldlightthemostobstiimeshewouldtakeaselectpartyforaflyonhisback，sothattheycouldseewheelihemthegreeherockyheights，thenarrowpit-likevalleysandfaroutovertheseatotheeastotofdarkerblueonthebluehorizonwhichmightbeland。
Thepleasure（quiteohim）ofbeiillmore，oflikingotherpeople，tEustadespair。Foritwasverydrearybeingadragon。Heshudderedwhesightofhisowionasheflewoveramouedthehugebatlikewings，thesaw-edgedridgeonhisbadthecruel，curvedclaws。Hewasalmostafraidtobealohhimselfahewasashamedtobewiththeothers。Ontheeveningswhebeingusedasahot-waterbottlehewouldslinkawayfromthedliecurleduplikeashewoodaer。Onsuchos，greatlytohissurprise，Reepicheepwashismosttforter。ThenobleMousewouldcreepawayfromthemerrycircleatthecampfireandsitdownbythedragon'shead，welltothewindwardtobeoutofthewayofhissmokybreath。TherehewouldexplainthateacewasastrikingillustratiournofFortune'swheel，andthatifhehadEustaceathisownhouseinNarnia（itwasreallyaholenotahouseandthedragon'shead，letalonehisbody，wouldedin）heorethanahundredexampless，dukes，knights，poets，lovers，astronomers，philosophers，andmagis，whohadfallenfromprosperityidistressinganyhadredlivedhappilyeverafterward。Itdidnot，perhaps，seemsoveryfatthetime，butitwaskiaaeverfotit。
Butofcoursewhathungovereveryonelikeacloudroblemofwhattodowiththeirdragoheywerereadytosail。Theytriednottotalkofitwhehere，buthe'thelpslike，“Wouldhefitallalongohededwe'dhavetoshiftallthestorestotheothersidedownbelowsoastobalance，”or，“Wouldtowinghimbeanygood?”or“Wouldhebeabletokeepupbyflying?”and（mostoftenofall），“Buthowarewetofeedhim?”Aacerealizedmoreasidayheboardhehadbeenanunmitigatedhewaserill。Andthisateintohismind，justasthatbraceletateint。Hekoworsetotearatitwithhisgreatteeth，buthe'thelptearingnowandthen，espehotnights。
AboutsixdaysaftertheyhadlandedonIsland，Edmuoveryearly。Itwasjustgettinggraysothatyoucouldseethetree-trunksiftheywerebetweenyouaherdire。Ashewokehethoughtheheardsomethingmoving，soheraisedhimselfononeelbowahim:ahoughthesawadarkfiguremovingontheseawardsideofthewood。Theideathatatonceoindwas，“Arewesosuretherearehisislandafterall?”Theitian—itwasabhtsize—buthekhadbeetohimandcouldseethathehadn'tmoved。Edmuhathisswordwasinitspladtheoie。
Hesoftlytotheedgeofthewoodandthedarkfigurewasstillthere。HesawnowthatitwastoosmallfordtoobigforLucy。Itdidnotrunaway。Edmunddreasabouttogethestrarangersaidinalowvoice，“Isthatyou，Edmund?”
“Yes。Whoareyou?”saidhe。
“Don'tyouknowme?”saidtheother。“It'smeEustace。”
“Byjove，”saidEdmund，“soitis。Mydearchap—”
“Hush，”saidEustadlurchedasifheweregoingtofall。
“Hello!”saidEdmund，steadyinghim。“What'sup?Areyouill?”
&acewassilentfthatEdmundthoughthewasfainting;butatlasthesaid，“It'sbeenghastly。Youdon'tknow。。。butit'sallrightnow。Couldwegoandtalksomewhere?Idon'twahersjustyet。”
&her，anywhereyoulike，”saidEdmund。“Wedsitontherocksoverthere。Isay，Iamgladtoseeyyain。Youmusthavehadaprettybeastlytime。”
&otherodsatdownlookingoutacrossthebaywhiletheskygotpalerahestarsdisappearedexceptfhtonelowdowhehorizon。
“Iwon'ttellyouhowIbecamea—adragontillItelltheetitallover，”saidEustace。“Bytheway，Ididn'tevenknowitwasadragontillIheardyouallusingthewordwhenIturherm。IwanttotellyouhowIstoppedbeingone。”
“Fireahead，”saidEdmund。
&nightIwasmoremiserablethahatbeastlyarm-ringwashurtihing—”
“Isthatallrightnow?”
&acelaughed—adifferentlaughfromanyEdmundhadheardhimgivebefore—ahebraceleteasilyoffhisarm。“Thereitis，”hesaid，“andanyonewholikeshaveitasfarasI'med。Well，asIsay，Iwaslyingawakeaohwouldbee。A，mindyou，itmayhavebeenalladream。Idon'tknow。”
“Goon，”saidEdmund，withsiderablepatience。
“Well，anyway，Ilookedupandsawtheverylastthied:ahugelioningslowlytowardme。Ahingwasthattherewasnomoonlastnight，buttherewasmoohelionwas。Soitearerandnearer。Iwasterriblyafraidofit。Youmaythinkthat，beingadragon，Icouldhaveknoylionouteasilyenough。Butitwasn'tthatkindoffear。Iwasn'tafraidofiteatingme，Iwasjustafraidofit—ifyouderstacamecloseuptomearaightintomyeyes。AndIshutmyeyestight。Butthatwasn'tatoldmetofollowit。”