ace of one foot, but will meet him here in
his own abode and make all my boasting good. Abide ye here, ye
warriors, for this is not your expedition, nor the work of any man but
me alone; wait till ye know which is triumphant, for I will win the
gold and save my people, or death shall take me." So saying he raised
his great shield, and, unaccompanied, set his face to the dark
entrance, where a stream, boiling with strange heat, flowed forth from
the cave; so hot was the air that he stood, unable to advance far for
the suffocating steam and smoke. Angered by his impotence, Beowulf
raised his voice and shouted a furious defiance to the awesome
guardian of the barrow. Thus aroused, the dragon sprang up, roaring
hideously and flapping his glowing wings together; out from the
recesses of the barrow came his fiery breath, and then followed the
terrible beast himself. Coiling and writhing he came, with head
raised, and scales of burnished blue and green, glowing with inner
heat; from his nostrils rushed two streams of fiery breath, and his
flaming eyes shot flashes of consuming fire. He half flew, half sprang
at Beowulf. But the hero did not retreat one step. His bright sword
flashed in the air as he wounded the beast, but not mortally, striking
a mighty blow on his scaly head. The guardian of the hoard writhed and
was stunned for a moment, and then sprang at Beowulf, sending forth so
dense a cloud of flaming breath that the hero stood in a mist of fire.
So terrible was the heat that the iron shield glowed red-hot and the
ring-mail on the hero's limbs seared him as a furnace, and his breast
swelled with the keen pain: so terrible was the fiery cloud that the
Geats, seated some distance away, turned and fled, seeking the cool
shelter of the neighbouring woods, and left their heroic lord to
suffer and die alone.

Beowulf's Death

Among the cowardly Geats, however, there was one who thought it
shameful to flee--Wiglaf, the son of Weohstan. He was young, but a
brave warrior, to whom Beowulf had shown honour, and on whom he had
showered gifts, for he was a kinsman, and had proved himself worthy.
Now he showed that Beowulf's favour had been justified, for he seized
his shield, of yellow linden-wood, took his ancient sword in hand, and
prepared to rush to Beowulf's aid. With bitter words he reproached his
cowardly comrades, saying: "I remember how we boasted, as we sat in
the mead hall and drank the foaming ale, as we took gladly