e and examine him just as if he
were stuffed, and then you can sit on his back and think how it would
be if you should live to be a thousand years old, and he should wake
up while you are sitting there. It would be easy to imagine a lot of
horrible things he would do to you when you look at his open mouth
with its awful fangs, his dreadful claws, and his horrible wings all
covered with spikes."

"I think that might suit me," said the Languid Youth. "I would much
rather imagine the exercises of these monsters than to see them
really going on."

"Come on, then," said the Very Imp, and he led the way to the cave of
the Ghastly Griffin.

The Bee-man went by himself through a great part of the mountain, and
looked into many of its gloomy caves and recesses, recoiling in
horror from most of the dreadful monsters who met his eyes. While he
was wandering about, an awful roar was heard resounding through the
passages of the mountain, and soon there came flapping along an
enormous dragon, with body black as night, and wings and tail of
fiery red. In his great fore-claws he bore a little baby.

"Horrible!" exclaimed the Bee-man. "He is taking that little creature
to his cave to devour it."

He saw the dragon enter a cave not far away, and following looked in.
The dragon was crouched upon the ground with the little baby lying
before him. It did not seem to be hurt, but was frightened and
crying. The monster was looking upon it with delight, as if he
intended to make a dainty meal of it as soon as his appetite should
be a little stronger.

"It is too bad!" thought the Bee-man. "Somebody ought to do
something." And turning around, he ran away as fast as he could.

He ran through various passages until he came to the spot where he
had left his bee-hive. Picking it up, he hurried back, carrying the
hive in his two hands before him. When he reached the cave of the
dragon, he looked in and saw the monster still crouched over the
weeping child. Without a moment's hesitation, the Bee-man rushed into
the cave and threw his hive straight into the face of the dragon. The
bees, enraged by the shock, rushed out in an angry crowd and
immediately fell upon the head, mouth, eyes, and nose of the dragon.
The great monster, astounded by this sudden attack, and driven almost
wild by the numberless stings of the bees, sprang back to the
farthest portion of his cave, still followed by his relentless
enemies, at whom he flapped wildly with his