princess to-morrow as a reward for his
bravery, and every one that wishes may join the wedding feast to-night
in the king's castle."

[Illustration: _The Marshal tells how he killed the Dragon_]

That night George went up to the king's castle and took his place at
the table not far off from where sat the king with the princess on
one side of him and the marshal on the other; and after the banquet
the king called upon the marshal once more to tell how he had slain
the Dragon with the Seven Heads. And the marshal told a long tale of
how he had cut off the seven heads of the dragon, and at the finish he
ordered his squire to bring in a platter on which were the seven
heads. Then up rose George and spoke to the king and said, "And pray,
my lord, how does it happen that the dragon's heads had no tongues?"
And the king said, "That I know not; let us look and see." And the
jaws of the dragon's heads were opened, and behold there were no
tongues in them. Then the king asked the marshal, "Know you aught of
this?" And the marshal had nothing to say. And the princess looked up
and saw her champion again. Then George took out from his doublet the
seven tongues of the dragon, and it was found that they fitted. "What
is the meaning of this, sir," said the king. Then George told the
story of how he had slain the dragon and fallen asleep in the
princess's lap and had awoke and found her gone. And the princess,
when asked by her father, could not but tell of the treachery of the
marshal. "Away with him," cried out the king, "let his head be taken
off and his tongue be taken out, and let his place be taken by this
young stranger."

So George and the princess were married and lived happily, till one
night, looking out of the window of the castle where they lived,
George saw in the distance another castle with windows all lit up and
shining like fire. And he asked the princess, his wife, what that
castle might be. "Go not near that, George," said the princess, "for I
have always heard that none who enters that castle ever comes out
again." The next morning George went with horse and hound to seek the
castle; and when he got near it he found at the gate an old dame with
but one eye; and he asked her to open the gate, and she said she would
but that it was a custom of the castle that who ever entered had to
drink a glass of wine before doing so; and she offered him a goblet
full of wine; but when he had drunk it he and his horse and his