Dan Carter, Cub Scout Megapack
The Doll Story Megapack
The G.A. Henty Megapack
The Girl Detectives Megapack
The E. Nesbit Megapack
The Penny Parker Megapack
The Pinocchio Megapack
The Rover Boys Megapack
The Tom Corbett, Space Cadet Megapack
The Tom Swift Megapack
The Wizard of Oz Megapack
AUTHOR MEGAPACKS
The Achmed Abdullah Megapack
The H. Bedford-Jones Pulp Fiction Megapack
The Edward Bellamy Megapack
The B.M. Bower Megapack
The E.F. Benson Megapack
The Second E.F. Benson Megapack
The Algernon Blackwood Megapack
The Second Algernon Blackwood Megapack
The Max Brand Megapack
The First Reginald Bretnor Megapack
The Fredric Brown Megapack
The Wilkie Collins Megapack
The Ray Cummings Megapack
The Guy de Maupassant Megapack
The Philip K. Dick Megapack
The Erckmann-Chatrian Megapack
The Jacques Futrelle Megapack
The Randall Garrett Megapack
The Second Randall Garrett Megapack
The Anna Katharine Green Megapack
The Zane Grey Megapack
The Edmond Hamilton Megapack
The Dashiell Hammett Megapack
The C.J. Henderson Megapack
The M.R. James Megapack
The Selma Lagerlof Megapack
The Murray Leinster Megapack***
The Second Murray Leinster Megapack***
The Arthur Machen Megapack**
The George Barr McCutcheon Megapack
The Talbot Mundy Megapack
The E. Nesbit Megapack
The Andre Norton Megapack
The H. Beam Piper Megapack
The Mack Reynolds Megapack
The Rafael Sabatini Megapack
The Saki Megapack
The Darrell Schweitzer Megapack
The Robert Sheckley Megapack
The Lon Williams Weird Western Megapack
* Not available in the United States
** Not available in the European Union
***Out of print.
OTHER COLLECTIONS YOU MAY ENJOY
The Great Book of Wonder, by Lord Dunsany (it should have been called “The Lord Dunsany Megapack”)
The Wildside Book of Fantasy
The Wildside Book of Science Fiction
Yondering: The First Borgo Press Book of Science Fiction Stories
To the Stars—And Beyond! The Second Borgo Press Book of Science Fiction Stories
Once Upon a Future: The Third Borgo Press Book of Science Fiction Stories
Whodunit?—The First Borgo Press Book of Crime and Mystery Stories
More Whodunits—The Second Borgo Press Book of Crime and Mystery Stories
X is for Xmas: Christmas Mysteries
SYMPATHY FOR DRAGONS, by John Gregory Betancourt
Sir Horace, the greatest knight in all Mordovia, tracked the dragon Grothnir back to its lair in the Pyrénées. On a cold, wind-swept plateau three thousand feet above the lush green valleys of France, he dismounted his horse, drew his sword, faced the cave, and bellowed:
“Ho, monster! I have come to slay you!”
He sensed movement within the darkness. Bracing himself, he raised his sword and prepared for battle—of which there came none.
“Grothnir!” he bellowed after ten minutes of waiting. “Show yourself, spawn of evil!”
Again he sensed movement, and two great yellow eyes suddenly regarded him from the depths.
“Come out!” Sir Horace shouted.
“No,” said the dragon, its voice low and rumbling.
Sir Horace blinked, hardly believing his ears. A dragon that would not do battle? Impossible! Perhaps the monster had misunderstood.
“Come out!” he repeated, in his most commanding voice.
“No,” said the dragon.
Sir Horace ranted. Sir Horace railed. He called the dragon a coward, a simpering weakling, a mockery of all that was draconian. Still Grothnir refused to fight. In desperation, he threw rocks at its eyes. He even gathered snow from the peaks above and pelted the beast with snowballs. But for all his efforts, for all his insults, the great creature remained steadfast in its refusal. And Sir Horace knew better than to venture into its lair, for within such close confines he would be roasted by the monster’s breath.
They had reached an impasse.
* * * *
Sir Horace made his camp outside the cave’s mouth. Each morning he renewed his challenge to the dragon; each morning it refused. Once a week villagers from Les Fleurs brought him fresh provisions and checked on his progress; once a week he reported, “I have it cornered. I will starve it out.”
But as the weeks turned into months, and the months threatened to turn into years, still the dragon Grothnir remained safe within its lair.
Once,
