Дороти и Волшебник в стране Оз
13. The Den of the Dragonettes
Then,afteramoment’sthought,sheasked:"Arewefriendsorenemies?Imean,willyoubegoodtous,ordoyouintendtoeatus?"
"Asforthat,wedragonetteswouldlovetoeatyou,mychild;butunfortunatelymotherhastiedallourtailsaroundtherocksatthebackofourindividualcaves,sothatwecannotcrawlouttogetyou.Ifyouchoosetocomenearerwewillmakeamouthfulofyouinawink;butunlessyoudoyouwillremainquitesafe."
Therewasaregretfulaccentinthecreature’svoice,andatthewordsalltheotherdragonettessigheddismally.
Dorothyfeltrelieved.Presentlysheasked:
"Whydidyourmothertieyourtails?"
"Oh,sheissometimesgoneforseveralweeksonherhuntingtrips,andifwewerenottiedwewouldcrawlalloverthemountainandfightwitheachotherandgetintoalotofmischief.Motherusuallyknowswhatsheisabout,butshemadeamistakethistime;foryouaresuretoescapeusunlessyoucometoonear,andyouprobablywon’tdothat."
"No,indeed!"saidthelittlegirl."Wedon’twishtobeeatenbysuchawfulbeasts."
"Permitmetosay,"returnedthedragonette,"thatyouareratherimpolitetocallusnames,knowingthatwecannotresentyourinsults.Weconsiderourselvesverybeautifulinappearance,formotherhastoldusso,andsheknows.AndweareofanexcellentfamilyandhaveapedigreethatIchallengeanyhumanstoequal,asitextendsbackabouttwentythousandyears,tothetimeofthefamousGreenDragonofAtlantis,wholivedinatimewhenhumanshadnotyetbeencreated.
