This book contains the following story:
"The Dragon Tamers" is a short story written by Edith Nesbit, a British author known for her children's literature. The story was first published in 1899 and is part of her collection titled "The Magic World." Here is a plot summary of "The Dragon Tamers":
Setting: The story is set in a small English village in the late 19th century.
Characters: The main characters in the story are Eliza, a young girl who loves reading about dragons and adventures, and her little brother, Thomas.
Plot Summary: The story begins with Eliza, an imaginative and adventurous girl, reading a book about dragons. She is fascinated by tales of knights and dragons and wishes that she could go on such adventures herself. Eliza's little brother, Thomas, is more practical and skeptical, often questioning the feasibility of her fantasies.
One day, while Eliza is reading about dragons, she suddenly has an idea. She tells Thomas that she's going to tame a dragon and fly away to far-off lands. Thomas, thinking it's just another one of Eliza's imaginative games, goes along with it.
Eliza and Thomas set off on their "dragon-taming" adventure with a picnic basket, a skipping rope (to tie up the dragon), and a pistol (in case the dragon is too fierce). They walk through the village, exploring the countryside, and eventually arrive at a secluded valley.
In this valley, they find a cave that Eliza is convinced is the dragon's lair. She bravely enters the cave, expecting to find a dragon. However, instead of a dragon, they discover a group of children who had also heard about the dragon and were playing make-believe inside the cave. Eliza and Thomas decide to join in the fun.
The story ends with the children playing and using their imaginations to create their own adventures, with no real dragons in sight. Eliza and Thomas, along with the other children, learn that sometimes the best adventures are the ones you create with your imagination and the people you meet along the way.
Themes: "The Dragon Tamers" explores themes of childhood imagination, the power of storytelling, and the idea that adventures can be found in unexpected places. It gently highlights the contrast between Eliza's imaginative, adventurous spirit and Thomas's more practical, skeptical nature while ultimately celebrating the joy of creative play.
This story is a delightful example of Edith Nesbit's storytelling style, which often involves the blurring of fantasy and reality in the lives of children.
