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How to Train Your Dragon (The Heroic Misadventures of Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III #1)

Cressida Cowell

CONTENTS

A Note from the Author ... ... ... . . l

1. First Catch Your Dragon. ... ... 2

2. Inside the Dragon Nursery 14

3. Heroes or Exiles ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 31

4. How to Train Your Dragon 46

5. A Chat with Old Wrinkly, 6l

6. Meanwhile, Deep in the Ocean ... ... . . 67

7. Toothless Wakes Up 69

8. Training Your Dragon the Hard Way, 81

9. Fear, Vanity, Revenge, and Silly Jokes 89

10. Thor'sday Thursday 103

11. Thor is Angry 127

12. The Green Death... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 145

13. When yelling doesn't... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ...

14. The fiendishly clever plan... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 166

15. The Battle at Death's Head Headland 177

16. The Fiendishly Clever Plan Goes Wrong ... ... ... ... ... l82

17. In the Mouth of the Dragon... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... . . 186

18. The Extraordinary Bravery of Toothless ... 190

19. Hiccup the Useful, 200

20. Epilogue by the Author 211

vi

[Map: Isle of Berk]

vii

[Map: Meathead islands ]

viii

[Page Blank]

1

A Note from the Author

There were dragons when I was a boy.

There were great, grim, sky dragons that nested on the cliff tops like gigantic scary birds. Little, brown, scuttly dragons that hunted down the mice and rats in well-organized packs. Preposterously huge Sea Dragons that were twenty times as big as the Big Blue Whale and who killed for the fun of it.

You will have to take my word for it, for the dragons are disappearing so fast they may soon become extinct.

Nobody knows what is happening. They are crawling back into the sea from whence they came, leaving not a bone, not a fang, in the earth for the men of the future to remember them by.

So, in order that these amazing creatures should not be forgotten, I will tell this true story from my childhood.

I was not the sort of boy who could train a dragon with a mere lifting of an eyebrow. I was not a natural at the Heroism business. I had to work at it. This is the story of becoming a Hero the Hard Way.

2

Chapter 1 FIRST CATCH YOUR DRAGON

Long ago, on the wild and windy isle of Berk, a smallish Viking with a longish name stood up to his ankles in snow.

Hiccup Horrendous Haddock the Third, the Hope and Heir to the Tribe of the Hairy Hooligans, had been feeling slightly sick ever since he woke up that morning.

Ten boys, including Hiccup, were hoping to become full members of the Tribe by passing the Dragon Initiation Program. They were standing on a bleak little beach at the bleakest spot on the whole bleak island. A heavy snow was falling.

"PAY ATTENTION!" screamed Gobber the Belch, the soldier in charge of teaching Initiation. "This will be your first military operation, and Hiccup will be commanding the team. "

"Oh, not Hic-cup," groaned Dogsbreath the Duhbrain and most of the other boys. "You can't put': Hiccup in charge, sir, he's USELESS. "

Hiccup Horrendous Haddock the Third, the