The Dragon of Avalon Read Online Free PDF

tail and lifted his face toward the hole above his head. His green eyes glowed with new radiance, something close to satisfaction.
    "Too bad, you fat old furball," he called in his small, crackling voice, still out of breath from the chase. "Maybe next time you'll move faster than a boulder rolling uphill!"
    This sent the fox into a spasm of uncontrolled rage. He lifted his head and roared with frustration. His paws pounded the turf, digging madly at the hole. Dirt, pebbles, and spittle rained down on the lizard below. But he didn't care. His foe's fit of agony was, for him, more lovely than the song of a meadowlark.
    The lizard chortled happily. "What a delightful outing! I should do this more often."
    "Yesssss," hissed a menacing voice behind him. "Yesssss, you mossssst definitely should."
    Whirling around, he found himself facing a wide, triangular head with two yellow eyes, each slit vertically by a shadowy, quivering pupil. The head did not move, but a thin black tongue danced around the edge of the mouth. The eyes slowly widened, beckoning. And the lizard found himself paralyzed—partly with fear, partly with some other feeling he couldn't name.
    "Ssssso glad you came," hissed the river snake. "Ssssso deliciousssssly glad."
    Still, the lizard couldn't make himself move. No amount of will could even lift one of his legs. Something in the shimmering eyes of this creature made him want to stay right here, for all time.
    A chunk of dirt tumbled down the hole, kicked loose by the still-ranting fox up above. It struck the lizard squarely on the top of his head. Instantly, he awakened, freed from the snake's hypnotic gaze.
    Just as the snake hurled himself forward, deadly jaws opened wide, the lizard darted out of the way. The snake skidded past, coasting on the mud. Seizing his chance, the little fellow dashed down one of the tunnels—hoping it would lead somewhere more friendly than a predator's gullet.
    Racing as fast as he could, the lizard rounded a bend. His tiny feet slapped on the muddy floor, even as the immense bulk of the river snake slithered behind him. Ahead—a fork. He dived into the left branch, which sloped sharply downward. Barely able to control his momentum, he slammed against one wall, bringing down a shower of dirt. Right behind him, the snake hissed with annoyance and readied for the final lunge.
    Hurtling down the tunnel, the lizard saw shredded rays of light ahead. An opening! Covered by a thick mesh of river grass, the bright spot wavered, shifting with shadows. Though he couldn't see what lay beyond the opening, he knew it couldn't possibly be more dangerous than what lay on this side. Or could it? This day had grown worse by the minute.
    The snake's wrathful hiss echoed inside the tunnel. Feeling the sinewy reptile's cold breath upon his tail, the lizard gathered all his remaining strength and threw himself into the opening.
    Whoosh. Grasses, wet from spray, slashed at his face as he flew past—and into the light. He rolled down a pad of sopping leaves, right to the bank of the stream.
    Just uphill, the fox heard something stir by the riverbank and pulled his face out of the hole where he'd been digging furiously. His dirt-coated snout trembled with rage. The instant he saw the lizard roll to a stop by the water's edge, he didn't hesitate a single heartbeat. He simply pounced.
    Right on the back of the snake! The reptile had emerged from his tunnel just as the fox leaped. The two of them rolled farther down the bank, locked in combat even before they stopped their slide. Roaring and hissing, tearing at fur and scales, they fought wrathfully. While the snake coiled around the fox's neck, squeezing tight, the fox snapped his jaws on his assailant's tail, ripping away flesh. Flecks of mud, along with wet leaves, sprayed everywhere.
    Immediately below the battlers, the little lizard with the cupped ears cowered at the water's edge. Blocked by the stream below and unable to swim, he had nowhere to