But the littlest knight charged anyway striking a blow with his sword.

　　"Ouch," said the dragon. The littlest knight charged and struck him again. The dragon roared.

　　You've gone too far this time.

　　You hit me on my behind.

　　I'll fry you 'till

　　What you look like most,

　　Is a piece of burnt up toast.

　　Suddenly there was a buzzing from the knapsack. A bee flew out and up to the littlest knight's ear.

　　We have a way to repay you,

　　Throw our beehive and we'll save you.

　　So the littlest knight grabbed the beehive, throwing it at the dragon's head. Immediately a thousand bees flew out with a thousand stingers. With their tiny swords they stung the dragon again and again. The dragon's eyes began to swell and he could hardly see. With a bellow of pain and anger he leaped into the air and flew off to his cave in the mountains.

　　The littlest knight followed on his pony. When he reached the dragon's lair he saw that the cliffs of the ravine were so far across that building a bridge would take a year. He sat down to think about it, meanwhile pulling from his pocket the Princess's single silken hair.

　　Again there was a buzzing from the knapsack and a bee flew out. It asked him what the matter was. When he told it, it said.

　　This is easy.

　　To cross a bridge which isn't there,

　　Could be a single human hair.

　　Tie the Princess's to my back.

　　I'll fly it there and

　　Tie it near the dragon's lair.

　　The bee did just that. The littlest knight couldn't believe his good fortune until he was fully halfway across the ravine, balancing like an acrobat. The Princess's hair seemed magical for it stretched the whole distance and even with his weight did not break.

　　He made it across and entered the cave. There he found the dragon in a far corner. It was in misery with its eyes swollen shut and its forked tongue lying on the ground. It hissed at his approach, for it could still smell him.

　　I warn you do not come in here.

　　I'll kill you if you come near.

　　It's foolhardy to be involved,

　　When there's still a riddle to be solved.

　　But the littlest knight wasn't afraid. With his kind heart all he could feel now was pity. He wanted to help the beast, to give it water to drink and cool its swollen eyes.

　　Returning outside he climbed down the cliff to the stream below. At the bottom there was plenty of water but nothing with which to carry it. Then he spied a chipped cup some knight had tossed from above. Carefully picking it from the sand he filled it as best as he could and climbed back up.

　　But when he got back to the dragon he discovered that not only had the cup been chipped but it had a crack he had not seen. What little water there was had drained out while he was climbing. He approached the dragon and said, "I'm sorry. I meant to help you, I really did. But the cup is empty."

　　To his surprise the beast rose up with a roar of glee.