And then in the forest of three days there was silence. On the fourth the boy emerged, bearing a sword, wearing a scrappy tunic, then searched three more for a fire. "I have slain a dragon, but found there no fire," he said, "Only a golden ring." He slept under the elms and had a dream:

Pears swinging like bells, chimes
Tinkling beneath Aurora's hand,
Music of the austral wind
That stirs in the dark leaves.