IT WAS USUALLY AT THIS point that the children listening to the story began either to cheer or cry.
The baker’s curious son did neither.
‘What happened next?’ asked the little boy.
‘What do you think happened?’ replied the school mistress.
‘It was not a fair fight,’ observed the baker’s son, speaking from the wisdom of experience.
‘No,’ agreed the school mistress. ‘It was not.’
––––––––
* * * *
THE GUARDS ARRIVED in the arena and surrounded them. The beast was recaptured, chained, and returned to the dungeons. The princess was captured; her weapons were confiscated, and she was thrown into a dungeon cell of her own to await her fate.
