In this narrated excerpt from Chapter 10 Part 3 of How To Be a Pirate, Isaac Letchford reads a scene in which Hiccup, Toothless, Fishlegs, and Snotlout are on a frantic treasure‑searching expedition. The group wades through tall ferns, encounters massive Skellion footprints, and wrestles with personal doubts—especially Hiccup’s fear of disappointing his father and of being outshone by Snotlout. Toothless, despite a cold, acts as an unlikely sniffer, leading the party in circles before finally stopping on a grassy hill. The boys dig and uncover an enormous limpet shell, which Hiccup initially dismisses as useless, comparing it to the “second sign” from the gods after his tiny dragon. The discovery triggers a mix of awe, humor, and existential frustration, as Hiccup worries the real treasure will be claimed by Snotlout. The passage blends adventure, comic banter, and internal monologue, highlighting themes of heroism, self‑doubt, and the absurdity of treasure‑hunting in a pirate‑like setting.
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something already and was dying to follow it up, her tail thrashing, whimpering, and dribbling with her eagerness to be off. Now! No following us! grinned Snotlout, aiming a kick at Hiccup as he and Dogsworth hurried across— hurried after her. Hiccup and Fishlegs stood looking at Toothless, but Toothless was showing no such joy at the task ahead. He sat calmly on the sand, licking his tail in a thoughtful fashion. Fishlegs' dragon, Horikow, had already fallen asleep under a bench on the boat, so she was going to be no help. Can you sniff anything? whispered Hiccup hopefully. Toothless sniffed.
Poo!
he said in disgust.
Liquefied limpets and Sunbaked skellions! Yuck! Let's get out of here!
No, no, no, whispered Hiccup. Treasure, gold, jewels, that sort of thing. And he added craftily, and I'm sure a toothless daydream like yourself can sniff far better than a Me monstrous nightmare? Toothless swelled with indignation as he remembered the nerve of that fireworm creature. He sniffed some more.
Toothless has got a slight cold, he said with dignity, but that doesn't bother us, Aerocrats.
There might be something coming from over there, and he waved a claw vaguely towards the left. So Hiccup drew his too-big sword and they set off, keeping a sharp eye out for scallions that might be awake. They waded through the waist-high ferns and endless heather, much as they might have done on Berk. At one point, they passed a gigantic footprint in the mud. Hiccup knelt down to examine it. Woden preserves us! This means the Skellion is about twice as big as we previously thought. No question it'd beat the bloody Krokoraptor in 1-to-1 combat, then, said Fishlegs, unable to stop himself from laughing hysterically. Oh, this is great. On top of everything else, I'm going crazy. Hiccup was feeling nervous about so many things, it was difficult to concentrate on which worry to worry about most. He had to find the treasure. It was bad enough being the worst swordfighter trainee ever, but if he didn't find this treasure that the heir was supposed to find, then his father was going to be really disappointed. Hiccup hated disappointing his father, even though he had lots of practice at it. And what if Snotlout— what if Snotlout found the treasure Hiccup went cold and clammy at the thought. He looked doubtfully at Toothless, who was hitching a ride perched on Fishlegs' shovel. He hadn't shown no promise whatsoever when they had come to practicing on Berk, but Toothless had triumphed in a crisis before. When Hiccup was soloed by the Sea Dragoness Gigantuous Maximus, Toothless had flown up the monstrous nostril Causing him to sneeze and saving Hiccup's life. So he did have hidden and surprising depths. Maybe he was a hidden sniffer as well as a hidden hero. Maybe he really had caught a whiff of something. Maybe. Toothless thoughtfully picked his nose, examined the booger on the end of one talon, and swallowed it. He suddenly flapped off the spade and started leading a little procession in a worryingly aimless fashion. At one point, he led them in a pointless circle. At another, Hiccup stopped him in the nick of time before he woke up all the scallions by doing a poo. Finally, he settled on a small grassy patch atop of a little hill. He sat down and scratched his ear. Could be here, he said absentmindedly. Hiccup's heart beat a little quicker.
Here?
he asked. Toothless nodded in an offhanded way. The boys took out their shovels and, forgetting about the scallions in their excitement, started to dig. After about 10 minutes of shoveling, they hit on an underground cache of limpet shells. Frittering Freya! said Fishlegs. These scallions eat a lot of limpets. I bet this whole hill is made out of limpets. I bet this whole island Is made out of limpets! Hiccup's shovel hit on something hard and large and heavy just below the surface. Hiccup held his breath. He prodded again. Yes, it was definitely hard and heavy. I think I found something, Hiccup, he whispered. Toothless leapt up and down in excitement.
Treasure! Treasure! Treasure!
he chanted.
You're gonna be a hero! And Toothless, the dragon, hero's dragon, you're going to be—
Hiccup reached down, caught an edge of the hard object, and struggling with both hands, pulled out of the earth the most gigantic limpet shells anyone had ever seen. At exactly that moment, as Hiccup Hiccup sat down suddenly, gazing at the limpet. There was a faint, clear sound of a whistle being blown not far away.
Beep!
Useless, said Hiccup, staring at the limpet. I really am useless. This is the second time the gods have sent me a sign. The first time they sent me a minuscule dragon, 3 times smaller Than anyone else's. Thank you, said Toothless, staring down into the hole.
D-d-don't understand it. Really did smell m-m-m-metal.
This time they sent me a gigantic limpet.
It's the most enormous limpet I've ever seen, said Fishlegs in awe. I think you may have discovered a whole new species.
Oh, brilliant. That'll impress the tribe. They're all so— they're all such nature lovers. He was feeling very black. A limpet, said Hiccup. However big it is, it's only ever a limpet. It's not a treasure, is it? I've never heard of a saga where the hero discovers a new type of mollusk. Meanwhile, Hiccup continued, I hear that the real hero to the Hairy Hooligan tribe has found the treasure. Please don't let it be Snotlout. Hiccup repeated this to himself over and over again as he trudged towards the continuous noise of the whistle. Please don't let it be Snotlout. Please don't let it be Snotlout. Please, please, please don't let it be Snotlout.
