In this narrated excerpt from How to Train Your Dragon, Lois Letchford recounts the frantic escape of Hiccup, Fishlegs, and Gobber from a dragon‑filled cavern. After a massive Nadder awakens, the boys scramble through dark tunnels, swapping dragon‑laden baskets, and racing against pursuing dragons that can see better in the dark. Hiccup repeatedly returns to help Fishlegs, while Gobber repeatedly battles dragons with his strength. The group reaches a lighted exit, but a dragon clamps onto Hiccup’s calf, forcing him to leap off a cliff into the sea. Hiccup survives the icy plunge, is rescued by Gobber, and watches the angry dragons retreat back to the cave. The passage highlights themes of bravery, quick thinking, and Viking resilience amid life‑threatening danger.
Chapters
Most of the nadders snapped crossly at each other before settling back down to sleep. One brute, bigger than the others, opened his eyes and blinked a few times. Hiccup noted, with great relief, that the third eyelid was still down. The boys waited for the eyes To close. And then Fishlegs sneezed. 4 gigantic sneezes that went echoing and bouncing off the cavern walls. A big natter stared sightlessly ahead, frozen like a dagged dragon statue. He But very faintly, an ominous purring sound began in his throat, and very slowly, the third eyelid slid upward. Oh! Oh! There was a bit of a hiccup. The Nadder's head suddenly whipped around to face Fishlegs. Its yellow cat's eyes snapping into focus on the boy. It unfolded its wings to the greatest extent and stealthily advanced like a panther about to spring. It opened its mouth wide enough to show the forked dragon tongue and Run! shouted Hiccup, grabbing Fishlegs' arm and dragging him away. The boys ran from the exit tunnel. Fishlegs and Hiccup were the last to get there. There was no time to pick up the torches, so they were running in pitch dark. The basket with the basic brown dragon in it was thumping on Hiccup's back. They had 2 minutes' start on the dragons because it took a while for the first dragon to wake everybody else up. But Hiccup could hear a furious roaring and flapping as the dragons started to pour into the tunnel after the boys. He ran a little faster. The dragons could move more quickly than the boys, because they could see better in the dark, but they were held up when the tunnel got smaller, because they had to fold their wings up to squirm through. I, I, I haven't got a dragon! panted Fishlegs, a couple of paces behind Hiccup. That! said Hiccup, as he scrambled frantically on his elbows through a narrow bit. Is the least of our problems! They're gaining on us! No dragon! repeated Fishlegs stubbornly. Ho, for Thor's snakes! snapped Hiccup. He thrust his basket into Fishlegs' arms and grabbed the empty one from Fishlegs' back. Have mine! Here, then. Wait here! And Hiccup turned and went back through the narrow bit, even though the roaring was getting louder and closer by the second. What are you doing? screamed Fishlegs, frantically dancing up and down on the spot. Hiccup came back through a hole again. Precious moments later, Fishlegs grabbed hold of an arm to help haul him through. They could hear the horrible snuffling of what sounded like the noise of a dragon entering the other end of the hole. Hiccup banged a rock. at it and squealed, and it squealed indignantly. They turned a corner and suddenly they could see a light from outside at the end of the final tunnel. Fishlegs went first, but just as Hiccup was kneeling down to follow, a dragon pounced on him with a flap and a shriek. Hiccup hit it and it fell back enough for him to crawl towards the light. Another dragon, or maybe the same one, sank its fangs into Hiccup's calf. He was so desperate to get out, he dragged the animal through with him. As soon as Hiccup's head and shoulders were through into the light, there was Gobba. He grabbed Hiccup under the armpits and hauled him out, dragons pouring after him. Jump! yelled Gobba as he stunned a dragon with one blow of his mightiest fish. What do you mean, jump? Hiccup hesitated as he looked down at the dizzying drop into the sea. No time to climb down! panted Gobber, banging a couple of dragons' heads together and bouncing 3 more off his gigantic belly. Jump! Hiccup closed his eyes and leapt off the cliff. As he plunged through the air, the dragon that was attached to his legs released its jaws with a squawk of Alarm! And flew off. Hiccup was travelling at such speed by the time he hit the water that it didn't feel like water at all. More like something hard and painful and so cold he nearly passed out. He spluttered to the surface, amazed to find he didn't appear to be dead, and was immediately drenched by a gigantic wave. A gigantic splash of gobber the belch, landing a couple of feet away from him. Shrieking furiously, the dragons swarmed out of the cave and dive-bombed the floating Vikings. Hiccup pulled his helmet as far down as it would go. There was a horrible scraping sound as dragons' talons raked across the metal. Another one landed hissing on the water right in front of Hiccup's face. Hiccup! It took off again with a screech when it felt how cold the sea was. The dragons didn't like flying through the snow, and with relief, Hiccup watched as they flew back to scream terrible dragon insults in Dragonese from the warmth of the cave entrance. Gobber started to pull the boys out of the sea and onto the rocks. Viking boys are strong swimmers. Viking boys are strong swimmers, but it's difficult to keep afloat when you have a basket full of trapped, terrified dragon on your back. Hiccup was the last to be saved, just in time, as he was cold. Hiccup was the last to be saved, just in time, as the cold was beginning to put him to sleep. Well, at least that wasn't death, thought Hiccup, as Gobber grabbed him by the neck to rescue him, nearly drowning him again in the process. But it certainly wasn't glory either.
