In this narrated excerpt from Cressida Cowell’s How to Train Your Dragon, Lois Letchford reads a scene where Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III encounters the fearsome dragon known as the Green Death. The dialogue opens with the dragon’s eerie singing and a discussion about the nature of supper, leading Hiccup to question the dragon’s motives and his own role as a hero. The Green Death, after a tense exchange about peace, war, and personal insecurities—particularly Hiccup’s feelings about living up to his father—decides to postpone eating Hiccup, citing fatigue. The dragon falls asleep, allowing Hiccup to escape. He returns to his village, where he is celebrated as a hero despite the lingering threat, and his father Stoick asks whether the beast came in peace or war. The passage blends humor, philosophical musings on heroism, and the classic tension between human and dragon, concluding with a triumphant yet uneasy reception.
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That's why it's so important, he continued, for the supper to sing as beautifully as it can. He gestured to his stomach, from where the voice could still be heard singing, though more and more faintly. Humans can be bland, but if you have some salt to hand, a little bit of brine, And make them tasty, Vi. That particular supper, said the dragon that you can hear singing now, was a dragon rather smaller than me, but very full of itself. I ate him about half an hour ago. Isn't that cannibalism? said Hiccup. It's delicious. Besides, you can't call an artist like myself a cannonball! He sounded a bit exasperated now. You are very rude for such a small person. What do you want, little Zappa? I have come, said Hiccup, To find out whether you come in peace or in war. Oh, peace, I think, said the dragon. I am going to kill you, though, he added. All of us? said Hiccup. You first, said the dragon kindly, and then everybody else, when I've had a little nap and got my appetite back. It takes a little while to wake up completely from a sleep coma. But it's all so unfair! said Hiccup. Why do you get to eat everybody just because you're bigger than everybody else? That's the way of the world, said the dragon, because besides, you're Besides, you'll find that you come round to my point of view once you're inside of me. That's the marvellous thing about digestion. But where are my manners? Let me introduce myself. I am the Green Death. What's your name? Lois Letchford. Little supper? Hiccup Horrendous Haddock the Third, said Hiccup. And the most extraordinary thing happened. As Hiccup said his name, the Green Death trembled, as if a sudden wind had made him shiver. Neither the Green Death nor Hiccup noticed. Hmm, said the Green Death. I'm sure I've heard that name somewhere before, but it's rather a mouthful, so I shall just call you Little Supper. Now, Little Supper, before I eat you, tell me your problem. My problem? That's right, said the dragon. Your why can't I be more like my father problem. Your it's hard to be a probably. Why can't I be more like my father problem. Your it's hard to be a hero problem. Your Snotlout would make a better chief than me problem. And I've helped the problems of many a Supa. Somehow meeting a really big problem like myself seems to put everything else into proportion. Let me get this straight, said Hiccup. You know all about my father and me not being a hero and everything. I can see things like that, said the Green Death modestly. And you want me to tell you my problems, and then you're going to eat me? We're back to the beginning again, sighed the Green Death. We're all going to be eaten sometime. You can win yourself a little extra time though, if you're a smart little crabstick. A few scraps from the burning— The Green Desk yawned. I'm suddenly very tired, he said. You are a clever little crabstick, and you've kept me talking for ages. And the dragon yawned again. I'm too tired to eat you right now, and you'll have to come back in a couple of hours, and I'll tell you how to deal with your problem then. I have a feeling I can help you. And the terrible monster really did fall asleep this time and snored most heavily. His great claws relaxed and fell open, and the remaining sheep, their woolly sides trembling with terror, scrambled over the tops of the terrible talons and bolted up the cliff path. Hiccup stood watching the dragon thoughtfully for a second. Then he trudged slowly back through the heather towards the village. Everybody cheered when he walked through the gates. He was carried shoulder-high and set down in front of his father. Well, son, said Stoick, does the beast come in peace or war? He comes in peace, said Hiccup. There were huge hurrahs and heavy stampings of feet. He's still going to kill us. Darling.
