4 Nesting

CHAPTER 4

Nesting News of the scarlet egg swept across the kingdom like dragon fire. "It's a miracle!" some said. "A red dragon will surely bring good luck to the kingdom. Others said, "Oh no! Scarlet dragons are bad luck. Nothing good can come from this." The local merchants cashed in on the news. An inn known as the Red Rooster had now become the Red Dragon. The grocer began to dye his eggs red. The village boys sold hand-carved red dragons by the side of the road.

But Prince Lucas had bigger things to think about. He had to design a lair for the scarlet dragon. Lucas and Clara learned everything they could about dragon lairs. They read books and talked to the knights and the wizards.

Then Lucas drew a plan for the dragon's home. The main entrance, which was behind the castle, looked like the opening to a cave. Rocks and boulders surrounded the mouth of the cave. Lucas added a ledge for the dragon to perch on. Underground tunnels formed the inside. Each tunnel led to a chamber. Lucas drew a sleeping area, a dining space, and a playroom with a

wading pool and a waterfall. He added a large fireplace to each chamber, because he read that red dragons needed their homes to be hot. Lastly, he added an escape exit in case an enemy approached the lair.

Then Lucas presented his plan to his father. The king loved Lucas's ideas. He had his men draw up the official plan.