[ WP ] Unable to die , you find yourself trapped in the stomach of a dragon .

His face was gnarled and old, and tight with wrinkles; his hair thick, and his beard with dirty and white; he wore a wide-brimmed hat and his left eye was white and ineffectual. He said: `` This is a place to be!'' 
 
 I was still shaken so I said nothing. The old man held in his hand a candle-holder, and the flame showed pink flesh and rotten water on the ground. 
 
 `` But we are not dead!'' I gasped. 
 
 The old master said: `` Far from it. I have been in here for fifteen years. The old worm is resourceful.'' 
 
 `` Will we not die in the belly?'' 
 
 He sat down on a splattered fish and said, `` No.'' 
 
 There was nothing more to be said, so we sat in silence, and I wondered how the old man had lit his candle. 
 
 `` We can kill the time,'' he offered. 
 
 I spat on the ground. I had n't killed it, and I had been eaten. I was in no mood. 
 
 `` Do n't you like stories?'' he asked. `` I might have a few good ones.'' 
 
 His voice echoed around the rotten belly and the worm lurched left, knocking us over. 
 
 `` Fine,'' I said. `` Fine! Tell me your stories, old man! We are stuck here to rot and die and starve. Tell them and let me forget my sorrows.'' 
 
 He looked at me then, and he seemed twice his height, even sat down. His dried lips curled and when he spoke I was no longer in the belly of a dragon, but wrapped in his words. He spoke in a voice that melted and became the words they meant. 
 
 `` There was once a young woman from the far east. She was neither beautiful nor particularly strong; nevertheless she was happy. Her closest companion in the world was her dog, who was strong, and beautiful, with a coat as white as snow. 
 
 This young woman and the dog played happily every day, and each accompanied the other. They would go to the village; they would clean the house; they would temper the garden. 
 
 One day, the young woman had left, as she infrequently did, alone, to visit her friend. When she came back, she saw that her dog was slain, and her beautiful white coat was covered in blood. On her neck was two bite marks, unnatural and black, for it had been slain by a demon. 
 
 The young woman was distraught and for two weeks she did not leave her house, and her cheeks were coated in tears. Her mother protested, but she did not listen. Her father shook her head, but it did n't matter. In a dream, the eighth night after the dog's death, the young woman saw her dog in the dark, alone, her tail under her legs. She knew what she had to do. 
 
 That night, she stole into the living room and removed the family sword from the shield at the top of the stove. She put on a leather jerkin and her father's over-sized pants, and she left the house. 
 
 In the forest, it snowed gently. Her footsteps were light and the marks were deep, so she could be followed. Soon, a monkey approached her. 
 
'Where are you going?' said the monkey. 
 
'I am going to save my dog,' said the young woman. 
 
'Where is your dog?' 
 
'She is dead, and in the underworld, because a demon took her unfairly.' 
 
 The monkey laughed.'What a fool! To go to such a dark place after a dog!' 
 
 But the girl said nothing and kept walking, pitter-patter, on the cotton snow. The monkey watched, and swung to its friends, and told them about her. 
 
 After the sun rose over the mountains, the girl was apprehended by a curious mosquito. 
 
'I hear you are going to the underworld,' said the mosquito, and the girl nodded.'I want to go with you.' 
 
'Why?' 
 
'I can fly, and suck blood,' said the mosquito.'And I think that a true friendship deserves help.' 
 
 So the young woman and the mosquito traveled onwards. The ground sloped and the snow became grayer and harsher. She was not surprised to find the monkey again. 
 
'I want to go with you,' said the monkey. 
 
'I thought I was a fool.' 
 
'Indeed!' said the monkey.'As am I!' 
 
 So the young woman, the mosquito, and the monkey went onwards. Here there was a well in the ground which reeked of death and feces. 
 
'Underworld,' said the mosquito. 
 
 The young woman jumped in, and the mosquito flew in, and the monkey climbed down. They walked through skulls and corpses which crunched underfoot. A demon guard looked at the girl and said,'No one may enter who is not dead.' 
 
 The mosquito said,'I will irritate and confuse him,' and he buzzed over and began to jab at the demon's eye who swatted in annoyment. The girl and the monkey walked through. 
 
 Then there was a thin lake of reaching souls who screamed in torment surrounded by pure darkness. The monkey said,'I can help you cross over.' And the monkey beat his chest and the young woman stepped onto his hands and he tossed her over with great strength. 
 
 So the young woman approached the King of Underworld, who was chained to his throne and trapped in with great spikes which bound him in torment. She cringed when she saw his disfigured form. 
 
'I seek my dog, who was taken unfairly,' she said.'' 
 
 It was not until then, when the old man stopped talking, that I noticed how loudly and strongly he spoke this story. But then he said nothing. 
 
 `` Did she get the dog?'' 
 
 He said nothing. And we were in silence. Then suddenly there was a great tumult and the belly shook and everything was thrown around, and a great tidal wave of salt water took my and bleached my face and suddenly I was thrown out, spouted out onto icy rock. Before me the mighty dragon, red in scale, and huge in proportion roared and spat fire. `` Well?'' it commanded. I was shook in silence. `` What happened?'' 
 
 The old man grinned and said, `` I will tell you the end if you promise to leave us, and leave the town.'' 
 
 `` Fine!'' roared the dragon. `` Speak your insipid words, man.'' 
 
 So the old man finished his tail. 
 
 `` Then the Lord of Underworld saw the young woman and said,'I do not let anyone return.' 
 
 The young woman bowed her head.'She was taken unfairly by a demon. It was not natural.' 
 
 The tortured king said,'No one can convince the king of hell.' 
 
 And the girl said,'Let me see the dog.' 
 
 The king relented and as blood spurted from his neck the dog came from the dark and jumped at the girl, tail wagging, and licked her face. She smiled and the dog barked in joy and they were one. The king was not moved. 
 
 And then the dog jumped at the king when she saw him, and she leapt to his lap and began licking his face. The king shuddered suddenly and said,'No being has ever reacted with such joy upon seeing me!' 
 
 And a single tear rolled down his jagged face.'Very well,' he said.'You may have your dog. One day, however, I will have you both.' 
 
 The girl did not care, because then she would be with her dog. They lived long, and the dog lived far past its usual years, and when they died, both their hair was white. They played in the dark forever more.'' 
 
 The dragon growled. `` I am satisfied with this story. You speak very well, All-Father.'' And its wings flapped with strength and the wind howled and it left. The dragon was never seen in those parts. When I rose and looked to my left, I saw the old man with his large hat and tall walking stick. 
 
 `` Why did n't you tell a story earlier?'' I asked. 
 
 He grinned gently. `` I need to be face to face with my audience to tell a tale.'' 
 
 And he was gone, and I was left with his story, and the one of the young woman and her dog.
