But, pull as they might, the tooth would not come out, and this was the
reason: The teeth of Dragons are different from ours, for they go
through the jaw and are clinched on the other side. Therefore, no
amount of pulling will draw them out.

The King did not know this fact, but thought the tooth must have a long
root; so he called again:

"Pull! my brave men; pull!"

And they pulled so hard that the Dragon was nearly pulled from the
porch of its castle. To avoid this danger the cunning beast wound the
end of its tail around a post of the porch, and tied a hard knot in it.

"Pull!" shouted the King for the third time.

Then a surprising thing happened. Any one who knows anything at all
about Dragons is aware that these beasts stretch as easily as if made
of india-rubber. Therefore the strong pulling of the fifty men resulted
in the Dragon being pulled from its foothold, and, as its tail was
fastened to the post, its body began to stretch out.

The King and his people, thinking the tooth was being pulled, started
down the hill, the forceps still clinging fast to the monster's big
front tooth. And the farther they went the more Dragon's body stretched
out.

"Keep going!" cried the King; "we mustn't let go now!" And away marched
the fifty men, and farther and farther stretched the body of the
Dragon.