A. J. Sautter - A Field Guide to Dragons, Trolls, and Other Dangerous Monsters

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T he world is a dangerous place. Its overflowing with deadly monsters waiting fora chance to attackand possibly eathuman beings. Giants, trolls, and ogres liketo . At least, tales and legendsaround the world would like us to believe these fantastic monsters and others arereal.

But the truth is that dragons, trolls, and other dangerous monsters live only inpeoples imaginations. People have been telling stories about them for hundreds ofyears. Today these awe-inspiring monsters are more popular than ever. They show upin everything from books and movies to roleplaying games, video games, TV shows,and more. Why do these monsters keep showing up in our stories? Perhaps its becausewe wish they were real. They offer us a sense of excitement and adventure that israrely found in most peoples everyday lives.

Lets imagine for a while that dangerous fantasy monsters are real and alive in theworld today. If you went looking for them, would you know what to look for? Wheredo these creatures live? What do they eat? How do they behave? Get ready for a wildadventure as we look at some fantastic monsters and how they would live if they werereal.

ambush to make a surprise attack

hoard a large collection of something, usually treasure

Size:

150 feet (46 meters) long or more; wingspans up to 180 feet (55 m)

Habitat:

are usually found in deep caves in the mountains

Diet:

deer, sheep, cattle, pigs, and other small animals; prefer humans when possible

Life Cycle: Female red dragons lay two or three eggs about every 150 years. To keepthe eggs hot, females breathe fire on them twice a day until they hatch. The are then left to care for themselves. Red dragons reach adulthood at about 200 years.They can live to more than 2,500 years old.

Physical Features: Red dragons are a bright shade of red when they hatch. As theyage their scales become a dark red or red-gold color. Red dragons have razor-sharpclaws and teeth. They also have powerful whiplike tails used to bash enemies to theground. Of course, red dragons are most famous for their flaming breath weapon.When threatened or angered, they create a fiery blast hot enough to melt steel.

Behavior: Red dragons are incredibly prideful and greedy. They also have fierce tempers.They'll attack and kill anyone who insults them or intrudes on their territory. Reddragons guard their huge treasure hoards jealously. If even a single coin is stolen,red dragons will fly into a terrible rage. They'll destroy nearby farms and villagesto find and punish the thieves.

Red dragons love to be praised and admired. In the book The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien,Bilbo Baggins meets the huge dragon Smaug. Bilbo uses several compliments to distractSmaug before escaping with a golden cup.