The Haunting Hour by R.L. Stine

to swallow me! Ned realized. He dropped to the ground, trying to shield himself with both hands.
    The dragon lowered its huge head…lower…lower…until Ned felt its burning hot breath on the back of his neck.
    Then the creature opened its jaws wide, wide enough to swallow Ned whole.
    â€œWHAT DO YOU WANT?” the dragon bellowed.
    Ned dropped flat on his back, nearly smothered by the creature’s hot breath. “You—you talk?” he choked out.
    â€œOf course!” Ulrick boomed. The dragon’s round eyes flashed like solid black marbles, reflecting nothing. “All dragons speak when there is something to say!”
    The boy and the dragon held a long staring match. Finally Ned’s terror faded enough for him to stand and find his voice.
    â€œUlrick, why do you stay by yourself up here?” he asked. “Are you not lonely? Why don’t you join the other dragons down below?”
    The dragon tossed back its head and roared. It arched its leathery back and raised sharp talons as if ready to attack. Again, it lowered its head inches from Ned’s.
    â€œLive with the Dragon Master?” Ulrick bellowed. “Do you know anything about the Dragon Master, Ned?”
    Ned swallowed hard—and waited for the pain of having his head bitten off. He opened his mouth to reply, but no sound came out.
    â€œAll my brothers and sisters used to roam free, in peace,” Ulrick boomed. “We are no threat to humans. We do not hunt for animal flesh. We eat only the Gorsel bushes and the red berries that grow on them.”
    Ulrick bumped Ned’s shoulder with its snout. “Do you know how the great Dragon Master captured all his dragons?”
    Ned rubbed his shoulder. “Uh…no.”
    â€œHE DESTROYED ALL THE GORSEL BUSHES EXCEPT HIS OWN!” Ulrick bellowed. “The dragons had a choice—starve or be captured. As soon as the dragons followed him home, Sir Darkwind clipped their wings. He whips them and keeps them penned up. He charges a fee to see them. And he forces the dragons to roar and battle each other for the crowds.”
    Ulrick’s chest heaved up and down. In a roar of fury the dragon snapped open its jaws.
    The wave of hot breath sent Ned onto his back once again. He stared up helplessly as, wings flapping, the mighty dragon roared and raged.
    â€œAnd now you want to capture ME and add ME to Sir Darkwind’s sad collection?” it boomed. “NEVER! NEVER!”
    A shadow swept over Ned. The shadow of the dragon’s giant head.
    â€œNoooo!” Ned let out a scream as the jaws closed around him. The pointed teeth dug into Ned’s chest and back.
    And then the dragon lifted him, lifted him easily off the ground.
    Ned thrashed and squirmed like a worm caught in a bird’s beak.
    The dragon tilted its head back to swallow him.
    â€œNO! WAIT!” Ned wailed. “WAIT! NO! PLEASE! NO! NOOOOOO!”
    Â 
    The next morning the servant Gregory arose early and went out to check on the dragons. The sun, still low over the trees, hadn’t burned through the morning fog.
    Gregory carried the water bucket to the trough where the dragons drank. Around the pen the dragons groaned and stretched sleepily.
    Staring into the damp gray mist, Gregory let out a startled cry. The water bucket fell from his hands. “D-dragon!” he exclaimed.
    Was it just a shadow in the fog?
    No. An enormous dragon was lumbering toward Sir Darkwind’s house, swinging its head from side to side, wings fluttering on its back.
    In his excitement Gregory tripped over the water bucket as he ran to the house. “Sir Darkwind! Sir Darkwind!” he shouted. “A dragon approaches!”
    The Dragon Master was just finishing his breakfast. He jumped up from the table, egg running down his bearded chin, and hurried to the door. Squinting into the fog, he clapped his hands joyfully.
    â€œIt is Ulrick!” he declared. “My collection