There was a great rumbling coming from the Green Mountains, and the ground trembled as if something was trying to break out of the earth. All of the creatures of the mountains, men and animals alike, could smell the danger and a sense of foreboding in the air. Some fled, while others cowered in their shelters. It went on like this for a day and a night.

As the sun rose the next day, the mountain range split, and a wide canyon formed between the two branches of mountains. Fiery serpents rushed from the depths of the canyon out into the sky and shrieked in triumph. These were the dreaded Great Worms; and they had escaped from their stony prison. They were finally free, after ages of digging through the mountains. They spent some time stretching their sore wings, flying in fantastic patterns. Then they came upon the land like a dreadful storm, burning, slaughtering, destroying. They desecrated the Green Mountains, so that now they are known as the Grey Mountains. All of the creatures that had not fled were destroyed. The canyon became known as the Withered Heath, and the dragons used it as a breeding ground.

This story is about a young fire-drake who escaped on that terrible morning. He was called Smaug by humans, but I imagine he had other names as well. Smaug was massive, even in his youth, with a wingspan that could stretch across five horses facing head to tail. His gargantuan shadow could cloak a whole house in darkness. Smaug, being a dragon, also had magical powers. A mere gaze from his golden eyes could set a man shaking in his boots, and Smaug's growling voice could almost bend one's will. Smaug would indeed make a dreadful foe.

As the other drakes tore at the small villages the mountains, Smaug flew south to plunder the larger towns at the foot of the mountains. The first dwellings he came upon were a human farming settlement called Aufferlade.

Less than a week before, Aufferlade had been a prosperous town, but the inhabitants had left when the shaking began, and they had forgotten all of their possessions in their hurry. He wanted to explore the houses, but soon his hunger won over his curiosity, for prey had been scarce in the mountains. Smaug could smell a herd of cows and a flock of sheep which were scattered, trying to hide. He made a sport of finding and chasing them for hours before he snapped their necks, for he was a cruel drake who enjoyed filling others with fear. After the serpent had ate his fill and buried the rest of the food to dig up later, he studied his surroundings. Doors swayed open and shut in the breeze; when Smaug looked through the doors, he found rotting food uneaten on tables and dying fires untended, dwindling. Shortly he detected a scent he had only ever heard about: gold. Precious metals and stones were the driving force of a dragon, and even though you and I cannot smell such things, fire dragons are born with a powerful sense of smell and an inclination towards the scents of various currencies, but especially gold. Smaug went into a frenzy and soon he had all of the precious objects of the town gathered them in a pile just outside the town's limits. To finish the job, he burned Aufferlade down, till nothing remained, save ashes and smoke.

Now that Smaug had a treasure hoard, though a small one it was, he needed a place to keep it, preferably a large cave that was easy to defend. He traveled east, plundering and burying his wealth as he went, but his main goal was to find a cave. Smaug then came to the Iron Hills, the stronghold of the dwarves. The prospect of such a glorious dwarf cave tempted the dragon, but when he saw the wicked weapons of dwarf armies patrolling the fortress's borders, he decided leave them alone for the moment. Smaug tried to fly around the mountains, but could not without provoking the dwarves. The fire-breather decided to retrace his steps west to check the status of his buried treasure.

When Smaug arrived at the ashes of his last plunder, he could not find his treasure. The beast was filled with disbelief: who would dare to insult him? Then came rage: "I will find you, thief, whoever you are, and I guarantee that you and all those you hold dear to you will die a horrible death by my claws and teeth!" He let out an awful sound that could be heard from miles away.

Then the hunt began.

The scaly monster used his powerful sniffer to decipher some facts about the thief: it was a Great Worm, older than he was, female. He began following her scent like a bloodhound. It lead away from the village, but grew weaker and weaker until he could not smell it at all. He returned to the village and pondered a while. The trail he was following must have been her coming toward the village, rather than from it. Smaug began tracking again. He found a recent trail which lead him north. He traveled quickly, and soon he came to a cavern in the Grey Mountains.

The opening was about the height of three men and just as wide. There was a dancing light coming out of the cave, a fire. Smaug smelled the cave cautiously, but grew bolder when he determined that there were no dragons in the cavern. A few feet into the cave, he came to the fire. On the fire was a dragon egg close to hatching. Smaug ignored the egg and continued to search for his stolen treasure. He went deeper into the cave, and as he turned a corner he entered a larger cavern filled with all of his jewels and metals from all of the places he had plundered. Smaug was furious and delighted at the same time. This she-dragon had been following him all along, having him do all of the work and then collecting the money! The worm was outraged that his treasure was stolen, but delighted to be reunited with his hoard, and now he had a cave to keep the hoard in, so long as the she-dragon did not come back.

Which, of course, was exactly what she did at that moment. Smaug had been so engrossed in his treasure that he did not notice her presence in the chamber until she said, "Get out!"

"You!" Smaug bellowed.

"Yes, it is I," she chuckled.

"You're the thief!"

"Yes."

"I WILL KILL YOU!"

"I don't think so." In a movement faster than the human eye, the dragoness reached for Smaug's neck with her claws. Smaug's eyes were also faster than human eyes, and he dodged the blow caught her paw in his jaws. He tore off her limb. She snarled in agony, and then hurled herself into him, knocking them both in the the walls of the cavern. The cave shuddered, and a few stones fell from the ceiling, but nothing serious enough to stop two dragons in battle. The monsters tore at each other with equal hatred, slamming into walls and rolling over treasure, but the Smaug's decisive move had determined the winner of the battle from the beginning. The she-dragon fought bravely till the end, as Smaug loomed above her and said, "Any last words?"

"You can kill me but it is wrong to destroy the egg! Just don't kill the egg!"

As a final act of revenge, Smaug lifted the egg and threw it at the she-dragon as she watched in horror, helpless. It hit the wedge between the wall and the floor near her and burst open. The she-dragon let out an awful cry and used her last reserve of strength to hurtle herself against the wall, causing the battered cave to finally collapse.

Smaug flew out safely with only minor injuries, but his treasure was lost in the mountain. He tried for many days to dig through the rubble, but the cave was firmly sealed. He had his revenge, but it had cost him his hoard and a good cave. The dragon eventually moved on through life, and after some time, he came to Erebor on the lonely mountain, where Thror ruled as King Under the Mountain. We all know what happened after that.