第二十九章：一个意想不到的发展(15)

‘Have you heard how he discovered the Land That Does Not Exist?’ they had been whispering. ‘Have you heard how he defeated the Sea Dragon? The Strangulator? How he tricked the Romans at the Fortress of Sinister? How he stopped the Exterminators at Lava-Lout island? How he slipped through the witch’s fingers once again in the land of Nowhere? How he found EVERY SINGLE ONE
of Grimbeard the Ghastly’s Lost Things, and Alvin only stole them from him?’ When you put it like that, it seems extraordinary that no one had noticed what a Hero they had in their midst already. Short of going round with a big fat arrow on his head saying ‘HERE IS THE GREATEST HERO YOU’VE HAD IN THE ARCHIPELAGO FOR CENTURIES’ there isn’t much more that Hiccup could have done to make this blindingly obvious. But it can sometimes take a while for people to change their minds about things. Even Hiccup’s ridiculous birthday, the 29th of February of a Leap Year, a source of shame to him for his entire life, was suddenly in his favour. ‘And I’ve heard he’s only three years old,’ they whispered, in hushed respect. ‘To have done all this when he is only THREE YEARS OLD. Why it’s superhuman!’ This is the way that legends begin. You remember what I said, way way way back at the start of Hiccup’s adventures, how this would be the story of becoming a Hero the Hard Way? Now you can begin to see exactly how hard the way has been.