This scene from the eda of Beowulf, in which a thief provokes the dragon who guards a treasure trove, so inspired the translator of the epic that he spliced a similar theme into a story he was preparing for his children. In the translator’s story, though, the thief was… Bilbo Baggins! The story became The Hobbit and the translator was J.R.R. Tolkien.
This Jack o’ Lantern contains one of my more successful self-portraits.
A Raider in a Dark-age Tomb
Beowulf’s slave finds a rich ship burial of a dark age warrior
The Golden Cup is Stolen
Beowulf’s slave, in an attempt to win favor, steals from the treasure hoard
The Guardian of the Tomb
Unbeknowst to the slave, the dragon who guards the treasure returns and is furious