4 The King and the Dragon Chapter BEFORE READING 1 The story so far. Fill in the blanks in this short summary of Chapter 3 using an appropriate word. Beowulf (1).......................................... into the lake and swam towards the bottom. The lake was very deep, so it took him nine (2)............................ to get there. Grendel s mother saw him and (3)................................ him with her knife. After a violent fight, Beowulf was able to kill her using an ancient (4)................................. that had been made by the (5)............................. . In the meantime, the king, with his warriors and Beowulf s men, were waiting on the (6)................................ of the lake. After waiting a very long time, the king (7)................................ that he was dead and decided to go back home. Only Beowulf s men remained and when he (8).............................. came back, they were very happy and congratulated him. Even though in the cave under the lake there was a lot of (9)................................... , Beowulf only brought back Grendel s head and the (10)............................ of the ancient sword. When they arrived back at the hall, he showed them to the king and the court. Everybody was happy about Beowulf s new (11)............................... and the king decided to celebrate with a great (12).................................... .The morning after, Hrothgar gave Beowulf new (13).................................. and said goodbye to him. The hero and his companions left and, when they arrived back in Geatland, they soon went to King Hygelac s (14)........................... . 2 Making predictions. Pair work. Answer these questions discussing the possible answers with your partner. a. What do you think will happen to King Hygelac? b. Who will become king after him? c. Will Beowulf also have to fight in his old age? Anglo-Saxon belt buckle. 54