68 pages 2 hours read

Peter S. Beagle

The Last Unicorn

Fiction | Novel | YA | Published in 1968

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Chapters 10-11Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Chapter 10 Summary

Prince Lír and Molly sit in the scullery preparing vegetables for dinner. Lír is frustrated because he has slain five dragons and not once has Lady Amalthea spoken to him or been impressed by his accomplishments. Lír laments the way Amalthea’s expression made him feel sorry for killing the dragon. Lír has already accomplished many physical feats to impress Amalthea with no success. He’s even broken off his engagement to another princess. He has transformed himself into a fairytale hero just for her attention. Molly does not have much advice for him. A cat joins Molly and Lír in the scullery. Neither knows where it came from, but Molly is glad for the company. 

Lír tells the story of his horse, whose legs were burnt badly during a battle with a dragon. Amalthea did not seem interested in Lír’s story about the battle, but she perked up when he mentioned his injured horse. Lír took her to the stable, and she placed her hands on the horse’s legs as though she were expecting to heal the horse. When the wounds did not heal, Amalthea ran away. Lír says he heard Amalthea weeping, but she shed no tears. Prince Lír urges Molly to tell him more about Amalthea, but Molly has nothing more to offer him.