Beowulf was always a hero. As a child, he borrowed his father's sword to attack a nest of savage trolls that preyed on travelers passing through the mountains. Now a young man, he seeks to defend the Danish king Hrothgar, whose land is plagued by a monster named Grendel.

A vile creature of the marsh with green scales for skin and sharp claws for fingers, Grendel comes nightly to Heorot Hall for his dinner. He devours the king's warriors, then returns to his lair under the water.

King Hrothgar welcomes Beowulf to his court. "Are you not afraid?" the king asks him.

Beowulf replies, "Why should I fear? If I am fated to win, then Grendel cannot defeat me. If I am fated to lose, then it has been my destiny since the day I was born."

"This," says Hrothgar to his queen, "is a true hero."

Sure of his role, if not of his success, Beowulf prepares to battle Grendel...

This story of Beowulf, probably the first hero in English literature, is a powerful introduction to the classic confrontation between good and evil, pared to perfection by Eric A. Kimmel and brought to life in monumental paintings by Leonard Everett Fisher.

From the dust jacket