Maybe he was as brave as anyone else there, because he went to catch a dragon despite knowing what dragons are like. And, when he had climbed perilously to the mouth of the cave and had found that inside there was a long, twisty tunnel, he still went down it, despite not being too keen on long, twisty tunnels with dragons at the end of them.
-- Narrator (chapter 2 paragraph 30)

Importance: The narrator is exploring Hiccup's attitude and motivations, and points out that Hiccup is probably the only boy among the group who has studied dragons and knows all about them. The other boys rush into the dragon nursery to get a dragon to train without knowing how dangerous their mission really is. Hiccup knows all about the danger and the things that could go wrong, but he still goes, which makes him braver than the other boys.

I couldn't see anything, but as we...
-- Hiccup (chapter 3)