The knight and the dragon

As he galloped through the dark, forbidding forest, he tried to swallow the knot of

fear that had even building since he heard the news of the fierce dragon that had been pillaging the

villages. The hellish fiend had already killed at least forty people and completely destroyed two

whole villages, causing quite a reign of terror. The king's pleading voice still echoed in his head,

begging him to destroy the monster. The knight had been puzzled at why the king would ask such a

duty of him because he was not large and strong like all of the other knights. He was a rather tall

man but he was also very thin, making him look very weak. He was also known for spinning a

tale or two. But still, the knight has instantly accepted the task presented unto him, for loyalty is a

characteristic in every true knight, even small ones.

Suddenly a voice cried out. The knight instantly stopped his horse to see what was

the matter.

An old man dressed in tatters came out of the forest towards him, stooping

heavily upon an old, withered stick. He had his hands cupped together before him, as if in prayer.

" Beggin' ye pardon, Me Lord, but might thou spare a shillin' for a poor, hungry,

old man such as myself, so that I might eat?" he asked in a shaky voice.

The knight liked with pity at the old man, who liked as if he had not eaten in weeks

and who was also very tired and dirty. He took for the a small pouch filled with shillings and gave

the pouch to the man.

" This is all I have, which seems like nothing at all. If only I could do more. . ." the

knight said.

" Oh no, kind sir! This is more than enough," the old man said quickly. " God

bless thee, sir."

And with that, the knight rode off to continue his journey and to slay the terrible

dragon.

Two nights later the knight happened upon a monstrous cave at the end of a large clearing.

Seeking only solace from the approaching storm, he ventured inside for rest and shelter. He sat on

the hard, cold floor of the cave and leaned against the wall for support. He began contemplating

what lay before him and realized that the possibility of death and defeat was a horrible reality that

he was dealing with . However, he knew he could not turn back, no matter if he did die in battling

the beast. Besides he'd promised his king he would try and he would never break a promise to the

king. His eyelids began to get heavy as he was thinking to himself and soon he fell asleep. . .

. . . And awoke, staring straight into two, piercing, red glowing eyes with small black slits that were

focused directly upon him. The hot breath of the dragon burned his face as he was staring into its

eyes, so full of hate. The atmosphere of the cave was so hot the knight found himself gasping for

air. He quickly put his hand on the hilt of the sword.

" Who are you to trespass into my cave?" the beast snarled in a raspy, hoarse

voice. Then the beast stepped back so he could let the knight get a better view of his dragon form,

for it is known that dragons are very vain, self-absorbed creatures and they love to show off. The

knight could only gape at the enormous dragon. It was so tall, its head almost touched the ceiling

of the cave. Its scales were a color of a reddish-brown and it had long, sharp claws and even

longer, sharper teeth.

The knight gathered his courage and said, "I have been sent by His Majesty to

destroy thee, so that I might put an end to your well-known evilness."

With that, the dragon threw back his head and began to laugh, a truly horrible

sound, that sent chills up the knight's back. And then, suddenly, he stopped laughing. His gaze

upon the knight hardened into a very deep scowl and before the knight had time to think, the

dragon inhaled a large breath of air and breathed fire. The knight scrambled out of the way at the

last second, but forgot his sword, which melted under the dragon's deadly breath.

" Ah, no weapon!" the dragon laughed. "You don't stand a chance against me

now!" he laughed and laughed. This time he was laughing so hard that when he threw his head

back, it crashed into one of the large boulders in the ceiling of the cave. Before he could even

react, he was completely buried in the rocks!

The knight sighed in relief and thanked God and everything else holy that he could

think of. Then he prepared to journey back to the kingdom and inform the king that the dragon

was dead.

In addition to this amazing feat, the old beggar that he had helped, was a really a

talented, but eccentric magician. The magician had been in somewhat of a slump lately because he

had begun to believe that those who used to be true heroes were no more. When the knight helped

him though, he grew joyfully happy and vowed to do the knight a favor in return for his charity.

The old man ran from village to village telling of the kind, brave knight who was going to kill the

dragon and save the lives of "hundreds" of people. Then every village for miles and miles had

heard of and adored the knight and labeled him as a true hero.

So the knight defeated the dragon without even lifting his sword. Of course the

knight didn't have to tell people he didn't actually kill the dragon. After all, he was a well-known

hero now. Why ruin that beautiful name? The actual cause of the death of the dragon would just be

a little secret.