dragon

"but how do you slay the dragon?"

as i stood facing the awesome beast, i still wondered at my masters refusal to answer my question. why would he give me such a daunting task and provide no tools by which to accomplish it? it seemed very out of character for my master.

i looked around, ever mindful of the dragon's sleeping visage, and scoured my surroundings for a spear.

i saw the grass, but it was too soft, and the thick stalks were too green.
i saw the trees, but they towered over me. i had no tools, and could certainly not fell a tree or carve it into anything with no tools.
i saw the birds, but they maintained their distance and even though their song was soothing none came to help me.
and so i stood defenseless. my master and my environment, by nature, had betrayed me.

you cannot drown a dragon. you cannot burn a dragon. i could think of nothing which would give me an advantage in fulfilling my master's quest. he had called me "dragon slayer", and let me play with his swords and spears and think that when i faced my enemy i would be protected at least with metals and innovation.

having nothing to do but wait, i studied the dragon. his skin was too beautiful. the silvery scales reflected his surroundings so that the only way i could be sure i was looking at him was to find the faint wisp of smoke from his mouth. as his massive torso swelled with every breath, the light around me would bend and seem to twinkle like the stars on a misty night. he was as tall as the towering trees and seemingly as expansive as the lake's horizon. i watched him submerge himself, his customary form of awakening, and then he opened his eyes.

i saw my own reflection in the eye of a dragon.

"who are you?"

"i am a dragon-slayer", i replied, as my master had instructed me.

his eyes filled with disbelief. then he did something i never would have dreamed to witness... he laughed. the waves rolled and the trees shook and the earth trembled and i was very afraid.