Author's note: This is my take on the legend of "George and the Dragon"... As you will be able to tell, I'm not fond of dragonslayers. I'm also unsure of where to post this >.< so admins feel free to move it.

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There once was a dragon. He was particularly peaceful, eating but one cow a month to sate his hunger. This dragon spent alot of time sleeping. He also enjoyed flying over the city to see what these strange, two-legged creatures were constructing.

Soon, the dragon heard a noise outside the city, a female two-legged creature was bound and cast out of the city, screaming in terror. The dragon's opinions of the creatures in this city dropped as he unbound the girl and flew with her, dropping her off at another human city (obviously her own city did not want her).

Being hungry, the dragon hunted out another cow, devoring it and returning to his cave to sleep.

A month later, the humans throw another unwanted girl out of the city. The dragon does the same, taking the poor girl to another village.

Many times were there girls bound and tossed out of the city. Each time the dragon gently undid her ropes and ushered her to another, more welcoming location.

Time passed, More girls were rejected from the city. The dragon's heart grew heavier with each month. "How could these creatures reject their own women?

Another girl. The dragon aproached as always, gently. He extended a claw to release the ropes that bound her. But this time an arrow embeded itself in his hand. If his hand hadn't been there, the girl would have been hit.

"They don't just want to be rid of her... they want her DEAD!" The dragon thought in shock as it roared and turned to defend the girl.

It was another two-legged creature, male. This male was wearing an odd sort of metal clothing and carrying a pointy metal stick.

The dragon raised an eye-ridge as this male began to wave the stick around and shout.

This creature jammed his feet into the poor horse beneath it. The horse began to run from the pain, strait towards the dragon.

Frightened for the horse, the dragon puffed out a bit of fire to warn it away. The human only kicked the horse harder, forcing the poor animal to run even faster towards this dragon.

Confused, the dragon reared up, announcing his pressance to the horse, trying to make it turn off course. But as he reared, a great pain exploded in his chest. He didnt know what was happening until he looked down and saw that the human wearing metal clothes had stabbed the mettal stick through his chest and into his heart.

The dragon collapsed, the walls of his heart were unable to continue beating with the breach caused by this mettal stick. The last thing the dragon heard was a victory cry in the strange human language as the sword was pulled from his straining chest. The last he saw -- the man in metal walking towards the girl with his pointed stick that causes so much pain.

His last breath was one of fire, trying still to save the girl from her own kind, from the terrifying metal stick.

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So this is my take on what ACTUALLY happened in the legend of George and the Dragon. >.> *pokes at the knight*
 
 

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There are alot of different versions of the original legend. Here is one of them.

Other versions of the legend say that George used the princess' girdle (oh yeah.. that would have gone over well with the king.) as a collar for the dragon (uhuh. Like that would work.. what about his.. claws?) and lead the dragon into the city where it was beheaded (poor thing =(!)

Some say the dragon was slain by a spear, others say by a sword.

Some legends say that entire armies had been up against the dragon.

OH! And the people of the time.. were so obsessed with the 'rarity' of sheep/cattle that they actually sent HUMAN females out for the dragon to eat. Fun.

How often the dragon 'demanded' virgins is unclear (all the stories differ.. some say every day, others say each month, still others, each week.) I used once a month in my version of the legend.

The most common depiction of St. George is him astride a rearing horse, dragon beneath the horse's hoofs as George stabs the dragon with a pointed object.

And yes, St. George IS a Catholic Saint. According to them, he was tortured and beheaded in 304A.D. at Lydda, Palestine. His feast day is April 23rd.

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Maria