I see today is the feast of St George. George is, of course, best remembered for killing a dragon.
And that tale is one of those stories that have haunted the Western imagination for a very, very long time.
And, at least in our more ironic era has invited numerous parodies…
(My favorite had the dragon stumble into a village infested with manticores. He kills them and becomes a local hero. Later he’s killed in a barroom brawl by a local hooligan named George who is promptly executed. The locals decide it would be a tourist attraction to have the dragon sainted go to the authorities, only to learn the fees for sainting a dragon are prohibitive, and so purchase the sainthood for George*…)
But among those following the tradition a tad closer, my favorite has to be Stan Freberg’s telling…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rQi9gtODUZA
* regarding this story if you know the author of this little tale, and or it’s title, I’d be grateful if you’d tell me…