The Dragon (short story)

Last updated
"The Dragon"
Short story by Ray Bradbury
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Genre(s) Fantasy
Publication
Published in Esquire
Publication type Periodical
Media typePrint (Magazine)
Publication dateAugust 1955
The Dragon
Dragon bradbury.jpg
dust-jacket from the first edition
Author Ray Bradbury
IllustratorKen Snyder
Cover artistKen Snyder
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Genre Fantasy short story
PublisherFootsteps Press
Publication date
1988
Media typePrint (Paperback)
Pages15 pp

"The Dragon" is a short story by American writer Ray Bradbury, originally published in 1955 in the magazine Esquire . A limited edition (352 copies, signed and numbered or lettered) of the story was published by Footsteps Press in 1988. It appears in A Medicine for Melancholy (1959), R is for Rocket (1962), Classic Stories 1 (1990), and Bradbury Stories (2003).

Contents

Plot

The story concerns two knights who have a mission to slay a dragon. They describe the dragon as huge, fire-breathing, and horrific, having only one eye. They charge the dragon but fail, presumably dying in the attempt.

The "dragon" is then revealed to be a steam train, and its single eye is the train's headlight. The operators discuss the encounter but continue on without attempting to find the knights.

Sources

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