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Knight Encounters a Dragon Upon a Hilltop
A
Knight Encounters a Dragon Upon a Hilltop
And so
it happened one morn, as a knight returned from battle, he encountered a dragon upon a
hilltop.
"Good morrow, dragon" the knight greeted.
"Good morrow, knight" the dragon answered.
"I wonder," said the knight, "why it is that in all my travels I have never
seen a dragon, and yet I encounter one upon a hilltop by my home."
"I have always been here," answered the dragon, "since before your
anscestors settled in the valley beneath me. Your life is as a fleeting moment in
mine."
"What purpose," said the knight, "Is such a long life if you remain here,
doing nothing. In our short lives, we at least do many things."
"Such as?" asked the dragon.
"Well," said the knight, lifting his head proudly, "I come from a lineage
of warriors: like my father and my father's father, I have fought in many battles, and
have killed many men. I have only just
returned from a great battle, where I killed many a foe with my blade."
"Is that all?" asked the dragon.
"Well," continued the knight, "I have travelled to distant lands, and
brought back many riches."
"And?" prompted the dragon.
"Well," said the knight, "I have controlled the harvesting of my fields; I
have disciplined my servants to the most efficient of obediences; I have kissed many a
fair maiden beneath the moonlight: I have done many things in my lifetime. What have you
done but sit upon this hilltop as the world passes by?"
"I," said the dragon, "have seen many things from this hilltop. I have seen
men wage battles; I have seen bloodied fields of dying men; I have seen distant villages
plundered for riches; I have seen the huts of the poor set to flame; I have seen maidens
kissed in the moonlight, and I have seen those same maidens abandoned on the morrow; I
have seen men toil in the fields for naught but the barest of table scraps; I have seen
men beaten at the whim of their lord: yes, I have seen much from atop my hilltop."
The knight laughed. "You are a fool, dragon: you have done naught." The
knight continued on his way.
The dragon remained on his hilltop and watched the knight walk into the valley. He saw the
knight kiss a maiden in the moonlight. He saw the knight leave the maiden and child. He
saw the knight go to battle. He saw the knight die by a sword on a bloody field. He saw
the child grow to a man, kiss a maiden in the moonlight, and leave her and a child to die
in battle. The dragon got up and flew away into the setting sun: he had seen much from his
hilltop.
1997
