The Reluctant Dragon is a 1898 children’s Fantasy story by British author Kenneth Grahame.
Set in the Berkshire Downs, Oxfordshire. A young boy is told by his father that a dragon is living in a cave in the nearby countryside, when the boy investigates he discovers that the dragon is a placid, friendly well-read creature who rejects the conventional dragon lifestyle of burning villages and rampaging in favour of sleeping and reciting poetry and befriends him.
When the townsfolk discover the existence of the dragon they send for Saint George to slay what they believe is a fearsome beast. The boy and the Dragon get word of this and the boy goes to Saint George to convince him that the dragon is not a threat. After The boy introduces George to the dragon, the three come up with a plan to stage a battle for the villagers.
Tropes:
- Delightful Dragon: The Reluctant Dragon is the trope codifier, being the earliest example of a friendly non-antagonistic dragon character in modern fiction.
- Dragon Tamer: Invoked, The boy, Dragon and George come up with a plan to fake a battle in order to convince the village that George has “tamed” the dragon.
- Dragons Versus Knights: Lampshaded, this trope is deliberately invoked by George and the dragon who put on a pretend battle in order to claim the dragon has been “tamed”.
- Fake a Fight: The main characters come up with a plan to fake a battle between George and the Dragon.
- Lazy Dragon: The dragon is rather lazy and sometimes falls asleep at inconvenient times which can be frustrating for the boy.
- Reluctant Monster: This story is most definitely the Trope Namer. The Dragon has no desire to act the way dragons are expected to act.
