Cure

A town was on an island,
In the middle of the sea.
And all its people lived their lives
In perfect harmony.

But in the nearby caves there lived
A dragon, large and green.
The people did not fear him.
For they knew he was not mean.

In fact the beast protected
And made sure they stayed alive.
The village population was
Three hundred, sixty-five.

The dragon's mother once had said,
"My dear, soon I'll be gone.
And when I am, those people there
Aren't yours to feast upon."

She said, "My dearest son,
Protect our neighbors, every one.
For one day they shall save your life.
Remember this, my son."

And so the dragon kept them safe.
Each cottage, and each farm.
And in all times of war the dragon
Kept them from all harm.

He fought for them in every war,
And kept them all alive.
The village population there
Still numbered three-six-five.

But then, one day the dragon
Caught a sickness from the air.
An illness that the poor thing,
Though he tried, just couldn't bear.

He travelled from the caves
And told this news to all the town.
He said that he would surely die,
If its cure could not be found.

At this the people said, "No, Dragon!
Friend to one and all!
Remember what your mother said?
We'd never let you fall!"

"We'll search through every library
Until we find the cure.
There must be something we can do,
You'll be just fine, we're sure!"

And so the people looked and searched
For any remedy
To save an ally that had fought
Against all enemies.

They worked and searched to save him,
So that he could stay alive.
They worked and searched to save him.
All three hundred, sixty-five.

Three days went by until they heard
A blacksmith loudly bark,
"I found it! Oh I found it,
In my attic in the dark!"

He brought the book up to the dragon,
Standing in the crowd.
And then the dragon found the page
And read it all aloud.

"Dragonitis: All dragons
Catch this once in their lives,
And each must take the cure
If he does wish that he survives.

"The cure is not a pill,
Nor is there any serum here.
Just eat one human, once a day,
For one entire year."

And so the dragon lives today,
And has through days of yore.
And he need not protect
Another human anymore.

The village was his savior,
And the village was his hero.
But now the village population's
Nothing more than zero.