In his 1919 fable, "The 51st Dragon," Heywood Broun describes the exploits of Gawaine, a young student in knight school who is so timid and fearful that he is in danger of being expelled. Instead, the school's headmaster decides to take Gawaine under his wing and train him to slay the countless dragons plaguing the countryside that year. In preparation, Gawaine studies all about dragons and their habits, and he practices beheading paper and wooden ones on the practice field.
When the faculty feels he is ready to confront real dragons, Gawaine is given a diploma and a new battle-ax. The headmaster calls him to his office for a few words of advice: "Here you have learned the ...