The Story
In the ancient land of Silene, near a dark and stinking lake, lived a terrible dragon. Its scales were blacker than coal, its breath scorched the grass, and its roar shook the city walls. The people of Silene were terrified.
At first they brought the dragon two sheep each morning to keep it away from the city. But when the flocks grew thin, the king made a dreadful law: every day, a young person chosen by lot must be offered to the dragon.
One terrible morning, the lot fell upon the king's own daughter, the Princess Sabra. The king wept and begged, but the law was the law. Dressed in white, Sabra walked alone to the edge of the lake.
Just then, a knight came riding over the hill. He wore armour that gleamed like sunlight, and his horse was white as snow. This was George, a Christian soldier travelling through the land. When he saw the weeping princess and heard her story, he did not ride away.
The dragon burst from the lake with a roar that split the sky. George made the sign of the cross and couched his lance. He spurred his horse forward and drove his lance deep into the dragon's wing. The beast crashed to the ground, stunned and bellowing.
"Give me your belt," George said to Sabra. He looped it around the dragon's neck, and the princess led the monster into the city like a tame dog on a leash.
The people scattered in fear. "Do not be afraid," called George. "Believe in the good, and I shall rid you of this creature forever." He drew his sword, and the dragon fell.
The whole city rejoiced. George asked for no gold and no land. He only asked that they care for the poor and the sick. He rode away over the hill as quietly as he had come.
And Saint George, protector of England, is remembered to this day.