For half a decade more, that little dragon grew;
And in all that time, there wasn't much to do.
He slept a lot, and ate when his mother brought food,
and learned to stay away when she was in a bad mood.
He spent his time exploring their cavernous home,
Which his mother and he lived in alone.
Treasures uncountable, were as toys everywhere!
Gold and jewels strewn here and tossed there.
In time he learned to light fires with his breath hot,
And one day he learned to control them with but a thought.
Yet another decade of boredom passed in that cave,
And then his mother took him outside one day.
The bright light attacked his eyes at once,
But he became adjusted as all creatures must.
His respect for his mother grew,
As she taught him things radically new.
He became wary of the weapons of man,
But to hunt them for treasure, "Whenever you can."
He learned how to hunt and kill with speed;
Unfortunately, he also learned dragon greed.
Thirty or Forty more years passed,
And then one day, his mother threw him out of the nest.
He went out to look for a cave of his own,
With the hurt that he could never return home.
Half a century slowly went by,
Till the adult dragon was smart and sly.
He preyed on everyone, not just deer and elk.
His favoriteprey was humans and their ilk.
Counting his treasure was his favorite passtime;
Gained through a dragon's life of crime.
Killing and plundering, and the razing of fields;
Were all that he held as his ideals.
In five hundred years, which wasn't old for a dragon;
He had gained powers and treasure, he even had a few children.
He could now heat metal, and create great fires.
He had magical powers to fill almost all his desires.
He'd mated three times, but never seen his offspring.
If he did. he'd probably kill them.
His life was now so full of destruction and killing,
That he never thought something might be missing.
In one thousand more years he was fearsome to behold.
Over one hundred feet long, and the color of dark blood.
Encrusted in his hide were all manner of treasure in profusion;
Which while looking nice, also made him nearly impervious from aggression.
His powers had grown many times more,
But now he spent much time asleep on the cave floor.
One day a party of adventurous humans,
Appeared in the cave of the dragon.
They caught him while sleeping, and made their attack.
He rose with a start and began to fight back.
He used all the defenses at his command.
Alas, it was not enough; and he departed this land.
As his spirit drifted up in its etheral glow,
The realized he did not hate those below.
Even though they'd killed him, and his earthly life was done.
His life everlasting, had only just begun.