here once was a young lad who, upon the occasion of his eighteenth birthday, decided he would go off into the world to seek his fortune. Not being an overly bright sort, he came to the conclusion that the best way to gain a fortune would be to kill a dragon. He had heard that such things were possible, although he did not know anyone who had ever seen a dragon, much less killed one.      The young man, although not overly endowed in the brains department, did somewhat dimly realize that, if he were to have any luck finding a dragon, much less dispatching one, he would need some advice. So he went looking for the best advice he could find.