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Of all the pupils at the knight school Gawaine le Coeur-Hardy was among the least promising. \\u2018He was tall and sturdy, but his instructors soon discovered that he lacked spirit. He would hide in the woods when the jousting class was called, although his companions and members of the faculty sought to appeal to his better nature by shouting to him to come out and break his neck like a man. Even when they told him that the lances were padded, the horses no more than ponies, and the field unusually soft for late autumn, Gawaine refused to grow enthusiastic. The Headmaster and Assistant Professor of Pleasaunce were discussing the case one spring afternoon, and the Assistant Professor could see no remedy but expulsion.

\\u201cNo,\\u201d said the Headmaster, as he looked out at the purple hills which ringed the school, \\u201cI think I\\u2019ll train him to slay dragons.\\u201d

\\u201cHe might be killed,\\u201d objected the Assistant Professor.

\\u201cSo he might,\\u201d replied the Headmaster, brightly; but he added, more soberly, \\u201cwe must consider the greater good. We are responsible for the formation of this lad\\u2019s character.\\u201d

\\u201cAre the dragons particularly bad this year?\\u201d interrupted the Assistant Professor. This was characteristic. He always seemed restive when the head of the school began to talk ethics and the ideals of the institution.

\\u201cI\\u2019ve never known them worse,\\u201d replied the Headmaster. \\u201cUp in the hills to the south last week they killed a number of peasants, two cows, and a prize pig. And if this dry spell holds there\\u2019s no telling when they may start a forest fire simply by breathing around indiscriminately.\\u201d

\\u201cWould any refund on the tuition fee be necessary in case of an accident to young Coeur-Hardy?\\u201d