Dragon of Mordiford

One version of the legend explains that the dragon – a wyvern in this account – was found by a little girl from Mordiford named Maud, who had desperately wanted a pet.

Immediately her mother and father realized it was a wyvern and commanded Maud to take it back to where she had found it because it would cause trouble in the village.

[1] The dragon grew vastly each month, eventually taking on an emerald hue and developing thick, powerful wings.

[2] The townspeople in the tale grew exhausted of the constant attacks from the dragon and desperate, sought help from the noblemen of Mordiford.

Once the dragon arrived at the river, the convict shot an arrow through a hole in the barrel, piercing the creature's heart.

[4] The story of the dragon remains part of Mordiford's culture: it is continually mentioned in modern records of the town.

[5] Paul Newman speculates that the slayer's identity as a convict was added to the serpent version of the tale to make it into a "local villain-makes-good story.