"Will we eat biscuits and play checkers when I visit?" asked the dragon, warily.

"Of course."

"And you will tell me The Secret today? Right now?"

"Immediately," said the boy, happy with the way things were going.

"But first you must swear!"

"Very well then - I swear. And that's a dragon's oath! A dragon must keep his word or die."

They shook on it.

"Alright then, I shall tell you. Lean your head very close so that I may tell you in your ear."

The dragon, very anxious, leaned his head as close as he could to the young man - who still had to stand on tiptoes to reach. The boy stretched his body up, and leaned in to the beast's ear, then he whispered, softly, one single word:

"Loneliness."

"What?" cried the dragon.

"That's it!" smiled the boy. "Now you know it! That is The Secret!"

"What! Loneliness? That is the big 'Secret Weakness?'" roared the monster, furiously.

"Shhhhh.. Not so loud! You wouldn't want some passerby to hear you and know The Secret!"

"You have tricked me, and I am therefore released from my oath and I shall eat you!" screamed the dragon. "Loneliness is not a weakness that I, nor any dragon, has ever been possessed of. You are a fool. Prepare yourself for lunch!"

With that, the dragon began to swoop his great head down and forward, his teeth gnashing and his tongue thrashing, to devour the deceitful young man. But as his razor teeth neared the boy, the furious beast stopped. His eyes were nearly level with the boy's, and the young man looked up at him patiently and unafraid.

"On the contrary," explained the young man. "Loneliness is in fact your only weakness. Any living creature who spends his nights burning and devouring, who spends his days up here sleeping in this damp and dreary old cave, and who is bound by nature to eat any thinking creature that wanders by, is bound to be lonely."

"Well. be that as it may, that certainly does not make 'loneliness' a weakness in my book, or anyone else's for that matter!" snapped the serpent.

"At first that may seem to be true," began the young man. "But let me point out that I, armed with nothing but that secret and a few pounds of biscuits, have succeeded where the kings bravest, strongest, best-with-a-sword, and smallest-but-still-pretty-good knights have failed. I alone, using nothing but the weakness of your loneliness, havemanaged to drive such a dreadful and mighty beast as yourself from this kingdom. That, my friend, is a weakness if ever there was one!"