Dragon

From Srafopedia

The dragon (from Ancient Greek δράκων - drakōn, "a serpent of huge size, a python, a dragon") is a mythical creature typically depicted as a gigantic and powerful serpent or other reptile with magical or spiritual qualities.

Most dragons were thought to be large; however, the Chinese combat dragon was considered to be the size of a thimble. As with every mythological creature, dragons are perceived in different ways by different cultures. Dragons are sometimes said to breathe and spit fire or even acid or ice (depending on the type). They are commonly portrayed as serpentine or reptilian, hatching from eggs and possessing extremely large, typically feathered or scaly bodies; they are sometimes portrayed as having large yellow or red eyes, a feature that is the origin for the word for dragon in many cultures, and are often (but not always) portrayed with a row of dorsal spines, keeled scales, long crested ears, slitted eye pupils, leathery bat-like wings and fiery breath. Some dragons do not have wings at all, but look more like long snakes. Dragons can have a variable number of legs: none, two, four, or more when it comes to early European literature. Modern depictions of dragons are very large in size, but some early European depictions of dragons were only the size of bears, or, in some cases, even smaller, around the size of a butterfly or even a flea.

Dragons are particularly popular in China, and along with the phoenix, the 5-clawed dragon was a symbol of the Chinese emperors. Dragon costumes manipulated by several people are a common sight at Chinese festivals.

Dragons are often held to have major spiritual significance in various religions and cultures around the world. In many Eastern and Native American cultures dragons were, and in some cultures still are, revered as representative of the primal forces of nature, religion and the universe. They are associated with wisdom —- often said to be wiser than humans -— and longevity. They are commonly said to possess some form of magic or other supernatural power, and are often associated with wells, rain, and rivers. In some cultures, they are also said to be capable of human speech.

(Source: Wikipedia)

In His Dark Materials a small dragon is one of the many forms taken by Lyra's dæmon, Pantalaimon.