Cheese Dragons are not actually alive. They are enchanted items of food that act almost identically to dragons. They have no need to eat, but they must “live” in humid environments or they will dry out and harden.

For a while, this enchanted piece of cheese remained as a centerpiece of the dining table. The master of the house and her dragons were obviously entertained by watching it shuffle around, animatedly interacting with everyone. But after a while of having to push away the probing snouts of both hatchlings and adults intending to nibble the poor delectable creature, the witch eventually decided that putting it in the pantry would be a wise idea.

"Guard this pantry for me," she said. "And scare off anyone who tries to steal from here."

The dragon obliged, even though the enchantress knew that a moving sculpted cheese would more likely fascinate someone rather than scare them off. She wondered if animating spells had already made it far enough to be able to fabricate emotions, since it seemed entirely happy with the simple task of nudging around sealed loaves of bread.

At least, that lessened the distraction during dinner and the risk of a hatchling nipping off a portion of its head.