The old dragon rested in her hidden cave in the mountain.  She had lived in this cave for as long as she could remember.  Dragons can live for a thousand years or more and this was a very old one.  She may also be the last living dragon.  She had not seen another dragon since her mate had died nearly two centuries ago.  
    Age, poor health, and fear of being killed kept her from leaving the cave.  She stayed alive by eating the bats, snakes and small animals that wandered into the cave.  She worried that one day the humans would discover the cave and kill her as so many dragons had been killed before.
    She found it difficult to understand humans.  They would move into an area, propagate without control until the area was overpopulated resulting in famine, drought and wars.  And why did they kill so many animals that had never harmed them?  It made no sense to her.
    So far, she had been lucky.  Her mate had chosen this cave in a very secluded area of the world, and so far it remained secluded.  She knew that it could not stay that way much longer.  As the human population continued to grow and technology made it easier for them to live in inhospitable areas, they would start taking over these few remaining remote spots.  While she was not about to rush it, she hoped she would die naturally before the humans got there rather than be found and killed by them.
    The old dragon thought about these things and sighed as she lay in her cave and breathed her last breath.   Her old heart had finally given out.  Her internal fires burned the remains so there was nothing left but a small pile of ashes which would be blown away by the wind.  No evidence remained for the humans to find and wonder about.