When dragons get very old, they go insane.
It's worse than senility or dementia that is found in humans. The older dragons get, the better they get at producing and aiming the acid that gives them their "fiery" breath. Eventually some of this acid leaks into their skull and damages their brain. This causes agitation and insanity, which in turn causes them to breathe out more acid. Thus their brains become more damaged. The cycle can eventually lead to death. Some experts postulate that dragons could be functionally immortal if it weren't for this flaw in their anatomy, or if they would simply refrain from spewing acid.
In more recent times, somewhat of a remedy has been found for draconic insanity. In a far northern land, some humans got the idea to make a dessert from mixing cow's cream with mashed fruit in a bowl made of ice. They continue stirring until it is of a partially frozen texture, then they eat it. It has become so popular that they transport huge blocks of ice to southern countries just so more people can enjoy this dessert. By some chance, a crazed dragon managed to get some of this dessert in her mouth one day, and she almost immediately calmed down. Word has spread, so now any town that has insane dragon problems is sure to keep blocks of ice and chubby cows close at hand.
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