Farmer Giles of Ham

Farmer Giles of Ham is a short children's story written by J.R.R. Tolkien's in 1937. It is about the reluctant hero Farmer Gilles and his run-in with the arrogant dragon Chrysophylax. It takes place during a fictional time in England with knights, giants and talking animals.
It was published by George Allen & Unwin in 1949 and was illustrated by Pauline Baynes. The story was included in both The Tolkien Reader in 1966 and the compilation Tales from the Perilous Realm in 1997. A special edition was published in 1999 on the book's 50th anniversary. The edition included:
*The original Latin title
*The original illustrations
*Tolkien's original text
*A map of the Little Kingdom
*Tolkien's notes for a sequel
*Introduction and notes by Christina Scull and Wayne G. Hammond
An audiobook was released of the story in 1999, narrated by actor Derek Jacobi.
A 2008 reprint on the book's 60th anniversary included illustrations by Alan Lee and an introduction by Tolkien scholar Tom Shippey.
==Synopsis== 
The story begins with Farmer Giles leading a quiet life in the countryside of the Middle Kingdom. One night, a giant, practically blind and deaf, comes blundering onto Giles' property and kills his favorite cow. Giles is able to ward off the giant using a firearm called a blunderbuss, causing him to become renowned as a hero throughout the kingdom. 
The king in reward gives him an old sword from his treasury, thinking the weapon worth little. This sword turns out to be a famous dragon-slaying sword called Caudimordax ("Tailbiter"). Farmer Giles enjoys his fame, but this enjoyment is short-lived because the dragon Chrysophylax comes to investigate the Middle Kingdom, after the giant Farmer Giles warded off. 
Farmer Giles tries to ignore the villagers who are pressuring him to take on the dragon, but he is forced to fight as the dragon draws nearer. When Giles and the Dragon meet, Caudimordax does almost all the work for the farmer, and he easily drives the dragon into town.
He makes a deal with the dragon to either bring back its horde or perish. The dragon agrees, yet does not keep its word; the king sends Giles and several knights after it. The knights are unhelpful and the dragon defeats them. Giles, however, conquers the Dragon with the help of his sword.
He makes the dragon carry part of its horde back to his house for himself, disobeying the orders of the incompetent king. The king, greatly upset, sends his army to attack Giles, who uses the cowed dragon to scatter the army. The humiliated King admits defeat and Giles becomes Lord of Ham.
==Appearances & mentions==
==Translations==
Foreign Language	Translated name
Arabic 	المزارع غايل من هام
Aragonese 	Chil, o torrero de Ham
Basque 	Giles, Hameko nekazaria
Bengali 	ফার্মার গিলস অ্যান্ড হ্যাম
Czech 	Farmář Giles z Hamu (first edition)Sedlák Jiljí z Oujezda (second and later editions)
Catalan 	Gil, el granger de Ham
Danish 	Niels Bonde fra Bol
Dutch 	Boer Gilles van Ham
Finnish 	Maamies ja lohikäärme
French 	Le Fermier Gilles de Ham
Galician 	O granxeiro Giles de Ham
Georgian 	ფერმერი ჯაილზ ჰემელი
German 	Bauer Giles von Ham
Greek 	Ο Γεωργός ο Γίλης απ΄το Χαμ
Hungarian 	A sonkádi Egyed gazda
Icelandic 	Gvendur bóndi á Svínafelli
Italian 	Il Cacciatore di Draghi
Japanese 	農夫ジャイルズの冒険
Latin 	Aegidius agricola Ham
Norwegian 	Eigil Bonde fra Heim
Polish 	Gospodarz Giles z Ham
Portuguese 	Mestre Gil de Ham
Russian 	Фермер Джайлс из Хэма
Spanish 	Egidio, el granjero de Ham
Swedish 	Gillis Bonde från Ham
Thai 	พระราชาชาวนา
Category:Short stories
Category:2008 publications
Category:Works by J.R.R. Tolkien
Category:Primary literature
de:Bauer Giles von Ham
es:Egidio, el granjero de Ham
fr:Le Fermier Gilles de Ham
it:Il Cacciatore di Draghi
pl:Gospodarz Giles z Ham
ru:Фермер Джайлс из Хэма
uk:Фермер Джайлз із Гема