What was the name of J.R.R. Tolkien’s 1949 novella about a farmer and a dragon?

J.R.R. Tolkien’s 1949 novella about a farmer and a dragon was Farmer Giles of Ham.

The story follows Giles, an ordinary farmer in a fictional version of medieval England. After an accidental encounter with a giant, Giles gains a reputation as a hero and is drawn into a confrontation with the dragon Chrysophylax Dives. The tale uses mock-medieval language, humor, and satire rather than the epic tone of The Lord of the Rings.

Farmer Giles of Ham was published by George Allen & Unwin in 1949. Tolkien supplied illustrations for the book, and the work appeared with other shorter pieces in later collections and editions.

The story is sometimes confused with Smith of Wootton Major, another Tolkien fairy-story published later, in 1967. It is also distinct from Leaf by Niggle, an allegorical short story about an artist. Farmer Giles of Ham stands out for its comic treatment of chivalric adventure and its playful use of English history and legend.