Every four years, the Dragons and the Dogs vied to win the favor of the people of Utopia.  The winners got to be the people's protectors for the next four years.  The people needed protection from the neighboring Trolls, so it would seem that the Dragons vs. Dogs contest should be a slam dunk for the Dragons.  After all, who wouldn't feel more secure with a Dragon protector?  But then, there was the vexed question of the Wizards ...
    "What Wizards?" I hear you ask.  Well, the Wizards were also citizens of Utopia, and they took extreme pleasure in playing with their magically challenged neighbors.  That would be "playing" in the same way a cat plays with a mouse.  The Wizards liked poking people, batting them around, and, especially, squeezing them until they were flat as a tortilla.  Oh.  One other thing.  The Wizards were very chummy with the Dragons.  They kept them up to their wings in damsels and other Dragon delicacies.  Consequently, while the Dragons seemed like the better choice against Trolls, they did little to protect the people from the Wizards.
    The Dragons defended the Wizards.  "Hey, the Wizards are good for Utopia," they said. "No!  Not just good! Essential!  Think of all the good magic they bring to Utopia!  Where would we be without them?  Would you want them to take all their magical powers and live with the Trolls?"
    But the people weren't buying.  They soon discovered that the Dogs were adequate protection against Trolls and Wizards.  What they lacked in size, strength, and viciousness, they made up for in loyalty and dependability.  All the "man's best friend stuff."  So, while the people occasionally forgot themselves and elected the Dragons, they always came back to the Dogs.
    One day, a particularly engaging mutt named Brutus was promoted to alpha male of the pack, and he led the Dogs to a resounding election-day thrashing of the Dragons.  The day after the election, Brutus had a visitor.
    "Hi!" said the visitor. "I'm Ed, the Head Wizard."
    Brutus, who never met a beast or person he didn't like, wagged his tail and licked Ed's face.
    "How would you like this?" asked Ed, holding up a great big bone with a lot of meat on it.
    Brutus wagged his tail some more and panted heavily.  "It wouldn't make any difference in the way my party does business with you, Mr. Ed the Head," said Brutus, never taking his eyes off the bone.
    "Of course not," said Ed. "I'll just leave this with you."  And he left.
    After that day, big, meaty bones turned up more frequently in Brutus's dog dish, and he started saying things like, "The Wizards are good for Utopia" and "No!  Not just good! Essential !  Think of all the good magic they bring to Utopia!"    Then similar meaty bones began to appear in other dog dishes, and those dogs started saying things like "Where would we be without them?  Would you want them to take all their magical powers and live with the Trolls?"  Then citizens started turning up poked, batted, and squeezed.

    In the next election, the Dragons won in a landslide.  The Dogs were dismayed.  In the election after that, the Dragons won again in a landslide.  Now, the Dragons were getting cocky and picking fights with the Trolls.  The Dogs were dismayed, disjuned, disjulied, and discombobulated.
    "What can possibly have gone wrong?" they bayed as one.
    "Well, the people obviously like the Dragons better than us.  That means we have to be more like the Dragons, if we want to win," opined Brutus.
    "I don't know," yipped another Dog. "Maybe we should go back to being man's best friend."
    "And give up the bones?" barked Brutus. "We can't possibly manage without the bones!"
    "I know!" interjected another Dog. "We have to be more like the Dragons, but demonstrate our uniqueness!"
    "Yeah!" agreed the Dogs with relief. "That's it!"

    In the meantime, the people were getting nervous.
    "Our chief protector is a psychopathic Dragon!" wailed one. "What can we do?"
    "We have to elect the Dogs next time!" cried another.
    "No way!" replied a third. "If we're going to fight Trolls, we may as well have Dragons as protectors."
    "But they're not going to fight themselves ," protested the second. "They're going to send us."
    "Well, yeah, but at least they know more about war than Dogs."
    "And what about the Wizards?" asked the first human. "They're poking and batting and squeezing worse than ever!"
    "But we have to worry about the Trolls first," said #2.
    "Hey," suggested a fourth. "Why don't we elect the Cats?  They say they'll make peace with the Trolls, protect us from the Wizards, and not sell out!"
    "We can't do that," said #1.
    "Why on earth not?" asked #4.
    "Because we have to elect either Dragons or Dogs," said #2.
    "Why?" persisted #4.
    "Because we do," insisted #2. "No one will vote for the Cats."
    "Not with that attitude," said #4.
    "Exactly," said #1. "The Dogs have to reform by next election, or we're doomed."
    "Are you crazy?" asked #4. "They're addicted to Wizard bones.  They want to be more like Dragons."
    "Well, that settles it," said #3. "Choosing between a Dragon and a Dog who thinks he's a Dragon is a no-brainer."