Someone posted a YT video about Larry Elmore's "Dragonslayers and Proud of It," and here's what I said as response;
In my head canon - and the D&D game I wanted to run based on that - the dragon is the bane of a small town or farming community, a smart savvy opponent striking from the shadows, at smaller groups, masking its escapes with clouds of poisonous breath weapon.
Local rumors and the effects of its magical fear aura make the creature out to be the size of a cart horse or a barn. Only careful problem solving and tracking - I'd parsed the elf as ranger actually - finally lead the party to directly confronting the dragon, and even then it's not a sure victory.
Rather than being comedy, it'd be played straight - if a young dragon just starting out on its own can be that formidable, just imagine what the gigantic, ancient dragons can do!
