Dragon-bit Ear: Genre Uncertain

He tugged his ear thoughtfully and studied the map in front of him. The slight pain in his ear was a good reminder of the pain that might be incurred by straying into there-might-be-dragons territory. Last time he'd tried that, a good ten years ago, he'd escaped with about half his crew, one tiny lifeboat, and a huge bleeding gouge in his ear from one of the so-called mythical dragons that had turned out to be not so mythical after all and well endowed with teeth. Now, whenever he was pondering such weighty matters, he had the habit of tugging on his ear. It reminded him to keep everything in mind, and not to quickly dismiss the notion of mythical creatures that could damage one. True, now the physicians--

Inspiration: ?
Story Potential: Low
Notes: Good lord, this is awful. I have no idea what I could ever do with it. Nothing, I suspect. Oh, and it isn't actual-actual fantasy, neither.