Talking to Dragons — Patricia C. Wrede

"Mother taught me to be polite to dragons...."

Daystar never thought he'd be walking through the Enchanted Forest with a magic sword, a fire-witch, and a baby dragon. He never dreamed his mother, Cimorene, would tell him to leave their home and not to return until his task was complete. Or that he alone held the power to release King Mendanbar and the Enchanted Forest from the wizard's evil spell. He doesn't even know who King Mendanbar is.

But Daystar learns quickly--and that's good, because he's about to encounter magic and wizards and dragons. Quite a deadly combination.