Here's why:
* The vowel sound in "dragon" is the long "a" sound, as in "say" or "day." It's represented by the letter "a" followed by a consonant ("g") and then a silent "e" at the end of the word. This pattern creates the long vowel sound.
* Short vowel sounds are typically associated with single vowels followed by one or more consonants. For example, "cat," "dog," "run," and "hop" all have short vowel sounds.
So, while "dragon" has the sound of "a" in it, it's not a short sound.