The Sword in the Stone/WMG

Madam Mim was playing by the rules the entire time.
A point in The Sword in the Stone is that Madam Mim apparently cheats to get ahead of Merlin in the Wizard's duel. But, perhaps, she didn't, and is merely a more brilliant fighter than Archimedes gives her credit for. One would imagine the penalty for cheating with magic would be devastating to the cheater. First, she pulls a disappearing act, but who's to say she doesn't do the same thing Merlin did at the end of the fight: Transform into something minuscule to avoid being seen in order to set up for her next move (like a gnat or flea)? The rest of the time she transforms into animals like the rules state, no fireballs or anything crazy like that. And then we come to the Dragon. Merlin claims Mim said no Dragons but, in fact, she didn't. She said nothing make believe like Pink Dragons and stuff. If Lancelot slew a Dragon in the Camelot Mythos, it could be that Pink Dragons are phony...but Purple Dragons are not. "Did I say 'No Purple Dragons'? DID I?!" No, Mim, you did not.