His Father said to the eldest: 'Bring the eggs down without disturbing
the bird sitting on them.'
The cunning Thief climbed up and took the five eggs from under the
bird so cleverly that it never noticed they were gone, and he gave
them to his Father. His Father took them, and put them one on each
corner of the table, and one in the middle, and said to the
Sportsman--
'You must shoot the five eggs through the middle at one shot.'
The Sportsman levelled his gun, and divided each egg in half at one
shot, as his Father desired. He certainly must have had some of the
powder which shoots round the corner.
'Now it is your turn,' said his Father to the fourth son. 'You will
sew the eggs together again, the shells and the young birds inside
them; and you will do it in such a manner that they will be none the
worse for the shot.'
The Tailor produced his needle, and stitched away as his Father
ordered. When he had finished, the Thief had to climb up the tree
again, and put the eggs back under the bird without her noticing it.
The bird spread herself over the eggs, and a few days later the
fledglings crept out of the shell, and they all had a red line round
their throats where the Tailor had sewn them together.
'Yes,' said the old man to his sons; 'I can certainly praise your
skill. You have learnt something worth knowing, and made the most of
your time. I don't know which of you to give the palm to. I only hope
you may soon have a chance of showing your skill so that it may be
settled.'
Not long after this there was a great alarm raised in the country:
the King's only daughter had been carried off by a Dragon. The King
sorrowed for her day and night, and proclaimed that whoever brought
her back should marry her.
The four Brothers said to one another: 'This would be an opportunity
for us to prove what we can do.' And they decided to go out together
to deliver the Princess.
'I shall soon know where she is,' said the Star-gazer, as he looked
through his telescope; and then he said--
'I see her already. She is a long way from here, she is sitting on a
rock in the middle of the sea, and the Dragon is near, watching her.'
Then he went to the King and asked for a ship for himself and his
Brothers to cross the sea in search of the rock.
They found the Princess still on the rock, but the Dragon was asleep
with his head on her lap.
The Sportsman said: 'I dare not shoot. I should kill the beautiful
maiden.'
'Then I will try my luck,' said the Thief, and he stole her away from
beneath the Dragon. He did it so gently and skilfully, that the
monster never discovered it, but went snoring on.
Full of joy, they hurried away with her to the ship, and steered for
the open sea. But the Dragon on waking had missed the Princess, and
now came after them through the air, foaming with rage.
Just as he was hovering over the ship and about to drop on them, the
Sportsman took aim with his gun and shot him through the heart. The
monster fell down dead, but he was so huge, that in falling, he
dragged the whole ship down with him. They managed to seize a few
boards, on which they kept themselves afloat.
[Illustration: {The King's only daughter had been carried off
by a Dragon.}]
They were now in great straits, but the Tailor, not to be outdone,
produced his wonderful needle, and put some great stitches into the
boards, seated himself on them, and collected all the floating bits of
the ship. Then he stitched them all together so cleverly, that in
a very short time the ship was seaworthy again, and they sailed
happily home.
[Illustration: They found the Princess still on the rock, but the
Dragon was asleep with his head on her lap.]
The King was overjoyed when he saw his daughter again, and he said to
the four Brothers: 'One of you shall marry her, but which one, you
must decide among yourselves.'
An excited discussion then took place among them, for each one made a
claim.
The Star-gazer said: 'Had I not discovered the Princess, all your arts
would have been in vain, therefore she is mine!'
The Thief said: 'What would have been the good of discovering her if I
had not taken her from under the Dragon? So she is mine.'
The Sportsman said: 'You, as well as the Princess, would have been
destroyed by the monster if my shot had not hit him. So she is mine.'
The Tailor said: 'And if I had not sewn the ship together with my
skill, you would all have been drowned miserably. Therefore she is
mine.'
The King said: 'Each of you has an equal right; but, as you can't all
have her, none of you shall have her. I will give every one of you
half a kingdom as a reward.'
The Brothers were quite satisfied with this decision, and they said:
'It is better so than that we should quarrel over it.'
So each of them received half a kingdom, and they lived happily with
their Father for the rest of their days.