There was an emperor who had three sons. One day the eldest son went out
hunting, and, when he got outside the town, up sprang a hare out of a
bush, and he after it, and hither and thither, till the hare fled into a
water-mill, and the prince after it. But it was not a hare, but a
dragon, and it waited for the prince and devoured him. When several days
had elapsed and the prince did not return home, people began to wonder
why it was that he was not to be found. Then the middle son went
hunting, and as he issued from the town, a hare sprang out of a bush,
and the prince after it, and hither and thither, till the hare fled into
the water-mill and the prince after it; but it was not a hare, but a
dragon, which waited for and devoured him. When some days had elapsed
and the princes did not return, either of them, the whole court was in
sorrow. Then the third son went hunting, to see whether he could not
find his brothers. When he issued from the town, again up sprang a hare
out of a bush, and the prince after it, and hither and thither, till the
hare fled into the water-mill. But the prince did not choose to follow
it, but went to find other game, saying to himself: "When I return I
shall find you." After thus he went for a long time up and down the
hill, but found nothing, and then returned to the water-mill; but when
he got there, there was only an old woman in the mill. The prince
invoked God in addressing her: "God help you, old woman!" The old woman
replied: "God help you, my son!" Then the prince asked her: "Where, old
woman, is my hare?" She replied: "My son, that was not a hare, but a
dragon. It kills and throttles many people." Hearing this, the prince
was somewhat disturbed, and said to the old woman: "What shall we do
now? Doubtless my two brothers also have perished here." The old woman
answered: "They have indeed; but there's no help for it. Go home, my
son, lest you follow them." Then he said to her: "Dear old woman, do you
know what? I know that you will be glad to liberate yourself from that
pest." The old woman interrupted him: "How should I not? It captured me,
too, in this way, but now I have no means of escape." Then he proceeded:
"Listen well to what I am going to say to you. Ask it whither it goes
and where its strength is; then kiss all that place where it tells you
its strength is, as if from love, till you ascertain it, and afterward
tell me when I come." Then the prince went off to the palace, and the
old woman remained in the water-mill. When the dragon came in, the old
woman began to question it: "Where in God's name have you been? Whither
do you go so far? You will never tell me whither you go." The dragon
replied: "Well, my dear old woman, I do go far." Then the old woman
began to coax it: "And why do you go so far? Tell me where your strength
is. If I knew where your strength is, I don't know what I should do for
love; I would kiss all that place." Thereupon the dragon smiled and said
to her: "Yonder is my strength, in that fireplace." Then the old woman
began to fondle and kiss the fireplace, and the dragon on seeing it
burst into a laugh and said to her: "Silly old woman, my strength isn't
there; my strength is in that tree-fungus in front of the house." Then
the old woman began again to fondle and kiss the tree, and the dragon
again laughed, and said to her: "Away, old woman! my strength isn't
there." Then the old woman inquired: "Where is it?" The dragon began to
give an account in detail: "My strength is a long way off, and you
cannot go thither. Far in another empire under the emperor's city is a
lake, in that lake is a dragon, and in that dragon a boar, and in the
boar a pigeon, and in that is my strength." The next morning when the
dragon went away from the mill, the prince came to the old woman, and
the old woman told him all that she had heard from the dragon. Then he
left his home, and disguised himself; he put shepherd's boots to his
feet, took a shepherd's staff in his hand, and went into the world. As
he went on thus from village to village, and from town to town, at last
he came into another empire and into the imperial city, in a lake under
which the dragon was. On going into the town he began to inquire who
wanted a shepherd. The citizens told him that the emperor did. Then he
went straight to the emperor. After he announced himself, the emperor
admitted him into his presence, and asked him: "Do you wish to keep
sheep?" He replied: "I do, illustrious crown!" Then the emperor engaged
him, and began to inform and instruct him: "There is here a lake, and
alongside of the lake very beautiful pasture, and when you call the
sheep out, they go thither at once, and spread themselves round the
lake; but whatever shepherd goes off there, that shepherd returns back
no more. Therefore, my son, I tell you, don't let the sheep have their
own way and go where _they_ will, but keep them where _you_ will." The
prince thanked the emperor, got himself ready, and called out the sheep,
taking with him, more-over, two hounds that could catch a boar in the
open country, and a falcon that could capture any bird, and carrying
also a pair of bagpipes. When he called out the sheep he let them go at
once to the lake, and when the sheep arrived at the lake, they
immediately spread round it, and the prince placed the falcon on a
stump, and the hounds and bagpipes under the stump, then tucked up his
hose and sleeves, waded into the lake, and began to shout: "Dragon,
dragon! come out to single combat with me to-day that we may measure
ourselves together, unless you're a woman."[6] The dragon called out in
reply, "I will do so now, prince--now!" Erelong behold the dragon! it is
large, it is terrible, it is disgusting! When the dragon came out, it
seized him by the waist, and they wrestled a summer day till afternoon.
But when the heat of afternoon came on, the dragon said: "Let me go,
prince, that I may moisten my parched head in the lake, and toss you to
the sky." But the prince replied: "Come, dragon, don't talk nonsense; if
I had the emperor's daughter to kiss me on the forehead, I would toss
you still higher." Thereupon, the dragon suddenly let him go, and went
off into the lake. On the approach of evening, he washed and got himself
up nicely, placed the falcon on his arm, the hounds behind him, and the
bagpipes under his arm, then drove the sheep and went into the town
playing on the bagpipes. When he arrived at the town, the whole town
assembled as to see a wondrous sight because he had come, whereas
previously no shepherd had been able to come from the lake. The next day
the prince got ready again, and went with his sheep straight to the
lake. But the emperor sent two grooms after him to go stealthily and see
what he did, and they placed themselves on a high hill whence they could
have a good view. When the shepherd arrived, he put the hounds and
bagpipes under the stump and the falcon upon it, then tucked up his hose
and sleeves waded into the lake and shouted: "Dragon, dragon! come out
to single combat with me, that we may measure ourselves once more
together, unless you are a woman!" The dragon replied: "I will do so,
prince, now, now!" Erelong, behold the dragon! it was large, it was
terrible, it was disgusting! And it seized him by the waist and wrestled
with him a summer's day till afternoon. But when the afternoon heat came
on, the dragon said: "Let me go, prince, that I may moisten my parched
head in the lake, and may toss you to the sky." The prince replied:
"Come, dragon, don't talk nonsense; if I had the emperor's daughter to
kiss me on the forehead, I would toss you still higher." Thereupon the
dragon suddenly left hold of him, and went off into the lake. When night
approached the prince drove the sheep as before, and went home playing
the bagpipes When he arrived at the town, the whole town was astir and
began to wonder because the shepherd came home every evening, which no
one had been able to do before. Those two grooms had already arrived at
the palace before the prince, and related to the emperor in order
everything that they had heard and seen. Now when the emperor saw that
the shepherd returned home, he immediately summoned his daughter into
his presence and told her all, what it was and how it was. "But," said
he, "to-morrow you must go with the shepherd to the lake and kiss him on
the forehead." When she heard this she burst into tears and began to
entreat her father. "You have no one but me, and I am your only
daughter, and you don't care about me if I perish." Then the emperor
began to persuade and encourage her: "Don't fear, my daughter; you see
we have had so many changes of shepherds, and of all that went out to
the lake not one has returned; but _he_ had been contending with the
dragon for two whole days and it has done him no hurt. I assure you, in
God's name, that he is able to overcome the dragon, only go to-morrow
with him to see whether he will free us from this mischief which has
destroyed so many people."
When, on the morrow, the day dawned and the sun came forth, up rose the
shepherd, up rose the maiden too, to begin to prepare for going to the
lake. The shepherd was cheerful, more cheerful than ever, but the
emperor's daughter was sad and shed tears. The shepherd comforted her:
"Lady sister, I pray you, do not weep, but do what I tell you. When it
is time, run up and kiss me, and fear not." As he went and drove the
sheep, the shepherd was thoroughly cheery, and played a merry tune on
his bagpipes; but the damsel did nothing but weep as she went beside
him, and he several times left off playing and turned toward her: "Weep
not, golden one; fear nought." When they arrived at the lake, the sheep
immediately spread round it, and the prince placed the falcon on the
stump, and the hounds and bagpipes under it, then tucked up his hose and
sleeves, waded into the water, and shouted: "Dragon! dragon! Come out to
single combat with me; let us measure ourselves once more, unless you're
a woman!" The dragon replied: "I will, prince; now, now!" Erelong,
there was the dragon! it was huge, it was terrible, it was disgusting!
When it came out, they seized each other by the middle, and wrestled a
summer's day till afternoon. But when the afternoon heat came on, the
dragon said: "Let me go, prince, that I may moisten my parched head in
the lake, and toss you to the skies." The prince replied: "Come, dragon,
don't talk nonsense; if I had the emperor's daughter to kiss me on the
forehead, I would toss you much higher." When he said this, the
emperor's daughter ran up and kissed him on the face, on the eye, and on
the forehead. Then he swung the dragon, and tossed it high into the air,
and when it fell to the ground it burst into pieces. But as it burst
into pieces, out of it sprang a wild boar, and started to run away. But
the prince shouted to his shepherd dogs: "Hold it! don't let it go!" and
the dogs sprang up and after it, caught it, and soon tore it to pieces.
But out of the boar flew a pigeon, and the prince loosed the falcon, and
the falcon caught the pigeon and brought it into the prince's hands. The
prince said to it: "Tell me now, where are my brothers?" The pigeon
replied: "I will; only do me no harm. Immediately behind your father's
town is a water-mill, and in the water-mill are three wands that have
sprouted up. Cut these three wands up from below, and strike with them
upon their root; an iron door will immediately open into a large vault.
In that vault are many people, old and young, rich and poor, small and
great, wives and maidens, so that you could settle a populous empire;
there, too, are your brothers." When the pigeon had told him all this,
the prince immediately wrung its neck.
The emperor had gone out in person, and posted himself on the hill from
which the grooms had viewed the shepherd, and he, too, was a spectator
of all that had taken place. After the shepherd had thus obtained the
dragon's head, twilight began to approach. He washed himself nicely,
took the falcon on his shoulder, the hounds behind him, and the bagpipes
under his arm, played as he went, drove the sheep, and proceeded to the
emperor's palace, with the damsel at his side still in terror. When they
came to the town, all the town assembled as to see a wonder. The
emperor, who had seen all his heroism from the hill, called him into
his presence, and gave him his daughter, went immediately to church, had
them married, and held a wedding festival for a week. After this the
prince told him who and whence he was, and the emperor and the whole
town rejoiced still more. Then, as the prince was urgent to go to his
own home, the emperor gave him a large escort, and equipped him for the
journey. When they were in the neighbourhood of the water-mill, the
prince halted his attendants, went inside, cut up the three wands, and
struck the root with them, and the iron door opened at once. In the
vault was a vast multitude of people. The prince ordered them to come
out one by one, and go whither each would, and stood himself at the
door. They came out thus one after another, and lo! there were his
brothers also, whom he embraced and kissed. When the whole multitude had
come out, they thanked him for releasing and delivering them, and went
each to his own home. But he went to his father's house with his
brothers and bride, and there lived and reigned to the end of his days.