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Once upon
a time...
There lived an emperor who had three sons. They were all fine
young men, and fond of hunting, and scarcely a day passed without
one or other of them going out to look for game.
One morning the eldest of the three princes mounted his horse and
set out for a neighbouring forest, where wild animals of all sorts
were to be found. He had not long left the castle, when a hare
sprang out of a thicket and dashed across the road in front. The
young man gave chase at once, and pursued it over hill and dale,
till at last the hare took refuge in a mill which was standing by
the side of a river. The prince followed and entered the mill, but
stopped in terror by the door, for, instead of a hare, before him
stood a dragon, breathing fire and flame. At this fearful sight the
prince turned to fly, but a fiery tongue coiled round his waist, and
drew him into the dragon's mouth, and he was seen no more.
A week passed away, and when the prince never came back everyone in
the town began to grow uneasy. At last his next brother told the
emperor that he likewise would go out to hunt, and that perhaps he
would find some clue as to his brother's disappearance. But hardly
had the castle gates closed on the prince than the hare sprang out
of the bushes as before, and led the huntsman up hill and down dale,
till they reached the mill. Into this the hare flew with the prince
at his heels, when, lo! instead of the hare, there stood a dragon
breathing fire and flame; and out shot a fiery tongue which coiled
round the prince's waist, and lifted him straight into the dragon's
mouth, and he was seen no more.
Days went by, and the emperor waited and waited for the sons who
never came, and could not sleep at night for wondering where they
were and what had become of them. His youngest son wished to go in
search of his brothers, but for long the emperor refused to listen
to him, lest he should lose him also. But the prince prayed so hard
for leave to make the search, and promised so often that he would be
very cautious and careful, that at length the emperor gave him
permission, and ordered the best horse in the stables to be saddled
for him.
Full of hope the young prince started on his way, but no sooner was
he outside the city walls than a hare sprang out of the bushes and
ran before him, till they reached the mill. As before, the animal
dashed in through the open door, but this time he was not followed
by the prince. Wiser than his brothers, the young man turned away,
saying to himself: 'There are as good hares in the forest as any
that have come out of it, and when I have caught them, I can come
back and look for you.'
For many hours he rode up and down the mountain, but saw nothing,
and at last, tired of waiting, he went back to the mill. Here he
found an old woman sitting, whom he greeted pleasantly.
'Good morning to you, little mother,' he said; and the old woman
answered: 'Good morning, my son.'
'Tell me, little mother,' went on the prince, 'where shall I find my
hare?'
'My son,' replied the old woman, 'that was no hare, but a dragon who
has led many men hither, and then has eaten them all.' At these
words the prince's heart grew heavy, and he cried, 'Then my brothers
must have come here, and have been eaten by the dragon!'
'You have guessed right,' answered the old woman; 'and I can give
you no better counsel than to go home at once, before the same fate
overtakes you.'
'Will you not come with me out of this dreadful place?' said the
young man.
'He took me prisoner, too,' answered she, 'and I cannot shake off
his chains.'
'Then listen to me,' cried the prince. 'When the dragon comes back,
ask him where he always goes when he leaves here, and what makes him
so strong; and when you have coaxed the secret from him, tell me the
next time I come.'
So the prince went home, and the old woman remained in the mill, and
as soon as the dragon returned she said to him:
'Where have you been all this time--you must have travelled far?'
'Yes, little mother, I have indeed travelled far.' answered he. Then
the old woman began to flatter him, and to praise his cleverness;
and when she thought she had got him into a good temper, she said:
'I have wondered so often where you get your strength from; I do
wish you would tell me. I would stoop and kiss the place out of pure
love!' The dragon laughed at this, and answered:
'In the hearthstone yonder lies the secret of my strength.'
Then the old woman jumped up and kissed the hearth; whereat the
dragon laughed the more, and said:
'You foolish creature! I was only jesting. It is not in the
hearthstone, but in that tall tree that lies the secret of my
strength.' Then the old woman jumped up again and put her arms round
the tree, and kissed it heartily. Loudly laughed the dragon when he
saw what she was doing.
'Old fool,' he cried, as soon as he could speak, 'did you really
believe that my strength came from that tree?'
'Where is it then?' asked the old woman, rather crossly, for she did
not like being made fun of.
'My strength,' replied the dragon, 'lies far away; so far that you
could never reach it. Far, far from here is a kingdom, and by its
capital city is a lake, and in the lake is a dragon, and inside the
dragon is a wild boar, and inside the wild boar is a pigeon, and
inside the pigeon a sparrow, and inside the sparrow is my strength.'
And when the old woman heard this, she thought it was no use
flattering him any longer, for never, never, could she take his
strength from him.
The following morning, when the dragon had left the mill, the prince
came back, and the old woman told him all that the creature had
said. He listened in silence, and then returned to the castle, where
he put on a suit of shepherd's clothes, and taking a staff in his
hand, he went forth to seek a place as tender of sheep.
For some time he wandered from village to village and from town to
town, till he came at length to a large city in a distant kingdom,
surrounded on three sides by a great lake, which happened to be the
very lake in which the dragon lived. As was his custom, he stopped
everybody whom he met in the streets that looked likely to want a
shepherd and begged them to engage him, but they all seemed to have
shepherds of their own, or else not to need any. The prince was
beginning to lose heart, when a man who had overheard his question
turned round and said that he had better go and ask the emperor, as
he was in search of some one to see after his flocks.
'Will you take care of my sheep?' said the emperor, when the young
man knelt before him.
'Most willingly, your Majesty,' answered the young man, and he
listened obediently while the emperor told him what he was to do.
'Outside the city walls,' went on the emperor, 'you will find a
large lake, and by its banks lie the richest meadows in my kingdom.
When you are leading out your flocks to pasture, they will all run
straight to these meadows, and none that have gone there have ever
been known to come back. Take heed, therefore, my son, not to suffer
your sheep to go where they will, but drive them to any spot that
you think best.'
With a low bow the prince thanked the emperor for his warning, and
promised to do his best to keep the sheep safe. Then he left the
palace and went to the market-place, where he bought two greyhounds,
a hawk, and a set of pipes; after that he took the sheep out to
pasture. The instant the animals caught sight of the lake lying
before them, they trotted off as fast as their legs would go to the
green meadows lying round it. The prince did not try to stop them;
he only placed his hawk on the branch of a tree, laid his pipes on
the grass, and bade the greyhounds sit still; then, rolling up his
sleeves and trousers, he waded into the water crying as he did so:
'Dragon! dragon! if you are not a coward, come out and fight with
me!' And a voice answered from the depths of the lake:
'I am waiting for you, O prince'; and the next minute the dragon
reared himself out of the water, huge and horrible to see. The
prince sprang upon him and they grappled with each other and fought
together till the sun was high, and it was noonday. Then the dragon
gasped:
'O prince, let me dip my burning head once into the lake, and I will
hurl you up to the top of the sky.' But the prince answered, 'Oh,
ho! my good dragon, do not crow too soon! If the emperor's daughter
were only here, and would kiss me on the forehead, I would throw you
up higher still!' And suddenly the dragon's hold loosened, and he
fell back into the lake.
As soon as it was evening, the prince washed away all signs of the
fight, took his hawk upon his shoulder, and his pipes under his arm,
and with his greyhounds in front and his flock following after him
he set out for the city. As they all passed through the streets the
people stared in wonder, for never before had any flock returned
from the lake.
The next morning he rose early, and led his sheep down the road to
the lake. This time, however, the emperor sent two men on horseback
to ride behind him, with orders to watch the prince all day long.
The horsemen kept the prince and his sheep in sight, without being
seen themselves. As soon as they beheld the sheep running towards
the meadows, they turned aside up a steep hill, which overhung the
lake. When the shepherd reached the place he laid, as before, his
pipes on the grass and bade the greyhounds sit beside them, while
the hawk he perched on the branch of the tree. Then he rolled up his
trousers and his sleeves, and waded into the water crying:
'Dragon! dragon! if you are not a coward, come out and fight with
me!' And the dragon answered:
'I am waiting for you, O prince,' and the next minute he reared
himself out of the water, huge and horrible to see. Again they
clasped each other tight round the body and fought till it was noon,
and when the sun was at its hottest, the dragon gasped:
'O prince, let me dip my burning head once in the lake, and I will
hurl you up to the top of the sky.' But the prince answered:
'Oh, ho! my good dragon, do not crow too soon! If the emperor's
daughter were only here, and would kiss me on the forehead, I would
throw you up higher still!' And suddenly the dragon's hold loosened,
and he fell back into the lake.
As soon as it was evening the prince again collected his sheep, and
playing on his pipes he marched before them into the city. When he
passed through the gates all the people came out of their houses to
stare in wonder, for never before had any flock returned from the
lake.
Meanwhile the two horsemen had ridden quickly back, and told the
emperor all that they had seen and heard. The emperor listened
eagerly to their tale, then called his daughter to him and repeated
it to her.
'To-morrow,' he said, when he had finished, 'you shall go with the
shepherd to the lake, and then you shall kiss him on the forehead as
he wishes.'
But when the princess heard these words, she burst into tears, and
sobbed out:
'Will you really send me, your only child, to that dreadful place,
from which most likely I shall never come back?'
'Fear nothing, my little daughter, all will be well. Many shepherds
have gone to that lake and none have ever returned; but this one has
in these two days fought twice with the dragon and has escaped
without a wound. So I hope to-morrow he will kill the dragon
altogether, and deliver this land from the monster who has slain so
many of our bravest men.'
Scarcely had the sun begun to peep over the hills next morning, when
the princess stood by the shepherd's side, ready to go to the lake.
The shepherd was brimming over with joy, but the princess only wept
bitterly. 'Dry your tears, I implore you,' said he. 'If you will
just do what I ask you, and when the time comes, run and kiss my
forehead, you have nothing to fear.'
Merrily the shepherd blew on his pipes as he marched at the head of
his flock, only stopping every now and then to say to the weeping
girl at his side:
'Do not cry so, Heart of Gold; trust me and fear nothing.' And so
they reached the lake.
In an instant the sheep were scattered all over the meadows, and the
prince placed his hawk on the tree, and his pipes on the grass,
while he bade his greyhounds lie beside them. Then he rolled up his
trousers and his sleeves, and waded into the water, calling:
'Dragon! dragon! if you are not a coward, come forth, and let us
have one more fight together.' And the dragon answered: 'I am
waiting for you, O prince'; and the next minute he reared himself
out of the water, huge and horrible to see. Swiftly he drew near to
the bank, and the prince sprang to meet him, and they grasped each
other round the body and fought till it was noon. And when the sun
was at its hottest, the dragon cried:
'O prince, let me dip my burning head in the lake, and I will hurl
you to the top of the sky.' But the prince answered:
'Oh, ho! my good dragon, do not crow too soon! If the emperor's
daughter were only here, and she would kiss my forehead, I would
throw you higher still.'
Hardly had he spoken, when the princess, who had been listening, ran
up and kissed him on the forehead. Then the prince swung the dragon
straight up into the clouds, and when he touched the earth again, he
broke into a thousand pieces. Out of the pieces there sprang a wild
boar and galloped away, but the prince called his hounds to give
chase, and they caught the boar and tore it to bits. Out of the
pieces there sprang a hare, and in a moment the greyhounds were
after it, and they caught it and killed it; and out of the hare
there came a pigeon. Quickly the prince let loose his hawk, which
soared straight into the air, then swooped upon the bird and brought
it to his master. The prince cut open its body and found the sparrow
inside, as the old woman had said.
'Now,' cried the prince, holding the sparrow in his hand, 'now you
shall tell me where I can find my brothers.'
'Do not hurt me,' answered the sparrow, 'and I will tell you with
all my heart.' Behind your father's castle stands a mill, and in the
mill are three slender twigs. Cut off these twigs and strike their
roots with them, and the iron door of a cellar will open. In the
cellar you will find as many people, young and old, women and
children, as would fill a kingdom, and among them are your
brothers.'
By this time twilight had fallen, so the prince washed himself in
the lake, took the hawk on his shoulder and the pipes under his arm,
and with his greyhounds before him and his flock behind him, marched
gaily into the town, the princess following them all, still
trembling with fright. And so they passed through the streets,
thronged with a wondering crowd, till they reached the castle.
Unknown to anyone, the emperor had stolen out on horseback, and had
hidden himself on the hill, where he could see all that happened.
When all was over, and the power of the dragon was broken for ever,
he rode quickly back to the castle, and was ready to receive the
prince with open arms, and to promise him his daughter to wife. The
wedding took place with great splendour, and for a whole week the
town was hung with coloured lamps, and tables were spread in the
hall of the castle for all who chose to come and eat. And when the
feast was over, the prince told the emperor and the people who he
really was, and at this everyone rejoiced still more, and
preparations were made for the prince and princess to return to
their own kingdom, for the prince was impatient to set free his
brothers.
The first thing he did when he reached his native country was to
hasten to the mill, where he found the three twigs as the sparrow
had told him. The moment that he struck the root the iron door flew
open, and from the cellar a countless multitude of men and women
streamed forth. He bade them go one by one wheresoever they would,
while he himself waited by the door till his brothers passed
through. How delighted they were to meet again, and to hear all that
the prince had done to deliver them from their enchantment. And they
went home with him and served him all the days of their lives, for
they said that he only who had proved himself brave and faithful was
fit to be king.
The Prince and the
Dragon
from the Crimson Fairy Book
Story Edited
by Andrew Lang |
