The Dragon and the Prince
Encyclopedia
The Dragon and the Prince or The Prince and the Dragon is a Serbian fairy tale
collected by A. H. Wratislaw in his Sixty Folk-Tales from Exclusively Slavonic Sources, tale number 43. Andrew Lang
included it in The Crimson Fairy Book.
Ruth Manning-Sanders
included it, as "The Prince and the Dragons", in A Book of Princes and Princesses
.
into a dragon
and ate him. The same thing happened to the second.
When the youngest
set out, he chased the hare but did not go into the water-mill. Instead, he searched for other game. When he got back to the mill, only an old woman sat there. She told him of the dragon. He asked her to ask the dragon the secret of its strength, and whenever it told her, to kiss the place that it mentioned. He left. When the dragon returned, the old woman did ask it; when it told her the fireplace, she began to kiss it, and it laughed and said it was the tree in front of the house; when she began to kiss that, it told her that a distant empire had a lake, which held a dragon, which held a boar, which held a pigeon, which held its strength.
The prince set out and found the empire. He took service as a shepherd with the emperor, who warned him not to go near the lake, though the sheep would go there if allowed. He set out with the sheep, two hounds, a falcon, and a pair of bagpipes, and let the sheep go to the lake at once. He challenged the dragon and it came out of the lake. They fought together, and the dragon asked him to let it face its face in the lake. He refused, and said if the emperor's daughter were there to kiss him, he would toss it into the air. The dragon broke off from the fight. The next day, the same happened, but the emperor had sent two groom to follow him, and they reported what had happened. The third
day, the emperor sent his daughter to the lake, with directions to kiss him when he said that. They fought as before, but the emperor's daughter did kiss him, he threw the dragon into the air, and it burst when it hit the ground. A boar burst out of it, but he caught it with the dogs; a pigeon burst out of it, but he caught it with the falcon. The pigeon told him that behind the water mill, three wands grew, and if he cut them and struck their root, he would find a prison filled with people. He wrung the pigeon's neck.
The emperor married him to his daughter. After the wedding feast, they went back and freed all the dragon's prisoners.
Fairy tale
A fairy tale is a type of short story that typically features such folkloric characters, such as fairies, goblins, elves, trolls, dwarves, giants or gnomes, and usually magic or enchantments. However, only a small number of the stories refer to fairies...
collected by A. H. Wratislaw in his Sixty Folk-Tales from Exclusively Slavonic Sources, tale number 43. Andrew Lang
Andrew Lang
Andrew Lang was a Scots poet, novelist, literary critic, and contributor to the field of anthropology. He is best known as a collector of folk and fairy tales. The Andrew Lang lectures at the University of St Andrews are named after him.- Biography :Lang was born in Selkirk...
included it in The Crimson Fairy Book.
Ruth Manning-Sanders
Ruth Manning-Sanders
Ruth Manning-Sanders was a prolific British poet and author who was perhaps best known for her series of children's books in which she collected and retold fairy tales from all over the world. All told, she published more than 90 books during her lifetime. The dust jacket for A Book of Giants...
included it, as "The Prince and the Dragons", in A Book of Princes and Princesses
A Book of Princes and Princesses
A Book of Princes and Princesses is a 1970 anthology of 13 fairy tales from around the world that have been collected and retold by Ruth Manning-Sanders. It is one in a long series of such anthologies by Manning-Sanders....
.
Synopsis
An emperor had three sons. The oldest went hunting and chased a hare; when it fled into a water-mill and he followed, it turnedShapeshifting
Shapeshifting is a common theme in mythology, folklore, and fairy tales. It is also found in epic poems, science fiction literature, fantasy literature, children's literature, Shakespearean comedy, ballet, film, television, comics, and video games...
into a dragon
Dragon
A dragon is a legendary creature, typically with serpentine or reptilian traits, that feature in the myths of many cultures. There are two distinct cultural traditions of dragons: the European dragon, derived from European folk traditions and ultimately related to Greek and Middle Eastern...
and ate him. The same thing happened to the second.
When the youngest
Youngest son
The youngest son is a stock character in fairy tales, where he features as the hero. He is usually the third son, but sometimes there are more brothers, and sometimes he has only one; usually, they have no sisters....
set out, he chased the hare but did not go into the water-mill. Instead, he searched for other game. When he got back to the mill, only an old woman sat there. She told him of the dragon. He asked her to ask the dragon the secret of its strength, and whenever it told her, to kiss the place that it mentioned. He left. When the dragon returned, the old woman did ask it; when it told her the fireplace, she began to kiss it, and it laughed and said it was the tree in front of the house; when she began to kiss that, it told her that a distant empire had a lake, which held a dragon, which held a boar, which held a pigeon, which held its strength.
The prince set out and found the empire. He took service as a shepherd with the emperor, who warned him not to go near the lake, though the sheep would go there if allowed. He set out with the sheep, two hounds, a falcon, and a pair of bagpipes, and let the sheep go to the lake at once. He challenged the dragon and it came out of the lake. They fought together, and the dragon asked him to let it face its face in the lake. He refused, and said if the emperor's daughter were there to kiss him, he would toss it into the air. The dragon broke off from the fight. The next day, the same happened, but the emperor had sent two groom to follow him, and they reported what had happened. The third
Rule of three (writing)
The "rule of three" is a principle in writing that suggests that things that come in threes are inherently funnier, more satisfying, or more effective than other numbers of things. The reader/audience of this form of text is also more likely to consume information if it is written in groups of...
day, the emperor sent his daughter to the lake, with directions to kiss him when he said that. They fought as before, but the emperor's daughter did kiss him, he threw the dragon into the air, and it burst when it hit the ground. A boar burst out of it, but he caught it with the dogs; a pigeon burst out of it, but he caught it with the falcon. The pigeon told him that behind the water mill, three wands grew, and if he cut them and struck their root, he would find a prison filled with people. He wrung the pigeon's neck.
The emperor married him to his daughter. After the wedding feast, they went back and freed all the dragon's prisoners.
See also
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- What came of picking FlowersWhat came of picking FlowersWhat came of picking Flowers is a Portuguese fairy tale. Andrew Lang included it in The Grey Fairy Book.-Synopsis:A woman had three daughters. One day, one picked a pink rose and vanished. The next day, the second, searching for her sister, picked a rose and vanished. The third day, the third...
- The Young King Of Easaidh RuadhThe Young King Of Easaidh RuadhThe Young King Of Easaidh Ruadh is a Scottish fairy tale collected by John Francis Campbell in his Popular Tales of the West Highlands, listing his informant as James Wilson, a blind fiddler, in Islay...
- The Three Daughters of King O'HaraThe Three Daughters of King O'HaraThe Three Daughters of King O'Hara is an Irish fairy tale collected by Jeremiah Curtin in Myths and Folk-lore of Ireland.-Synopsis:A king had three daughters. One day, when he was away, his oldest daughter wished to marry. She got his cloak of darkness, and wished for the handsomest man in the...