Two of the soldiers were terribly anxious. However, the third was confident that he could find the answer to the riddle of the dragon and escape the fate that awaited them.
The three soldiers went into the very cornfield that started all this and sat down heavily there.
An old woman passed by and she curiously studied the three men. “Why are you so sad?”
The first soldier shook his head. “I do not think you will be able to help us.”
“Who knows? I will know only if you tell me.”
That was when the three men told the old woman that they had become the servants of the dragon for seven long years.
The old woman smiled. “You must go to the woods and there you will come upon a tumbled down rock which looks like a little house. Go there and you will find help.”
Two of the soldiers did not think that this advice would be useful and did not follow it at all.
However, the third man went into the Woods and he found the rock hut there.
In the hut was a very old woman. What was shocking was that this old woman was the dragon's grandmother.
The dragon's grandmother was curious about the third man. The third man politely told the grandmother the reason he was here.
The old woman was very pleased with the third man and she decided to help him. She lifted a large stone which lay over the cellar and asked the man to hide there. “Hide yourself there and you will be able to hear everything that is spoken between me and my grandson. But do not talk and sit very still. When the dragon comes,” the old woman added. “I will ask him about his riddle."
The third man went and hid in the cellar.
At midnight when the dragon came in, the dragon and the grandmother were pleasantly talking with each other.
“How was your day today?” The grandmother asked the dragon.
“I didn't have much luck today. However, I will get three men to work for me in some time.”
“Three soldiers?” The grandmother remarked. "How is it that these three soldiers cannot escape you?”
The dragon snorted. “I will give them a riddle which they will never be able to guess.”
The grandmother looked even more curious. “What sort of a riddle is that?”
The dragon growled. “All you need to know is that in the North sea, there lies a dead sea cat and that shall be their roast meal. The rib of a whale shall be their silver spoon, and the hollow foot of a dead horse shall be their wine glass.”
After the dragon had gone to bed, the grandmother pulled up the stone and let the man out. “Have you heard everything?” The grandmother asked the man.
“Yes, thank you very much.” The man replied and he walked away from there.
The seventh year was finally over.
The dragon came before the three men. “Before I take you to the underground with me you will have to answer this riddle.”
To the first man the dragon asked. “If you tell me what you will get for your roast meat, you shall be free.”
The first soldier naturally knew the answer to this.
The dragon was shocked and turned to the second man. “What shall be your spoon?”
Even the second man was able to answer it.
The dragon growled. “Do you know what your wine glass shall be?”
After hearing the right answer from the three man the dragon flew away with a loud shriek as he had no power over them.
The three men took the little whip and whipped as much money as they wanted and left happily for the rest of their lives.
Adapted from Andrew Lang's Fairy Tales
No comments:
Post a Comment