The King
and courtiers returned home full of grief; the King’s marshal, however,
was to stand still, and see all from a distance. When the King’s daughter got to the top of the hill, it was not the
dragon which stood there, but the young huntsman, who comforted her,
and said he would save her, led her into the church, and locked her in. It was not long before the seven-headed dragon came thither with loud
roaring. When he perceived the huntsman, he was astonished and said,
“What business hast thou here on the hill?” The huntsman answered, “I
want to fight with thee.” Said the dragon, “Many knights have left
their lives here, I shall soon have made an end of thee too,” and he
breathed fire out of seven jaws. The fire was to have lighted the dry
grass, and the huntsman was to have been suffocated in the heat and
smoke, but the animals came running up and trampled out the fire. Then
the dragon rushed upon the huntsman, but he swung his sword until it
sang through the air, and struck off three of his heads. Then the
dragon grew right furious, and rose up in the air, and spat out flames
of fire over the huntsman, and was about to plunge down on him, but the
huntsman once more drew out his sword, and again cut off three of his
heads. The monster became faint and sank down, nevertheless it was just
able to rush upon the huntsman, but he with his last strength smote its
tail off, and as he could fight no longer, called up his animals who
tore it in pieces. When the struggle was ended, the huntsman unlocked
the church, and found the King’s daughter lying on the floor, as she
had lost her senses with anguish and terror during the contest. He
carried her out, and when she came to herself once more, and opened her
eyes, he showed her the dragon all cut to pieces, and told her that she
was now delivered. She rejoiced and said, “Now thou wilt be my dearest
husband, for my father has promised me to him who kills the dragon.”
Thereupon she took off her necklace of coral, and divided it amongst
the animals in order to reward them, and the lion received the golden
clasp. Her pocket-handkerchief, however, on which was her name, she
gave to the huntsman, who went and cut the tongues out of the dragon’s
seven heads, wrapped them in the handkerchief, and preserved them
carefully. That done, as he was so faint and weary with the fire and the battle,
he said to the maiden, “We are both faint and weary, we will sleep
awhile.” Then she said, “yes,” and they lay down on the ground, and the
huntsman said to the lion, “Thou shalt keep watch, that no one
surprises us in our sleep,” and both fell asleep. The lion lay down
beside them to watch, but he also was so weary with the fight, that he
called to the bear and said, “Lie down near me, I must sleep a little:
if anything comes, waken me.” Then the bear lay down beside him, but he
also was tired, and called the wolf and said, “Lie down by me, I must
sleep a little, but if anything comes, waken me.” Then the wolf lay
down by him, but he was tired likewise, and called the fox and said,
“Lie down by me, I must sleep a little; if anything comes, waken me.”
Then the fox lay down beside him, but he too was weary, and called the
hare and said, “Lie down near me, I must sleep a little, and if
anything should come, waken me.” Then the hare sat down by him, but the
poor hare was tired too, and had no one whom he could call there to
keep watch, and fell asleep. And now the King’s daughter, the huntsman,
the lion, the bear, the wolf, the fox, and the hare, were all sleeping
a sound sleep. The marshal, however, who was to look on from a
distance, took courage when he did not see the dragon flying away with
the maiden, and finding that all the hill had become quiet, ascended
it. There lay the dragon hacked and hewn to pieces on the ground, and
not far from it were the King’s daughter and a huntsman with his
animals, and all of them were sunk in a sound sleep. And as he was
wicked and godless he took his sword, cut off the huntsman’s head, and
seized the maiden in his arms, and carried her down the hill. Then she
awoke and was terrified, but the marshal said, “Thou art in my hands,
thou shalt say that it was I who killed the dragon.” “I cannot do
that,” she replied, “for it was a huntsman with his animals who did
it.” Then he drew his sword, and threatened to kill her if she did not
obey him, and so compelled her that she promised it. Then he took her
to the King, who did not know how to contain himself for joy when he
once more looked on his dear child in life, whom he had believed to
have been torn to pieces by the monster. The marshal said to him, “I
have killed the dragon, and delivered the maiden and the whole kingdom
as well, therefore I demand her as my wife, as was promised.” The King
said to the maiden, “Is what he says true?” “Ah, yes,” she answered,
“it must indeed be true, but I will not consent to have the wedding
celebrated until after a year and a day,” for she thought in that time
she should hear something of her dear huntsman. The animals, however, were still lying sleeping beside their dead
master on the dragon’s hill, and there came a great humble-bee and
lighted on the hare’s nose, but the hare wiped it off with his paw, and
went on sleeping. The humble-bee came a second time, but the hare again
rubbed it off and slept on. Then it came for the third time, and stung
his nose so that he awoke. As soon as the hare was awake, he roused the
fox, and the fox, the wolf, and the wolf the bear, and the bear the
lion. And when the lion awoke and saw that the maiden was gone, and his
master was dead, he began to roar frightfully and cried, “Who has done
that? Bear, why didst thou not waken me?” The bear asked the wolf, “Why
didst thou not waken me?” and the wolf the fox, “Why didst thou not
waken me?” and the fox the hare, “Why didst thou not waken me?” The
poor hare alone did not know what answer to make, and the blame rested
with him. Then they were just going to fall upon him, but he entreated
them and said, “Kill me not, I will bring our master to life again. I
know a mountain on which a root grows which, when placed in the mouth
of any one, cures him of all illness and every wound. But the mountain
lies two hundred hours journey from here.” The lion said, “In
four-and-twenty hours must thou have run thither and have come back,
and have brought the root with thee.” Then the hare sprang away, and in
four-and-twenty hours he was back, and brought the root with him. The
lion put the huntsman’s head on again, and the hare placed the root in
his mouth, and immediately everything united together again, and his
heart beat, and life came back.