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Reading Notes: Lang's European Fairy Tales I, Part A

In the story "How the Dragon was Tricked," a man has two sons who do not get along very well. The younger son is more handsome and the older brother is jealous. When they walk through the woods together, the older son ties his younger brother to a tree hoping he will starve to death. A humpbacked shepherd passes by and asks why he is tied up. The son replies that his back was crooked, but now is straight after being tied up. The shepherd says he wishes to be tied up so his back will be straight too. The shepherd unties the young men and the son ties the shepherd to a tree and leaves. The young man takes the sheep of the shepherd and convinces a horse boy and a driver of oxen to come with him and join his adventures. 

 The king hears of his tricks and has his guards kidnap the young man to see if he is as clever as he has heard. The king says he still spare the young man's life if he can bring him the flying horse that belongs to the dragon. The son goes to the stable and the horse starts neighing, alerting the dragon. This happens three times, and the dragon finally gets tired of the horse. The dragon goes down to the horse and beats it, and the young man tries again to untie the horse. This time, the horse gives no fight. 

 The king tells the young man the horse is good, but he actually wants the bell that lies on the bed of the dragon. The young man goes to the dragon's house and climbs the roof; he then opens a little window and tries to use a hook to life the bed covering. The dragon hears the bell and wakes his wife. The dragon thinks the wife pulled off the bed covering and pulls it back, pulling the young man into the room. The dragon ties up the young man and tells his wife to cook him while the dragon is at church the next day so they can eat him together. 

 The next morning, the dragons goes to kill the young man, but he catches her legs when she loosens his cords. He cuts her throat and puts her in the oven. The young man brings the king the covering of the dragon's bed. The king replies that he actually wants the dragon himself. The young man says he will do it, but needs two years so he can grow a beard and disguise himself. 

 After his beard is grown, the young man dresses as a beggar and goes to the dragon's house. The dragon is making a box and says he will try to find food for the young man when he is done. The dragon says the box is for the man who killed his wife. The young man says the box is too small, that the man is actually as tall as the dragon. He says if the dragon can fit, so can the man. The dragon says there is room and gets in the box. The young man puts on the lid to the box and tells the dragon to see if he can get out. The dragon tries and cannot, and tells the young man to let him out. Instead, the young man drives in more nails and brings the box to the king. 

 The king is delighted and opens the box. He lifts the lid enough to see if the dragon is there but not enough to let the dragon out. There is enough room, however, for the dragon's mouth to fit through and the dragon eats the king. The young man marries the king's daughter and ruled the land. Nobody knows what happened to the dragon. 
Dragon by ractapopulous

 Story source: The Pink Fairy Book by Andrew Lang, illustrated by H. J. Ford (1897)
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