Prevod

Once there was an emperor who had three sons and a daughter, whom he kept in a cage and cherished like the apple of his eye. When the girl was grown, she asked her father one evening to let her go for a little walk with her brothers outside the palace, and he gave his consent. But scarcely had she stepped outside when a dragon swooped down from the sky, snatched her from between her brothers, and carried her off into the clouds. The brothers hurried back to their father and told him what had happened, saying that they wished to go in search of their sister. Their father gave them leave to seek her, and gave each of them a horse and everything else they needed for the journey, and so they set off.

After a long journey, they came upon a castle that stood neither in heaven nor on earth. When they reached it, they thought their sister might be inside, and at once began discussing how they could climb up to it. After much thought and debate, they agreed that one of them should slaughter his horse and cut its hide into a long thong, then fasten one end to an arrow and shoot it up from below so that it would lodge firmly in the castle, allowing them to climb up. The two younger brothers told the eldest to slaughter his horse, but he refused, and the middle brother refused as well. So the youngest slaughtered his own horse, cut its hide into a thong, tied one end to an arrow, and shot it into the castle. When the time came to climb the thong, the eldest and the middle brother again refused, so the youngest climbed up.

Once he was up, he went from room to room until he came to one where he saw his sister sitting with the dragon’s head in her lap. The dragon was asleep, and she was picking lice from his hair. When she saw her brother, she took fright and began quietly begging him to flee before the dragon woke. But he would not. Instead, he took a mace, swung it, and struck the dragon on the head. Still asleep, the dragon reached up to the spot where he had been struck and said to the girl, “Something just bit me here.” At this, the emperor’s son struck him on the head again, and again the dragon said to the girl, “Something has bitten me here again.” When the prince raised the mace to strike a third time, his sister motioned to him to strike the dragon in the belly. He struck him there, and at that blow the dragon fell dead on the spot. The emperor’s daughter pushed his head off her lap, ran to her brother, and kissed him. Then she took him by the hand and led him through all the rooms. First she brought him into a room where a black horse stood tethered to a manger, with a full set of trappings of pure silver. Then she took him into another room, where a white horse stood at a manger with trappings of pure gold. Last she led him into a third room, where a dun horse stood at a manger, its trappings studded with precious stones. After they had passed through these rooms, his sister took him into a room where a maiden sat at a golden embroidery frame, embroidering with gold thread. From there she led him into another room, where a second maiden was spinning gold thread. Finally, she brought him into a room where a third maiden was stringing pearls, while before her, on a golden tray, a golden hen and her chicks were pecking at pearls.

Having gone through all these rooms and seen everything, he returned to the room where the dead dragon lay, dragged him outside, and hurled him down to the ground. When his brothers saw the dragon, they all but shook with terror. Then the youngest brother lowered his sister to his brothers first, followed by the three maidens, one after another, each with her handiwork. As he lowered the maidens, he declared which brother each was to marry, and when he lowered the third, the one with the hen and chicks, he chose her for himself. But his brothers, jealous that he had proved himself a hero by finding and rescuing their sister, cut the thong so that he could not come down. Then they found a shepherd boy tending sheep in a field, dressed him in different clothes, and took him home to their father in their brother’s place. They sternly warned their sister and the maidens not to tell anyone what they had done.

Some time later, the youngest brother learned in the castle that his brothers and the shepherd boy were to marry the maidens. On the very day of his eldest brother’s wedding, he mounted the black horse and came flying into the midst of the wedding party just as they were leaving the church. He gave his brother, the bridegroom, a light blow on the back with his mace, sending him tumbling from his horse, then flew back to the castle. When he learned that the middle brother was to be married, he came flying on the white horse just as the wedding party was leaving the church, and struck this brother too, sending him tumbling from his horse, then flew away from among the wedding guests. At last, learning that the shepherd boy was to marry his own maiden, he mounted the dun horse and flew into the wedding party just as they were coming out of the church. He struck the bridegroom on the head with his mace, killing him on the spot. The wedding guests rushed to seize him, but he made no attempt to flee. Instead, he stood his ground among them and revealed that he, not the shepherd boy, was the emperor’s youngest son, and that his brothers had left him out of jealousy in the castle where he had found his sister and slain the dragon. His sister and the maidens all bore witness to the truth of his words. When the emperor heard this, he was furious with his two elder sons and banished them from his presence at once. He married the youngest to the maiden he had chosen for himself, and made him heir to his throne.