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There was once a tsar who had three sons. One day the eldest son went hunting. No sooner had he left the city than a hare sprang from behind a bush, and he gave chase, this way and that, until the hare fled into a watermill. The tsar’s son followed it inside, but there he found that it was no hare at all, but a dragon, who lay in wait for him and devoured him. Several days passed, and when the tsar’s son did not come home, everyone began to wonder what could have happened to him. Then the middle son went hunting. No sooner had he left the city than a hare sprang from behind a bush, and the tsar’s son gave chase, this way and that, until the hare fled into the same watermill. The tsar’s son followed it inside, but there he found that it was no hare at all, but a dragon, who lay in wait for him and devoured him. Several more days passed, and when neither of the tsar’s sons returned, the whole court grew anxious.

Then the third son went hunting too, hoping to find his brothers as well. No sooner had he left the city than the hare again sprang from behind a bush, and the tsar’s son gave chase, this way and that, until the hare fled into the watermill. But the tsar’s son would not follow it inside. Instead, he went off in search of other game, saying to himself, “I shall find you when I come back.” He wandered a long while through the mountains but found nothing, so he returned to the watermill. When he went inside, he found an old woman there. The tsar’s son greeted her: “God be with you, Granny!” And the old woman replied, “And may God help you, my son!” Then the tsar’s son asked her, “Where is my hare, Granny?” She answered, “My son, that is no hare, but a dragon. She has killed and swallowed up so many people.” On hearing this, the tsar’s son grew troubled and said to the old woman, “What are we to do now? My two brothers must have perished here as well.” The old woman answered, “Indeed they have; but there is no help for it. Go home, my son, before you follow them.” Then he said to her, “Granny, do you know what? I am sure you too would be glad to be rid of this scourge.” The old woman broke in: “Oh, my son, how could I not! She caught me in just the same way, and now there is no escape.” Then he went on, “Listen carefully to what I tell you. When the dragon comes, ask her where she goes and where her strength lies. Then keep kissing whatever place she tells you holds her strength, as though out of affection, until you have drawn the truth out of her. You can tell me when I return.”

After this, the tsar’s son went back to the palace, and the old woman remained in the watermill. When the dragon came, the old woman began asking her, “Wherever have you been, for heaven’s sake? Where do you go, so far away? You never will tell me where you go.” The dragon answered, “Ah, Granny, I go a long way.” Then the old woman began to coax her: “But why do you go so far? Tell me where your strength lies. If I knew where your strength lay, I should be beside myself with affection; I should kiss that place over and over.” At this the dragon laughed and said, “My strength is there, in that hearth.” Then the old woman began embracing and kissing the hearth, and when the dragon saw this, she burst out laughing and said, “Foolish woman, my strength is not there. My strength is in that tree in front of the house.” Then the old woman began embracing and kissing the tree instead, and the dragon laughed again and said, “Leave off, foolish woman, my strength is not there.” Then the old woman asked, “Where is it, then?” And the dragon began to tell her: “My strength is far away; you cannot go there. Far off in another kingdom, near the tsar’s city, there is a lake. In that lake there is a dragon, and in the dragon a boar, and in the boar a hare, and in the hare a pigeon, and in the pigeon a sparrow. In that sparrow lies my strength.” When the old woman heard this, she said to the dragon, “That is far away indeed. I cannot kiss that.”

The next day, when the dragon had gone out of the watermill, the tsar’s son came to the old woman, and she told him everything she had heard from the dragon. Then he went home and disguised himself: he put on a shepherd’s clothes and took a shepherd’s staff in his hand, and so, dressed as a shepherd, he set out into the world. Travelling from village to village and from city to city, he at last reached the other kingdom and the tsar’s city, below which lay the lake where the dragon lived. When he arrived in the city, he began asking who needed a shepherd. The townspeople told him that the tsar did. So he went straight to the tsar. After he had been announced, the tsar admitted him and asked, “Will you tend sheep?” He answered, “I will, Your Majesty!” Then the tsar took him into his service and began advising and instructing him: “There is a lake here, and beside it very fine pasture. As soon as you drive the sheep out, they make straight for it and scatter along its shores. But every shepherd who goes there never returns. So I am warning you, my son: do not let the sheep go wherever they please, but keep them where you want them.” The tsar’s son thanked the tsar, made ready, and drove out the sheep. He also took with him two greyhounds that could catch a hare in the open field, a falcon that could catch any bird, and a set of bagpipes. As soon as he had driven out the sheep, he let them go towards the lake. When the sheep reached it, they scattered along its shores, while the tsar’s son set the falcon on a log and left the greyhounds and bagpipes beneath it. Then he rolled up his trousers and sleeves, waded into the lake, and began shouting, “O dragon, O dragon, come out and face me today, and let us try our strength, unless you are a woman!” The dragon called back, “I am coming, tsar’s son, I am coming.” A little later, there was the dragon: huge, terrible, hideous! As soon as she came out, they seized each other about the waist and wrestled through the summer morning until noon. When the midday heat grew fierce, the dragon said, “Let me go, tsar’s son, so I may dip this wretched head of mine in the lake, and then I shall fling you high into the heavens.” The tsar’s son answered, “Come now, dragon, do not talk nonsense! If only the tsar’s daughter were here to kiss my forehead, I would fling you higher still.” At once the dragon released him and went back into the lake. Towards evening, he washed and made himself tidy, set the falcon on his shoulder, gathered the greyhounds beside him, tucked the bagpipes under his arm, and drove the sheep back towards the city, playing as he went. When he reached the city, all the townspeople flocked to see the marvel of his return, for no shepherd before him had ever come back from that lake.

The next day the tsar’s son made ready again and went with the sheep straight to the lake. But the tsar sent two horsemen after him to follow in secret and see what he did. They climbed a high mountain from which they would have a good view. As soon as the shepherd arrived, he left the greyhounds and bagpipes beneath the same log and set the falcon on it. Then he rolled up his trousers and sleeves, waded into the lake, and shouted, “O dragon, O dragon, come out and face me, and let us try our strength again, unless you are a woman!” The dragon called back, “I am coming, tsar’s son, I am coming.” A little later, there was the dragon: huge, terrible, hideous! They seized each other about the waist and wrestled through the summer morning until noon. When the midday heat grew fierce, the dragon said, “Let me go, tsar’s son, so I may dip this wretched head of mine in the lake, and then I shall fling you high into the heavens.” The tsar’s son answered, “Come now, dragon, do not talk nonsense! If only the tsar’s daughter were here to kiss my forehead, I would fling you higher still.” At once the dragon released him and went back into the lake. As night drew near, the tsar’s son gathered the sheep as before and set off home, playing his bagpipes. When he entered the city, the whole place was astir, and everyone marvelled that the shepherd came home every evening, something no other shepherd had ever done. The two horsemen had reached the palace before the tsar’s son and told the tsar everything they had heard and seen, just as it had happened. Now, when the tsar saw that the shepherd had come home, he immediately summoned his daughter and told her the whole story. “So,” he said, “tomorrow you must go with the shepherd to the lake and kiss him on the forehead.” When she heard this, she burst into tears and began pleading with her father: “You have no one in the world but me, your only child, and yet you do not care if I perish.” Her father began to reassure her and give her courage: “Do not be afraid, my daughter. You see, we have had so many shepherds, and not one who went to the lake ever returned. Yet this one has fought the dragon for two days now, and she has done him no harm. I trust in God that he can overcome her. Only go with him tomorrow, so that he may rid us of this scourge that has killed so many people.”

When the bright day dawned next morning, when day dawned and the sun rose, the shepherd got up, and the maiden got up too, and they began making ready to go to the lake. The shepherd was cheerful, more cheerful than ever, but the tsar’s daughter was sorrowful and shed tears, so the shepherd comforted her: “My lady, dear sister, I beg you not to cry. Only do as I say: when the time comes, run up and kiss me, and have no fear.” When they set off, driving the sheep before them, the shepherd was cheerful all the way and played merrily on his bagpipes, while the maiden walked beside him, weeping all the while. Now and then he took the pipe from his lips and turned to her: “Do not cry, my dear, there is nothing to fear.” When they reached the lake, the sheep at once scattered along its shores, and the tsar’s son set the falcon on the log and left the greyhounds and bagpipes beneath it. Then he rolled up his trousers and sleeves, waded into the water, and shouted, “O dragon, O dragon, come out and face me, and let us try our strength again, unless you are a woman!” The dragon called back, “I am coming, tsar’s son, I am coming.” A little later, there was the dragon: huge, terrible, hideous! As soon as she came out, they seized each other about the waist and wrestled through the summer morning until noon. When the midday heat grew fierce, the dragon spoke: “Let me go, tsar’s son, so I may dip this wretched head of mine in the lake, and then I shall fling you high into the heavens.” The tsar’s son answered, “Come now, dragon, do not talk nonsense! If only the tsar’s daughter were here to kiss my forehead, I would fling you higher still.” No sooner had he said this than the tsar’s daughter ran up and kissed him on the cheek, on the eye, and on the forehead. Then he swung the dragon up and flung her high into the heavens. When she fell to the earth, she shattered into pieces, and as she shattered, a wild boar sprang out of her and took to its heels. The tsar’s son shouted to the sheepdogs, “Catch him! Do not let him go!” The dogs sprang after the boar, caught him, and tore him apart at once. But a hare sprang out of the boar and fled across the field, and the tsar’s son loosed the greyhounds: “Catch him! Do not let him go!” The greyhounds raced after the hare, caught it, and tore it apart at once. But a pigeon flew out of the hare, and the tsar’s son loosed the falcon, which caught the pigeon and brought it into his hands. The tsar’s son took the pigeon and cut it open, and there inside it was a sparrow, which he seized. When he had caught the sparrow, he said to it, “Now you must tell me where my brothers are.” The sparrow answered, “I will, only do not hurt me. Just outside your father’s city there is a watermill, and in that watermill there are three shoots. Cut down those three shoots and strike the roots with them. At once the iron doors of a great cellar will open. In that cellar there are so many people, old and young, rich and poor, small and great, women and maidens, that you could populate a whole kingdom with them. Your brothers are there too.” When the sparrow had told him all this, the tsar’s son seized it by the neck and strangled it. The tsar himself had come out and climbed the mountain from which the horsemen had watched the shepherd, and he too had seen everything that happened. By the time the shepherd had put an end to the dragon, dusk was beginning to fall. He washed and made himself tidy, set the falcon on his shoulder, gathered the greyhounds beside him, tucked the bagpipes under his arm, and drove the sheep towards the tsar’s palace, playing as he went, with the maiden still trembling beside him. When they reached the city, all the townspeople flocked to see the marvel. The tsar, who had watched all his feats of valour from the mountain, summoned him and gave him his daughter. They went straight to the church, where they were married, and the celebrations lasted a week. Afterwards, the tsar’s son revealed who he was and where he came from, and the tsar and the whole city rejoiced all the more. Then, as the tsar’s son was eager to return home, the tsar gave him a great retinue and sent him on his way.

When they reached the watermill, the tsar’s son made all his attendants halt and went inside. He cut down the three shoots and struck the roots with them, and the iron doors opened at once. There in the cellar was a great throng of people. Then the tsar’s son ordered them all to come out one by one and go wherever they pleased, while he stood at the door. As they came out one after another, there at last were his brothers, and he embraced and kissed them. When all the people had come out, they thanked him for setting them free and saving them, and each went home. And he went home to his father with his brothers and his bride, and there he lived and reigned for the rest of his days.