The Dragon and the Peasant
A young dragon was caught in a river flood and stranded on a dry ridge in the bed of a stream when the water sank, unable to fly away having been injured by a floating log. As he sat there wondering what to do, a peasant came down with his donkey to collect drift-wood left by the flood.
“Help me out of this,” said the dragon, “and I will bring you wealth.”
“How do I know that instead of a reward you will not tear me to pieces as soon as we are out of the river?” said the peasant.
“Tie me up firmly and put me on the back of your donkey,” suggested the dragon. “The I could do you no harm. But indeed I wish you only good fortune - silver and gold, of which I have a good store.”
So the peasant tied up the young dragon firmly, hoisted him on to his donkey, and took him to his home not far away.
By the time they got there the peasant was so charmed by the dragon’s gentleness - and his promises of treasure - that he lifted him down from the donkey and unfastened the rope with which he had bound him.
“And now,” said the peasant, rubbing his hands greedily, “now for the reward of gold and silver you promised me!”
“Gold and silver?” snorted the dragon, stretching his claws and arching his back to see that all was well with him. “You tie me up so tightly that it hurts - and then you demand gold and silver!”
“But you told me to tie you up!” objected the peasant anxiously.
“Yes, but you tied me up much too tight!” said the dragon. “And now I am going to eat you as a reward!”
The peasant protested at this, begging and praying for his life, and while the argument was going on, a wise fox passed by.
“Hallo!” said the fox. “What is happening here?”
When he heard the story, the fox said to the peasant: “It was very foolish of you to tie up the dragon. But the point is, how did you tie him? If you show me that, I’ll be able to judge your case properly.”
The dragon agreed to this, and when the peasant had tied him up once more, the fox said:
“Did he bind you as tight as this before?”
“Oh much tighter,” said the dragon. “So tightly that it really hurt.”
“Let me see how you managed that,” said the fox, and the peasant tightened the rope around the dragon until it could scarcely breathe.
“Now,” said the fox briskly. “Put the dragon on your donkey and take him back to where you found him. Leave him there, still tied up - and then he won’t be able to eat you.”
And the peasant did just that.
From the Hamish Hamilton Book of Dragons
Written by admin on September 9th, 2006 with
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