The Dragon’s Egg

Now this dragon was a wise creature, and he knew what the desire for gold does even to the best of men. He was not sure whether he could quite truse his friend so he decided to test him.

He brought out an egg in a golden casket and said to the man:

“While I am away I know that you will guard my treasure faithfully, and so I am going to tell you a secret. All my treasure is worth nothing compared with this egg. For on this egg depends my life. If the egg is broken, I shall die immediately. Therefore guard it with your own life, if you love me.”

“I will indeed die before any harm shall come to you, beloved friend,” said the man.

So the dragon shut the casket, put it away carefully ith the rest of his treasure, and went away into a distant country.

After a while the temptation to possess so much gold and silver grew stronger and stronger, until the man could resist it no more.

“Dragons do not know what to do with treasure,” he said to himself. “They just collect it and guard it like misers. Now I would be able to spend it properly …. All I have to do is break the magic egg, the dragon will die immediately - and the treasure will be mine.”

So the man broke the egg, and took possession of the treasure.

But in fact the dragon had not gone very far away. Suddenly he returned, found that the man had broken the egg - and realized just how trustworthy his friend really was.

And it seems more then likely that the dragon ate the man for his supper that very night.