In a tidy Palace beside a picturesque garden lived a King and Queen. They had three children: an older Princess, a Prince, and a younger Princess. One day they were walking in the garden when suddenly a Dragon swooped down from nowhere, grabbed the eldest sister and carried her off towards a very tall mountain. The King immediately sent his best Knight after her.
The Knight rode all day until nightfall. He arrived at an abandoned Castle and saw a light in the window of a solitary tower. He crept up to the Princess whilst the kidnapper slept, and took her back to the tidy Palace. They rode all night until morning, and arrived home by breakfast time. The King was delighted that his daughter was alive and well, but ordered everyone to stay indoors until he worked out what to do about the flying villain.
He only let the brave Prince go hunting in the dense forest, to bring back pheasants for dinner. And he warned him not to come out from under the trees. But the young Prince got so caught up in the chase that he didn't notice the Dragon in the sky and ran out into a bare clearing in the forest, where the Dragon — snap! — grabbed him and carried him off to his Castle.
The King was furious. He sent the Knight again to fetch his son, and gave him a second horse so they'd return more quickly. And he spent all night with the court wizards working out how to rid themselves of such a menace.
Just in time for breakfast, the Knight and Prince returned, alive and well. The King then ordered everyone to stay in the halls and not poke their noses outside. And he sent his best Knight to neighbouring kingdoms to tell them about the villain dragon and gather a large army to destroy his lair.
Meanwhile the Dragon flew back to the Palace, saw no one and roared threateningly at the whole sky. The little Princess heard the loud thunder, wondered where such noise was coming from when there wasn't a cloud in the sky. She opened the window, looked outside, and the Dragon — snap! — snatched her away.
The King and Queen were frightened that their little girl had been kidnapped, and their faithful Knight was in another kingdom. But the court wizards came and said they'd found a solution. They conjured up a magic handkerchief. In one corner they depicted the beautiful Palace with its picturesque garden and dense forest, and in the other the very tall mountain with the old abandoned Castle.
The King took this handkerchief, touched his finger to the solitary tower of the Dragon's Castle and immediately found himself in a neat, tidy room. He came out of the tower and saw that his youngest daughter and the villain were sitting in the courtyard at a clean table drinking tea. The little Princess was delighted and said:
Your Majesty, Papa, sit down at the table, we'll pour you some tea right away!
I haven't got time, dear daughter, the whole kingdom is worried. Here's the handkerchief, go back to Mum. The Dragon and I need to have a chat.
The obedient Princess touched her finger to the handkerchief and was transported home. And her papa asked the kidnapper:
What's all this about, Dragon, kidnapping my children?
The Dragon replied:
I didn't kidnap anyone! You've got heaps of them, and I haven't got any. I took one ti-i-i-iny little girl for myself! I'm old, I need a helper. You've still got plenty left! Are you really that stingy?
The King shook his head and said:
You can't take anyone or anything without permission. You can always come and ask. If you don't ask, that's theft and a crime. A large army from neighbouring kingdoms is heading towards your Castle, because no one wants to live next to such an ill-mannered villain.
The Dragon was frightened and promised never to take anyone again. The King was kind and forgave him. He negotiated with the other rulers and called back the armies. He provided helpers to clean up the abandoned Castle, and in return the Dragon helped the Prince catch pheasants.
