In a distant kingdom there once lived a dragon, but he led a very reclusive life. This was because several years earlier, people had exterminated all of his relatives. They had organised entire tournaments to search for and capture dragons. And only after they believed they had exterminated all the dragons did the tournaments cease.
When the dragon was still very young, he watched as people caught his mother and took her away in an unknown direction. From that time on, the dragon grew considerably, but he never stopped fearing people. The terrible scene of people capturing his mother and taking her away remained fixed in his mind.
The dragon tried not to leave his cave during the day; only at night did he allow himself to fly about a little and find food to sustain himself. He fed mainly on plants and berries that he found in the forest.
One night he flew out of his cave as usual to search for berries. He noticed that something was glowing in the city where people lived. Curiosity overcame his fear, and he decided at all costs to see what it was.
It was a window glowing in the princess's chamber in the palace. She loved to gaze at the stars. Usually she did this in darkness, but today she had allowed herself to leave the light in her room on. She stood on the balcony and admired the stars. At that moment, the dragon flew past. The princess was so absorbed in the starry sky that she did not even notice him.
The dragon, upon seeing the princess, fell in love with her instantly—it was love at first sight. She was indeed very beautiful. She had lovely fair hair, which was plaited into a braid, and fair skin. On her cheeks was a barely noticeable rosy blush. The dragon landed on the roof of the palace and gazed at the princess for a long time.
This repeated night after night. The dragon would secretly fly to the city and, landing on the palace roof, would gaze at the princess, who could stand for hours, mesmerised, looking at the distant and mysterious stars.
One night the dragon could not restrain himself and spoke to the princess without showing himself to her. The princess was very pleased with her interlocutor. And so they began to converse every night. The princess asked him to show himself to her, but the dragon politely refused.
On one occasion, returning home at night, the dragon heard someone calling for help. In a huge pit sat a knight in gleaming armour. He was returning from a campaign late at night, had fallen from his horse, and tumbled into the pit. The horse had galloped away, and the pit was so deep that the knight, weighed down by his heavy armour, could not climb out by himself.
The dragon flew past at first. But then he felt sorry for the knight, and he returned and pulled the unfortunate man from the pit. The knight was terribly frightened, for he believed his time had come and that he would now be eaten by the enormous dragon. But the dragon, to the knight's utter astonishment, pulled him from the pit and set him on the ground.
Why do you not eat me, monster?
The knight asked, surprised and fearful, his voice trembling.
And why should I eat you? I prefer berries.
The dragon replied impassively.
The knight was greatly astonished, so much so that he fell right in front of the dragon.
Do you also speak?
The knight asked, even more surprised, still sitting on the ground.
Yes. And what is so surprising about that?
I did not know that dragons could speak. And besides, I thought all the dragons were exterminated long ago.
That is true. I am all alone; you people killed my entire family. But since I have saved you, be so kind as not to tell anyone about me. I wish to live, for I harm no one.
Of course, I promise you, I give you my word as a knight.
The dragon placed the knight on his back and took him home, where they parted ways.
When the dragon flew to the castle the next night, the princess told him that in two days' time there would be a tournament for her hand and heart. Whoever won the tournament would become the husband of the beautiful princess. She asked her interlocutor to take part in this tournament. And the dragon... agreed.
The dragon understood that this was his only chance. He knew that in the depths of the forest there lived a sorceress who performed miracles. He set off to see her and asked her to transform him into a man. For only thus could he compete for the princess's hand and become her husband.
You must win victory in your true form. You must prove that you are willing to do anything for your beloved. Overcome your fear and you will be able to be with your beloved.
The sorceress said.
That same night the dragon went to the knight whom he had once saved. He asked him to enter the tournament under his name—Sir Dragon. And that night he told the princess that he would participate under the name of the said knight. The dragon asked the princess not to be frightened by his appearance and to allow him to participate in the tournament. She promised.
The day of the tournament arrived. When Sir Dragon was announced, the princess waited with bated breath to see who would appear in the arena. But when she saw the dragon, she fainted. The King wanted to order him to be bound, but the princess, having come to her senses, forbade it. The dragon won the tournament and in an instant transformed into a handsome young man. Everyone was astonished, and the princess embraced the victor—from that moment on, she and the dragon, now a man, were never parted.
Thus the dragon overcame his fear for the sake of his beloved and proved himself worthy of love and respect.
