In a tidy Palace near 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 older sister, and carried her off toward a very, 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 snuck in to the Princess while the kidnapper slept and brought her back to the tidy Palace. They rode all night until morning, and by breakfast they had arrived. The King was overjoyed that his daughter was alive and well, but he ordered everyone to stay indoors until he figured out how to deal with 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 became truly angry. He sent the Knight again for his son, and gave him a second horse so they would return faster. And he himself spent all night with the court wizards deciding how to rid themselves of such a menace.
Right at breakfast time the Knight and Prince returned, alive and well. Then the King ordered everyone to stay in the halls and not stick their noses outside. And he sent his best Knight to neighboring kingdoms to tell them about the villain dragon and gather a large army to destroy his lair.
Meanwhile the Dragon flew to the Palace again, saw no one, and roared fiercely at the whole sky. The little Princess heard the loud thunder, wondered where such noise came 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 had found a solution. They conjured a magic handkerchief. In one corner they depicted the beautiful Palace with the picturesque garden and dense forest, and in the other the very, 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 instantly 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, Father, please sit down at the table, we'll pour you some tea right now!
I don't have time, dear daughter, the whole kingdom is worried. Here's the handkerchief, go home to Mother. The Dragon and I need to have a talk.
The obedient Princess touched her finger to the handkerchief and was transported home. And her father asked the kidnapper:
Why, Dragon, did you decide to steal my children?
He answered:
I didn't steal anyone! You have so many of them, and I have none at all. I took one ti-i-i-iny little girl for myself! I'm old, I need a helper. You still have others 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, then it's theft and a crime. A large army from neighboring kingdoms is moving toward your Castle, because no one wants to live next to such an ill-mannered villain.
The Dragon became frightened and promised never to take anyone again. The King was kind and forgave him. He negotiated with the other rulers and recalled the armies. He provided helpers to clean up the abandoned Castle, and in return the Dragon helped the Prince catch pheasants.
