IRON LADISLAUS, AND THE THREE DRAGONS. A TALE FOR TWELFTH DAY. "On a banni les demons et les fées, "Ah! croyez moi, l'erreur a son mérite." VOLTAIRE. In the delightful times, when fairy-land had not yet vanished from the earth, there lived a king, who had three daughters and three sons. The youngest son was named Iron Ladislaus, on account of his frowardness. One day, when he was returning home from school, he met an old woman who was carrying eggs in a basket, which the young prince chose maliciously to upset, so that the eggs all fell out and were broken. The old lady turned round to him, and said, angrily," For this trick, your next wish shall be fulfilled;" and with these words she and her eggs disappeared. When the prince reached home, his three sisters were standing in the court-yard; they invited him to play at ball with them. He willingly complied, but owing to his malicious humour, he could not forbear playing them all manner of annoying pranks, till they became quite angry, and would not play with him any more. He, in his turn, grew into a real passion, and exclaimed, hastily,." I wish the earth would open and swallow you up;" and scarcely had he said the words, when the earth opened, and the princesses disappeared. 66 The whole court was struck with dismay. The eldest son went to his father, and said: "Father, let me go, and seek my sisters." The king consented, and let him go, but he never returned. The second son demanded a similar permission, and the old king was foolish enough to grant it. See, my dear little readers, the bad consequences of not attending to your books: the king obviously had not properly attended to the history of fairy-land, or else he would have known, that it is never the second or first son that ought to be sent on any adventure, but always the third. In this instance, the second went, but he also did not come back. In the mean time, Ladislaus had grown up, and once when the king was sitting upon his throne, he kneeled before him, and spoke, "Father, I only am guilty of all the sorrow which oppresses thee. "Let me go forth to seek for my lost sisters and brothers. I will "either bring them back, or never return again." The king was transported at the heroism of his son, gave him his blessing, and sent him forth. Iron Ladislaus had already wandered many days, when he met in a wood a poor woman, trying to lift a bundle of faggots from the ground. Iron Ladislaus, who, since the disappearance of his sisters, had become kind and gentle, and who had never ceased to repent his mischiefs perpetrated upon the bearer of the eggbasket, approached the old woman, lifted the bundle of faggots from the ground, and laid it carefully on her back. She turned smilingly round towards him, and said, "Your kindness shall not go unrewarded. "I know what you are in search of, had you not assisted me, you never should have found your sisters; but now, I will help you on "your adventure." She stamped on the ground, it opened, and a chest lay at Ladislaus's feet. The woman continued: "Place yourself in this chest, it will bring you to the castle where your "eldest sister dwells." Ladislaus obeyed, and the earth closed over him, and the chest immediately sank deep-deep-deeper than can be imagined. On a sudden it stopped, the lid opened, Ladislaus jumped out, and saw a silver castle before him; a foaming river dashed before the gate, over which a bridge, made of razor-blades, was thrown, so placed that they were sure to cut whatever might try to pass over it. "How shall I get over?" said Ladislaus. "Do not be "alarmed," answered the chest, which was a remarkably clever one for its age; "I will bring you inside the castle; how you get out again, "is your affair." Ladislaus laid himself once more under the lid, and in one instant the chest carried him over the river into the middle of the castle. Ladislaus gaily sprung out as soon as the chest stopped, thanked it for its trouble, requested it to return his thanks also to the good-natured old lady, began to roam about exploring the rooms, and soon met his sister. "Ah! brother," said the lady, "how came you hither, where scarcely a bird can find its way?" "I am come to deliver you," said Ladislaus. "I am in the power of a six-headed dragon," answered she; "if he finds you, you are lost." "I will fight him," replied Ladislaus, "only shew me the armory, that I may get a weapon." The sister obeyed, and while Ladislaus was choosing among the swords and the other weapons, he suddenly found a phial with a label, on which was written " dragon's strength;" he seized it, and drank the contents to the last drop. He had scarcely set the phial down again, when he heard a frightful noise. "The dragon is coming home," cried the princess, "he flings his club from ten miles distance against the "door, which springs open, and thus he announces his arrival." She had scarcely finished the last words, when the dragon stood before them. Man," cried he angrily, "what is your business here!" "To "fight with you," said Ladislaus. "I must first see," said the dragon, "whether you are worthy to measure your strength against mine." He nodded to the princess, who brought and placed before them a loaf of stone, and a knife of wood. The dragon took both, and cut himself a slice off the loaf, and then handed them to Ladislaus, who constantly cut the loaf through the middle. The six-headed dragon stared at him with his twelve eyes, and said, "I will let you fight with "me." They struggled together on the iron pavement. Ladislaus seized the dragon, and threw him so heavy a fall on the ground, that he sank upon his knees in the iron: but the dragon sprung up again, "You and in his turn threw Ladislaus up to his hips in the pavement; he got out again, however, and dashed the dragon down so forcibly, that only his six heads remained above the iron flags, when Ladislaus seized the opportunity, and sliced them all off in a moment. "have delivered me," said the princess, "from the dragon; but how "are we to get over the bridge?" "O, I'll manage that," said Ladislaus; and immediately dug up the dragon, stripped off his skin, and spread it over the bridge: the razor-blades cut it through just as Ladislaus and his sister had got safe over. There stood the old woman, who took the princess by the arm, and said, "I will take you to your father; "but you, Ladislaus, go to my brother the smith, and he will give "you further help." Iron Ladislaus again went forward, and came to a smithy, which was made entirely of steel, as was also the smith himself. "Good "morning, Ladislaus," cried the smith; "my sister has already told me what you want; I will assist you were you indeed of iron, as "the people say, it would not be sufficient for your task; I will "harden you, and temper you like steel." Iron Ladislaus went into his smithy, and was soon made as hard as steel. Joyfully did he now go forward on his way to the golden castle, which shone brightly from afar. When he came nearer, he saw that it was never still, but waddled about with great vivacity upon duck's feet. Iron Ladislaus laid hold of one of the feet so tight, that the castle could not stir; and with his other hand he tore open the gate and entered. The nine-headed dragon came now to meet him, and said: "Thou art a strong lad, I will fight with thee; do thou be an “iron-wheel, and I will be a paper-wheel, and let us run down, one against the other, from these two opposite mountains."-" No,” answered Ladislaus, "do thou be the iron-wheel, and I will be the paper one," and so it was settled. The two wheels ran one against the other, the iron one fell, and lost a spoke; this spoke was one of the dragon's heads. Then said the dragon, "Now let us fight as "flames; do thou be the red flame, and I will be the white flame.""No," said Ladislaus, "I will be the white flame, do thou be the "red," and so it was settled. While the two flames were thus fighting, one with the other, the water-raven flew over them. The dragon cried aloud, "Water-raven! water-raven! pour one drop upon the "blue flame, and I will give you a head." This irritated Ladislaus so much, that he cried out, "Water-raven! water-raven! pour one drop 66 upon the red flame, and I will give you nine heads." The waterraven, who was quite calculator enough, in fact he was a sort of Joseph Hume among his tribe, to discover that nine heads would go further than one, complied with Iron Ladislaus's wish, and the red flame by degrees became extinguished. Ladislaus gave the waterraven the dragon's nine heads, took his sister, brought her to the steel-smith, and intreated him to convey her to her father. This the smith promised, and Iron Ladislaus went forward to seek for his third sister. Many days had passed by when Ladislaus came to a burning rick of hay, in which was a serpent, who cried out in a voice of lamentation," Help me, I will be grateful." Iron Ladislaus stepped into the flames, and snatched the serpent out: The serpent then said, "I am the daughter of the serpent-king; come with me to his "castle, he will recompense you for rescuing me." When they came to the castle, the princess said, "Whatever my father may offer you, "do not accept it; but ask for the ugliest horse, the rustiest sword, and "the dirtiest shirt in the serpent-town, and you will not repent;" and after these words, she led him to her father. When the serpent-king had been made acquainted with the danger and deliverance of his daughter, he offered Ladislaus gold, and silver, and jewels, and even the arts of magic. But Ladislaus answered: "All this I do not want, only give me the ugliest horse, the rustiest sword, and the dirtiest "shirt in the serpent-castle." The king stared, as if stupified, for a moment; then said, "This wish thou hast learned from my daughter, "nevertheless be it so!" Hereupon the three gifts were brought in, and the daughter of the serpent-king said to Iron Ladislaus: "Thou "hast done well to follow my advice; this horse is a salamander, the "sword will overcome every enemy so long as it is not polished, the "shirt will make thee invulnerable so long as it never touches water; "make good use of these gifts, and thou shalt attain thy object." Iron Ladislaus departed to the castle of the twelve-headed dragon, who had imprisoned his youngest sister. When he arrived, the dragon was not at home. The sister came to him weeping, and said, 66 Fly, my brother, or you are lost, like me and thy "brothers. See what a horrible fate hath overtaken me; our brothers "are hanging in the chimney, and I am obliged every day to make a "fire, and help to smoke them." "My sword will deliver you," answered Ladislaus. "No!" sobbed the princess, "might cannot "deliver us, the wife of the twelve-headed dragon is a witch; she has "made a spell, so that we are lost to all eternity, if any one fights "with the twelve-headed dragon on our account. You must pur"chase us from the dragon." "That I will readily do," replied Ladislaus. Thereupon rode up to the castle, in full state, the twelveheaded dragon with his wife. As he got out of his coach, Iron Ladislaus said to him, "My lord! sell me the princes and this lady." The dragon's wife answered, "Thou art Iron Ladislaus, give us the rusty "sword which hangs at your side, and the shirt which you wear, and you shall receive what you wish." Iron Ladislaus replied, “You have "asked me for two things of very high value, but they are not too "much to give in exchange for my sister;" and so saying, he drew the sword from his side, took off the shirt from his armour, and gave them to the twelve-headed dragon. Scarcely had the monster received them, than he cried out scornfully, smiling, "Thou fool, thou hast parted "with thy two best defences, now must thou die.”—“ If it must "be so," replied Ladislaus, " at any rate let me go and take leave of "my horse." The dragon granted his request. Iron Ladislaus came into the stable; he said mournfully to his horse," Do'st thou "know what has happened to me?"-"Yes," answered the horse; 66 "the dragon has done unwisely not to ask for me as the price of thy sister; if he had, thou wouldest have been, indeed, lost; as it "is, I can yet help thee. Intreat the dragon when he has killed "thee, to bind thy body upon my back, and leave the rest to me." Iron Ladislaus returned, and besought the dragon as the horse had advised him. "This trick wont serve you," said the dragon, and cut him into small pieces, perhaps as many as a hundred; put them altogether in a cloth, and tied them on the horse's back, which immediately galloped off, as if driven by a storm. The serpent-king was heard a rushing. He said to his daughter, Something unkindly has befallen Iron Ladislaus, for the salamander "is returning quite in a fury." The king, therefore, ordered a large fire to be lighted before his castle. The salamander leaped into it, and swallowed up the flames. This cooled him considerably, and he remained standing in the court-yard. "I bring you back my cut"up lord," was all he said. The serpent-king laid the separate pieces carefully together, and sent an order to all his subjects to fetch him medicinal herbs. When the serpents had returned with their findings, he boiled the herbs, and washed Ladislaus with them, and he immediately awoke upon the same place, seven times more beautiful than he was before; and as it happened, owing to the swiftness of the journey, his right shoulder had fallen off, the serpentking made him a new one of gold and ivory. 66 66 Once more then departed Iron Ladislaus to deliver his sister and brothers. When he came to the castle of the twelve-headed dragon, he changed himself into a horse, and ran into the castleyard. The dragon's wife was very certain that the horse was a magician; but that it was Iron Ladislaus, she did not know. She called to her husband, and said, "I shall die, unless I have that "horse's liver to eat." The dragon nodded, and immediately the horse was taken for the purpose of being killed. The princess happened to pass by, and said, "I am sorry, beautiful horse, that "they are going to kill you." "If," said the horse, whispering, "you are truly sorry for me, take the earth upon which the first two "drops of blood shall fall, when they kill me, and throw it into the dragon's garden." The princess did as she was desired, and the next morning there stood a tree with golden apples upon it. The wife of the twelve-headed dragon called her husband, and began: "I must die, if my breakfast this morning is not cooked "with the wood off this tree." The dragon nodded, and his servants departed to cut down the tree. The princess was passing by, and said: "Beautiful tree, I am very sorry they are going to cut "thee down." "If," said the tree, "you are truly sorry, take the "first two splinters that fall from me, and throw them into the "dragon's pond." The princess did so, and the next morning a most wonderful gold fish was swimming in the pond. The wife of the twelve-headed dragon called to her husband, and began: "I must "die, if I do not have that gold fish in my chamber." The dragon wished to oblige his wife, but he could not think how to catch the |