The Dragon and the Prince (Serbian folktale)
"The Dragon and the Prince" is a Serbian folktale that explores themes of bravery, deception, and familial loyalty. The narrative follows an emperor's three sons who embark on separate hunting expeditions, with the first two being devoured by a cunning dragon that disguises itself as a hare. The youngest son, however, avoids the trap and seeks the wisdom of an old woman, learning that the dragon's power is linked to a series of transformations involving a lake dragon, a wild boar, and a pigeon. Determined to rescue his brothers, he disguises himself as a shepherd and confronts the dragon multiple times, ultimately enlisting the help of the emperor's daughter to gain the strength needed to defeat the creature.
The tale is rich in motifs common in folklore, such as the number three and shape-shifting, and it subverts typical narratives by focusing on the prince's quest to save his brothers rather than a romantic pursuit. The story concludes with the prince marrying the emperor's daughter and successfully rescuing his brothers, illustrating themes of redemption and reward for bravery. This folktale is significant in its reflection of cultural values and the archetypical battle between good and evil, and it contributes to the broader tradition of dragon myths found in various cultures.
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The Dragon and the Prince (Serbian folktale)
Author: Traditional
Time Period: 1851 CE–1900 CE
Country or Culture: Serbia
Genre: Folktale
PLOT SUMMARY
The emperor’s eldest son goes out hunting one day and encounters a hare. He pursues the animal into a water mill, where it reveals itself to be a dragon and devours him. Then, the middle son goes hunting, and he too sees a hare spring from a bush. He pursues the hare to the same water mill and is also devoured by the dragon inside.
When the third and youngest son goes hunting, he also pursues the hare to the water mill but does not chase it inside. He continues hunting for other game and eventually returns to the water mill, where he finds an old woman. When he asks about the hare, the old woman explains that it is actually a dragon. The prince realizes that the dragon is responsible for the disappearance of his brothers, and he asks the old woman to help him find the source of the dragon’s strength so that he can defeat the beast. The old woman agrees, and the prince returns to the palace.
When the dragon returns, the old woman asks him where he gets his strength. After lying twice, he explains that his strength resides in the neighboring empire, inside a dragon that lives in a lake. Inside the dragon is a boar, inside the boar is a pigeon, and inside the pigeon lies his power. The next day, the old woman tells the prince all she has learned, and the prince sets out to find the lake.
After traveling to the neighboring empire, the prince disguises himself as a shepherd and asks the emperor for work. The emperor tasks him with caring for the sheep in the pasture by the edge of the lake but warns him that every shepherd who ventured too close to the lake never returned. The prince gathers the sheep and takes with him two hounds that can catch a boar and a falcon that can catch a pigeon. When the prince arrives at the lake, he calls out a challenge to the dragon. The two battle until late into the day but stop when the dragon becomes too hot. The prince says that he could go on fighting if the emperor’s daughter kissed him on the forehead, and the dragon retreats into the lake.
The townspeople are astonished when the prince returns from the lake, for no shepherd has survived the dragon before. The next day, he returns to the lake, and this time, the emperor sends two men to spy on him and report on how he handles the dragon. Again, they battle but stop when the dragon becomes too hot. The prince repeats that he could go on fighting if the emperor’s daughter kissed him. The two men tell the emperor what happened, and he instructs his daughter to go with the prince the following day.
The prince again returns to the lake, this time accompanied by the emperor’s daughter. The dragon fights the prince again, and when they both become too tired to go on, the emperor’s daughter kisses the prince, giving him the strength to smash the dragon into pieces. When he does so, a wild boar runs out. The prince’s hounds overtake the boar and tear it apart. A pigeon flies out of the boar’s remains, and the prince’s falcon overtakes the bird and returns it to the prince. The prince demands to know where his brothers are, and the pigeon tells him that they are locked in a vault inside the water mill.
The prince marries the emperor’s daughter and is supplied with a large escort back to his father’s empire. The caravan stops at the water mill, and the prince opens the vault. His brothers emerge, along with a multitude of people. Together, they return to their father’s palace, where they live happily for many years.
SIGNIFICANCE
The tale of the dragon and the prince originated in Serbia and was introduced to English-speaking audiences by English scholar Albert Henry Wratislaw, who included the story in his 1890 collection Sixty Folk-Tales from Exclusively Slavonic Sources. The story includes several classic motifs common to folktales and fairy tales, including a dragon, the repetition of the number three, and a prince who is rewarded with a bride for his good deeds.
Dragons appear frequently in fairy tales and myths throughout the world. In many Asian cultures, dragons are often described as benign creatures. In European folklore, on the other hand, dragons are typically depicted as malevolent creatures that manipulate and feast on humans. In the Serbian tale of the dragon and the prince, the dragon enjoys tricking and imprisoning hunters and lying to the old woman when she asks about the source of his strength.
The number three is used frequently in folktales and fairy tales and is also a sacred number in many religions; for example, Christianity features the Holy Trinity, while Hinduism features a triad known as the Trimūrti. The motif of the recurring use of the number is commonly known as the “rule of three.” In this tale, the emperor has three sons, the prince faces the dragon in the lake three times, and the first dragon’s power is hidden within three shells: the lake dragon, the boar, and the pigeon.
Often in fairy tales, a prince sets out to rescue a damsel in distress and claim her as his bride. The tale of the dragon and the prince, however, presents a slight deviation on this motif. Rather than seeking to rescue a woman, the prince sets out to rescue his two brothers. He does marry the princess at the end of the story, but she is instead given to him as a reward for slaying the lake dragon. The princess even seems disinterested in the prince at first and only begrudgingly accompanies him to the lake at the will of her father.
The dragon at the water mill is able to transform himself into a hare in order to trick the first two princes into a trap. Transformation, or shape-shifting, occurs frequently in myths and fairy tales throughout the world. Typically this fantastic trick is used to escape harm or to break some kind of curse. One motif within shape-shifting is the transformation chase, in which a person or creature shape-shifts several times while being chased in an attempt to escape. The dragon plays with this motif, transforming himself into a hare specifically so that the princes will chase after him. In this way, the Serbian tale of the dragon and the prince modifies and subverts the traditional fairy-tale narrative.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Bottigheimer, Ruth B. Fairy Tales: A New History. New York: State U of New York P, 2009. Print.
Falkayn, David, ed. Serbian Fairy Tales. Havertown: Athena, 2004. Print.
Lüthi, Max. The European Folktale: Form and Nature. Indiana: Indiana UP, 1986. Print.
Wratislaw, Albert Henry, trans. “The Dragon and the Prince.” Sixty Folk-Tales from Exclusively Slavonic Sources. London, 1889. 224–30. Print.