POVESTE POLONEZA

BOIANGIU IOANA

III B SCOALA GIMN SF APOSTOL ANDREI BUZAU

Once upon a time, there was a fortified city, built by Prince Krakus, which sat on Wawel hill. Its inhabitants were prosperous and lived very happy lives.

One night a dragon flew over the hill. With its huge translucent wings spread open, cast against the moon's golden crescent, the dragon was a huge and ominous sight.

"So this must be the land of milk and honey which the witches of Bald Mountain raved about! Wonderful! I will wreak havoc here!" he roared with laughter and snored a torrent of fire.

As he circled in the air above the hill, he spotted at its foot the entrance to a deep cave, wherein he settled down, and from there he prowled, pillaging and plundering surrounding fields and pastures.

A week had not gone by, when the city dwellers were overcome with despair.

How to protect themselves and their herds from this voracious dragon? In the prince's court, the subjects began to file in with complaints, beseeching his help.

"O wise Prince!" Jack the shepherd cried when he found himself before his Lord. "Last night all my sheep were killed; all twelve of them have been devoured!"

"This gluttonous beast grabbed my oxen and horses. I barely escaped with my own life!" whimpered Boris the yeoman.

Day upon day the laments and pleas for help grew.

Eventually Prince Krakus summoned Vladimir, the bravest and strongest of his knights, and ordered him:

"Vladimir, take my faithful troops and defeat the dragon once and for all!"

When Vladimir, with a detachment of heavily armored knights arrived near the cave's mouth, the beast was asleep. But neither the dull thud of horses' hooves nor the knights' war song woke the dragon. Vladimir dismounted his horse, entered the cave and shouted:

"O evil dragon! On behalf of Prince Krakus, I command you to cease harassing the inhabitants of our city and to return from whence you came!"

At these words the dragon woke up and crawled out of the cave. He leered at them first with one eye, and then with the other one, and roared:

"I am a fire-breathing dragon, reared by the witches of Bald Mountain! Do I hear well? Does Krakus dare to order me?"

And he laughed frightfully, spitting flames and releasing plumes of smoke.

And thus the battle began, Vladimir's soldiers stood bravely against the beast, but the forces were unequal. Their swords broke on the dragon's thick slimy scales which were harder than steel. Under the terrible swings of the reptilian tail, their shields were pummeled and the armor pounded. Rivers of fire from the dragon's mouth burnt the valiant knights and one by one they collapsed in agony.

When only Vladimir remained on the battlefield, the dragon said to him:

"I devoured so many calves, sheep and oxen that I've had enough of cattle meat. I feel like having a fresh young lady from Krakus' stronghold.

I heard that the prince has a beautiful young daughter. I reckon that she must taste delicious. Now bring this message to your master."

Vladimir, who had been stripped in battle of his horse and weapons, and who had suffered many wounds, returned and repealed to his Lord the threat uttered by the evil dragon. Prince Krakus was terrified, because he loved his daughter more than anyone. All night he mulled over how to get rid of the fire-breathing monster.

In the morning he sent messengers to the far corners of his principality with this decree:

"Our gracious ruler Prince Krakus proclaims that he will give his daughter, Princess Anna, in marriage to the man who delivers the entire city and principality from the dragon that brings death and wages terror upon us all."10

A great multitude of knights answered the challenge. Nobody knows how many survived the clash with the beast. But the dragon became more and more angry and now constantly demanded Krakus'daughter. The hideous roar of the monster wan an oppressive source of terror; the inhabitants of the city shuddered in fear and apprehension.

Meanwhile, at the foot of the hill lived a poor shoemaker, known as Jacob. He was not a knight and so was not permitted to wield a sword, but he was clever, resourceful and brave. For some time he racked his brains in search of a way to free the land from the monster.

One morning, he went to the court, stood before the prince and said:

"Gracious Prince, I know how to get rid of the dragon! I just need to find the fattest ram in the principality, a barrel full of sulfur and some strong twine."

Prince Krakus, who had almost lost hope, was ready to accept any help. He agreed to the proposal, although he doubted that the shoemaker would succeed where even the bravest of knights had failed.

All night Jacob worked in his shop by candlelight, and at dawn placed a fat ram in front of the dragon's cave. But only Prince Krakus and Jacob knew that it was merely a woolly fleece stuffed with sulfur and set on wooden legs.

When the dragon came out of the pit and saw the ram, he roared furiously:

"Krakus, what is this? I want your daughter!"

But when he saw how big and fat the animal was, he unfurled his red forked tongue, licked his lips and added:

"But this plump ram would be an ideal starter before the main course!"

And in a single bite he devoured the bait. At the same instant the dragon felt as if his guts were consumed by fire. The sulfur, which was stuffed within the ram, burned his bowels,

Thinking that water would extinguish his internal fire, the dragon rushed to the shore of the Vistula River, dipped his head in and began to drink greedily. He drank and drank, his stomach swelling like a balloon. The dragon kept on drinking, but he could not hold anymore water, so much so that he finally burst with a thunderous explosion.

The good tidings spread like wildfire and a great joy filled Prince Krakus's city.

Everybody rushed to follow the prince and his daughter to the banks of the Vistula, to see for themselves the body of the terrible reptilian creature.

"Long life Prince Krakus!" cried the crowd cheering jubilantly.

The prince Stood proudly at the entrance of the dragon's lair, silenced the crowd with an imperious sweep of his hand and declared in a loud voice:

"Behold! Here is our savior, Jacob the shoemaker. Not by force, but with wit and ingenuity, he has defeated the dragon!"

Then , he clasped Princess Anna's hand, and put it in the hand of the brave shoemaker, and thus joining them, announced:

"Here, in the presence of all assembled, I give Princess Anna's hand in marriage to our brave shoemaker, Jacob."

To the accompaniment of the cheers of the people, the young couple respectfully knelt before the prince in gratitude.

Legend has it that they lived happily ever after, and were blessed with many children.