The lad, taking leave of the old woman, climbed up the mountain till he came to the nest of the eagle. Taking refuge under a rock, he set himself to watch. Soon a gigantic dragon came creeping up toward the young birds, and was just devouring them, when the lad drew his sword of lightning, and cutting the dragon into pieces, gave its flesh to the young eaglets, which began to eat it and to chirp merrily. The mother-eagle hearing the voice of her young ones, hastened to the spot as swiftly as a flash, and thinking that it was the lad that devoured her young ones every year, and that he had come now to destroy them, was about to tear him into pieces when her young ones cried out:
“Take care, mother! it was that noble lad that saved us from the dragon, and killing it gave its flesh to us to eat.”
“Now, noble youth!” said the eagle to the lad, “what do you want me to do as a reward for your heroic deed?”
“Nothing,” answered the lad, “but to take me to the upper world upon your wings.”
“You are requesting the hardest thing in the world,” answered the eagle; “but for such a brave hero as you I will do anything, even sacrifice my life if necessary. Go bring me forty bottles of wine and forty sheep’s tails, and I will do as you request.”
Now let us return for a moment to the maiden who was saved from being devoured by the dragon. She came to her father, who was very angry at seeing her.
“You little rogue!” he said, “you want to save your life, and never care that so many thousands of people are dying of thirst. Go quickly! let the dragon devour you, that we may have water.” The maiden told him how a brave hero saved her by killing the monster, and how the fountain was flowing in torrents to quench the thirst of all the people. Upon this the Prince sent heralds to proclaim that the man who had saved his daughter’s life must come to him; he should not only be the son-in-law of the Prince by marrying the maiden whom he had saved, but the Prince was ready to bestow upon him any gift which he might ask. Thousands of young men appeared before the Prince’s palace, every one of them claiming the credit of killing the dragon and saving the princess, but the maiden said, “No, none of these is the hero.”
The people of the town came before the Princess, but the hero was not to be found.
“Is there no other man left in the town?” asked the Prince.