PART II
THE DRAGON OF THE WELL
Very early upon the following morning the prince, taking his two elder brothers with him, entered the royal garden. A strange sight met their eyes. The body of the genie had turned to blood and was flowing away in a stream.
The young prince, fearing that this boded mischief to the kingdom of his father, determined to follow the course of the stream. After walking for several days the princes found that it came to an end at the mouth of a well.
Now, the well was covered with an immense stone, which the two elder brothers tried in vain to remove. As soon, however, as the youngest had touched it with his finger, they lifted it without difficulty.
This youngest, then, desired to descend at once and kill the dragon. But the eldest detained him, saying, “It is not for thee to do this while I, the eldest, am here.”
So they tied a rope around the waist of the eldest and began to let him down into the well. But he was scarcely inside when he cried: “Alas! I am burning. Pull me out, quickly!” [[22]]
The others drew him out and tied the rope around the second prince’s waist. But he had no more than entered the mouth of the well when he, also, called out. “Alas! I freeze!” were his words. “Pull me up!”
The youngest prince then said to his brothers: “It surely is permitted me to try. But should I cry, ‘I burn!’ or ‘I freeze!’ you shall pay no heed; but hasten the more to let me down.”
The others agreed to this. And when the youth called out that he was burning or freezing, they gave out more rope. After some time the bottom was reached by the brave young prince, who freed himself from the rope and began to walk through a long hall which stretched before him.