Legend of the Dragon

Wawel dragonIn Krakow, the Wawel Castle, at the foot of the cave is a dragon, from time to time, breathes fire, but you need not fear it - the dragon can not move, nor do you harm - it's just a sculpture, but it resembles a real Wawel Dragon, which long, long ago lived cavity below the castle on Wawel Hill, where you'll be in Krakow, be sure to go to the Wawel Castle, see the beautiful Royal Castle and Wawel Cathedral, and then go to the dragon's Den - see the reign of King Krak, the founder of Krakow castle lived a dragon, uninvited guest, who came here no one knows when, and increasingly turned to horror and dismay among the subjects of Krak ...

King Krak was a good king, well liked by the townspeople, made sure that the city grew, and its inhabitants lived prosperous - so it was, but for some time could be heard in the town below the castle, more and more complaints, people were afraid to drive out the cattle to fertile meadows around the Vistula, which move someone shouted that killed his cow, sheep, or ram. Something, maybe someone was spreading havoc in flocks, poor people, afraid of the unknown enemy, who insisted that disrupt their lives. Many started growing louder to complain of the king, the voices of those were more and more, and finally could be heard also on the Wawel Hill.

One of the daughters of the king, who was often on the Main Square and hear what they say and florists reported kramarki father that something bad is happening in the city - should do something about it, because people are willing to agitate against niemu.Krak was a wise king , just and reasonable - he had no intention to ignore the voice of his people, sent to the city of his courtiers, and those returning to the castle confirmed everything she said before the king's daughter. People clearly afraid of something, some thought that he who steals a sheep from pasture sneaks up on them from the castle.

This is all the more impressed the king - the matter was serious, Krak decided to send his guards in the vicinity of Wawel - they had to hide under the hill in a

grove, and for everything that happens, especially in the morning, keep an eye, a few days longer so devoted themselves to watch, and nothing disturbing did

not notice, and finally one day in the morning, almost anything in the night began to rustle through the trees, like creep, like a walk, and stąpnięcia these were

becoming clearer and heavier, the king's guards quietly approached the place where something has happened ... and quickly to repent, what appeared before

their eyes was terrifying, in front of you saw the great feet, and on them set squat, great body of the dragon, fortunately, the darkness did not see his awful head, but I knew where the dragon is to face, with this site could be seen, for

shooting streams of fire, crept stealthily near the terrible beasts and quickly, as fast as my legs had fled to the Wawel Hill, to the castle, into the presence of the king. King Krak had given them permission to view before him at any time of day or night, when they see something that disturbs them - now and guards, and the king knew very well - they have a very difficult enemy to overcome, so far heard

about dragons only in the stories and the stories themselves made the knight mężnemu sometimes even hair bristled with horror on the head ... Now the horrid reptile sneaked in just before the royal seat and do deal with such a

distinguished neighborhood is not doing - with impunity steal and eat the sheep, worse , so daring, that he began to kidnap the young girls.

There was nothing - only the dragon challenge to a duel! Who had done this, however? Who could show such audacity? Daughter of the king surrendered Krak idea - the king agreed and sent him with the information to the flagella of neighboring kingdoms, as informed? He pledged to give the hand of his daughter this audacious scheme to defeat the dragon!

Increasingly crowded Cracow knights began to arrive, and among them were the sons of the king, seeing no one but the dragon did not dare to even move in his direction, the king had begun to lose hope that the ever dragon is defeated, but fortunately he was wrong. Failed to recognize the different weapons - cunning and stratagem, which show off the Cracow cobbler, Szewczyk Dratewka called. He had neither armor nor beautiful horse, nor a knight, or saber, but he believed in himself and his judgment. Szewczyk thought that the stupid, mindless beast can not be stronger than human thought and ... invented the way to the dragon.

He won the sheepskin, stuffed it with sulfur, placed on artificial legs, and so cleverly done it all, that the illusion of a live ram was like ... It was not long to wait for the dragon, which lured a view of a fat ram and threw him on the spot to eat. It was his end - the beast began to burn sulfur and inside was a real fire, time after time zionął fire, he ran towards the Vistula, drank, drank, drank - some say that he drank water as the Vistula up for seven years, inflated like a balloon , was becoming a bigger and bigger, finally - broke, and thus freed Krakow from each other!

Dratewka ... And, as promised a royal princess married and lived happily ever after.

The End

The Authors:Magdalena MuchaMichał Kukla

Rafał Kosturkiewicz