The legend of the Wawel Dragon

Once upon a time in cave at the bottom of Wawel Hill there live a terrible dragon. None of the inhabitants of Krakow, from the poorest beggar to majesty King Krak, knew when the beast had appeared. All the people living in the city were scared, and said there was no way and no weapon to kill the best.

As the days passed the monster got bigger and bigger. Every day he demand sheep, cows, horses. It destroyed fields, crops and cottages with the flames from its jaws. Wise King Krak thought long and hard and decided to send heralds far and wide to announce the following decree.

„The man who can kill this terrible dragon can marry my daughter and I will give him half of my kingdom.”

Many brave and valiant knights came to Krakow to defeat the monster. Swords and arrows broke on its body. Nobody was able to kill the beast or even drive it away.

More and more people began to desert the city. Until the young man, a shoemaker, who nobody knew, knocked on the gates of the town. The guards led him to the castle of King Krak.

„Your Majesty I know how to defeat the dreadful dragon” said the boy. How do you want to do that” Krak asked. „Many knights have tried to kill the beast but none has succeeded”.

„ I know, I am a poor shoemaker, but please put your trust in me. I only need lambskin, some sulphur and tar”. King thought for a short time, but when the boy explained his plan he accepted it.

At the long night a candle burn in the shoemaker’s room. He took the lamp skin, filled it with sulphur and tar, and sewed up the hole in the belly of the sheep. At sunrise the shoemaker threw the lamp in front of the cave, hid himself and waited to see what would happen. The monster woke up. „I am hungry, it is time to get up” said dragon and went out of the cave. „What a tasty breakfast” he exclaimed, when he saw the lamb which the shoemaker had prepared, and one snap of his jaws swallowed it whole.

The sulphur began to burn inside the monster’s belly. He run to the bank of the River Vistula, and drank and drank the water. The more it drank, the more it felt the flames in its belly, which swelled up like a balloon. And suddenly …. bang, the dragon exploded.

Great was the joy of the inhabitants of the town, when the dragon’s death. The shoemaker did not want the princess for his wife and kingdom . He continued to make shoes in his cottage

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