nster's lower jaw. Then
quick as lightning he sprang from his horse before the Dragon had time
to shut his mouth. A fearful clap like thunder, which could be heard for
miles around, now warned him that the Dragon's jaws had closed upon
the spear. When the youth turned round he saw the point of the spear
sticking up high above the Dragon's upper jaw, and knew that the other
end must be fastened firmly to the ground; but the Dragon had got his
teeth fixed in the iron horse, which was now useless. The youth now
hastened to fasten down the chains to the ground by means of the
enormous iron pegs which he had provided. The death struggle of the
monster lasted three days and three nights; in his writhing he beat his
tail so violently against the ground, that at ten miles' distance the
earth trembled as if with an earthquake. When he at length lost power to
move his tail, the youth with the help of the ring took up a stone which
twenty ordinary men could not have moved, and beat the Dragon so hard
about the head with it that very soon the monster lay lifeless before
him.

You can fancy how great was the rejoicing when the news was spread
abroad that the terrible monster was dead. His conqueror was received
into the city with as much pomp as if he had been the mightiest of
kings. The old King did not need to urge his daughter to marry the
slayer of the Dragon; he found her already willing to bestow her hand
upon this hero, who had done all alone what whole armies had tried in
vain to do. In a few days a magnificent wedding was celebrated, at which
the rejoicings lasted four whole weeks, for all the neighbouring kings
had met together to thank the man who had freed the world from their
common enemy. But everyone forgot amid the general joy that they ought
to have buried the Dragon's monstrous body, for it began now to have
such a bad smell that no one could live in the neighbourhood, and
before long the whole air was poisoned, and a pestilence broke out
which destroyed many hundreds of people. In this distress, the King's
son-in-law resolved to seek help once more from the Eastern magician, to
whom he at once travelled through the air like a bird by the help of
the ring. But there is a proverb which says that ill-gotten gains never
prosper, and the Prince found that the stolen ring brought him ill-luck
after all. The Witch-maiden had never rested night nor day until she had
found out where the ring was. As soon as she had discove