Short Story "The Deluded Dragon"

Dahulu kala, ada seorang lelaki tua yang memiliki keluarga besar, terlalu besar untuk memberi makan dan pakaian dan rumah. Dia tinggal bersama istri dan banyak anak-anak mereka jauh di tengah hutan, bersembunyi di gubuk kecil, tidak lebih dari sebuah lubang di tanah dengan atap cabang.

Suatu hari orang tua miskin meminta istrinya untuk membuatnya kue madu untuk makan malam dan kemudian berangkat untuk menemukan beberapa pekerjaan dan membuat sedikit uang untuk membeli makanan. Dia berjalan sepanjang pagi hingga sampai ke sebuah sumur. Selain baik ada sebuah batu besar yang berfungsi sebagai meja bagi wisatawan.

Orang tua duduk di samping batu dan ditempatkan kue madu di atasnya, berpikir dia akan makan kue setelah ia beristirahat sedikit. Segera, ia tertidur pulas. Sementara ia tidur burung turun dan melahap kue madu, dan ketika ia terbangun lalat sedang menyelesaikan remah-remah.

"Tinggalkan apa-apa," serunya saat melihat lalat. Dengan cepat, ia membawa tangannya di atas batu menewaskan lima puluh dari penyiksanya dengan satu pukulan. Bangga prestasi ini, ia mengambil tongkat terbakar dan menulis di meja batu bahwa ia telah membunuh lima puluh jiwa hanya dengan satu pukulan. Kemudian, masih lelah dan lapar, ia meletakkan kepalanya ke bawah dan kembali tidur siangnya.

Sementara orang tua tidur, naga datang ke sumur untuk minum. Ketika ia melihat orang itu tidur di sana, naga merayap lebih dekat. Membaca apa yang ditulis di batu, naga melangkah kembali ketakutan. Merasa tanah bergetar, orang tua terbangun dan melihat naga. Kemudian orang itu ketakutan, sehingga ia dan naga hanya duduk di sana, menatap satu sama lain.

Masing-masing adalah begitu takut lain yang bersama-sama mereka bersumpah persaudaraan. Mereka akan menjadi teman tidak peduli apa yang terjadi, dan tak satu pun akan membahayakan lainnya. Naga kemudian mengundang orang tua ke istananya untuk makan dengan dia dan istrinya. Sebagai orang tua berjalan menyusuri jalan hutan, naga diikuti. Setiap kali naga dihembuskan, napasnya mendorong orang tua ke depan, dan setiap kali naga dihirup ia menarik mundur orang tua.

Naga itu bingung dengan perilaku ini. "Saudaraku, kenapa kau berjalan berlari ke depan dan kemudian berjalan mundur?"

Orang tua itu menjawab, "Saudara, ketika saya pikir saya mungkin membunuhmu, aku lari ke belakang, tapi ketika aku ingat sumpah kami, saya berjalan ke depan. Mungkin Anda harus berjalan di depan, jadi saya bisa menjaga mata saya pada Anda dan ingat janjiku untuk menjadi saudaramu. "

Naga takut bahwa orang tua mungkin membunuhnya, sehingga ia menjawab, "Saya akan dengan senang hati berjalan di depan Anda."

Segera, mereka datang ke sebuah pohon ceri diisi dengan ripest, paling lezat mencicipi ceri. Naga terbang ke cabang-cabang atas dan mulai makan. Dia menatap orang tua dan berkata, "Saudaraku, datang ke sini. Semakin dekat mereka ke matahari, manis mereka rasa. "

"Tidak, terima kasih. Aku bisa mencapai cabang-cabang yang lebih rendah di mana burung-burung tidak mematuk segala jus seperti yang mereka lakukan lebih lanjut atas pohon. "

Naga memegang cabang besar yang dipenuhi dengan ceri dan membungkuk ke bawah sehingga menyentuh tanah. "Di sini saudara, ini adalah ceri terbaik dari semua. Memegang cabang ini. "

Orang tua menangkap memegang cabang dan naga melepaskan. Cabang tersentak kembali seperti ketapel dan orang tua mengira lengannya mungkin merobek keluar dari rongganya. Saat ia mengikuti cabang, orang tua memutuskan untuk membiarkan pergi dan ia terbang melalui udara seperti burung. Ketika ia mendarat, ia jatuh pada kelinci miskin dan membunuhnya.

Naga terkejut melihat orang tua tersentak melalui udara dan kemudian jatuh ke tanah. "Apakah cabang terlalu kuat untuk Anda, teman saya?"

"Dengan tidak berarti," jawab pria tua. "Saya melihat seekor kelinci di sini dan memutuskan untuk menangkapnya, dan begitu aku punya." Dia mengangkat kelinci untuk naga untuk melihat.

Naga terkesan. Ia berpikir, "Aku akan lebih berhati-hati. Orang tua sangat pintar. "

Ketika mereka sampai di istana naga, orang tua membungkuk kepada istri naga dan disajikan dengan kelinci. Dia pikir akan menyenangkan untuk memiliki sup malam itu untuk makan malam.

Naga meminta orang tua untuk mengambil kendi, turun ke sumur, dan membawa kembali air untuk rebusan. Orang tua itu mengambil satu melihat

naga berukuran pitcher dan tahu ia tidak bisa mengangkatnya sementara itu kosong, apalagi diisi dengan air. Dia meminta naga untuk sekop.

"Mengapa Anda perlu sekop untuk membawa kembali air?" Tanya naga.

"Aku akan menggali sekitar sumur dan membawa semuanya kembali kepada Anda di punggungku. Maka kita tidak akan harus pergi ke sumur untuk beberapa hari. "

Naga terkejut. "Tidak, saudara, yang tidak akan melakukannya sama sekali. Ketika sumur kering, kita semua akan mati kehausan. "

"Maafkan aku, Brother. Yang baik seluruh dengan baik atau tidak, "teriak pria tua itu.

"Aku akan mengambil air sendiri," kata naga. "Kenapa kau tidak pergi ke hutan dan membawa kembali pohon ek yang bagus untuk api."

Orang tua berjalan ke hutan dan mulai membuat tali kulit. Dia melingkarkan sekitar dan di sekitar pepohonan. Naga datang mencari tamu dan menemukan dia mengikat grove bersama-sama.

"Apa yang kau lakukan?" Tanya naga.

"Aku tidak akan membuang-buang waktu saya dengan hanya satu pohon, jadi saya memutuskan aku akan membawa ini seluruh grove ke istana. Dengan cara ini Anda dan istri Anda akan memiliki kayu bakar selama berminggu-minggu. "

"Tidak, Bruder, silakan tinggalkan hutan saya seperti itu."

"Semua atau tidak," kata orang tua, sehingga naga menarik pohon sampai ke akar-akarnya dan membawanya kembali ke istana sendiri.

Malam itu, orang tua, naga, dan istrinya menikmati makan malam mereka, berbicara beberapa saat, dan akhirnya berkata selamat malam. Setelah naga itu pergi tidur, orang tua merayap keluar dari kamarnya dan mendengarkan di pintu naga saat ia dan istrinya sedang berbicara.

"Aku benar-benar takut bahwa orang tua akan melupakan sumpahnya dan membunuh kami berdua saat kita tidur," kata naga.

"Kenapa kau tidak mengambil klub besar Anda dan memukul kepalanya saat dia tidur? Kemudian Anda bisa melupakan tentang menjadi takut. "

Mendengar ini, orang tua bergegas kembali ke kamarnya di mana ia mengambil log dan hati-hati berpakaian dalam pakaian tidur dan menarik selimut di atasnya. Lalu, ia bersembunyi di lemari. Naga datang dan memukul, mendera, mendera, memukul log dengan klubnya dan kembali tidur.

Di pagi hari, orang tua turun untuk sarapan yang mengejutkan naga dan istrinya. "Saudaraku, aku tidur sangat tadi malam," katanya. "Ada seekor lalat yang terus mendarat di kepalaku."

Sekali lagi, naga gemetar ketakutan. "Bukankah kau seharusnya di perjalanan pulang Anda hari ini?" Katanya.

"Saya keluar untuk mencari keberuntungan saya, dan jika saya kembali tanpa sesuatu untuk menunjukkan untuk perjalanan saya, istri saya akan marah dengan saya."

Naga buru-buru pergi ke kamar harta dan kembali dengan karung besar penuh dengan emas dan permata. "Di sini, Brother, membawa ini ke istri Anda dengan pujian saya."

Orang tua tahu dia tak bisa mengangkat bahwa karung harta karun. "Saudaraku, aku tidak membawa istri Anda kelinci untuk makan malam kita sendiri? Ini akan menjadi kasar bagi Anda untuk tidak membawa ini ke istri saya sendiri. "

"Saya akan senang untuk membawanya ke dia," sahut sang naga cemas.

Naga mengangkat karung telentang dan mereka berjalan pergi ke rumah orang tua itu. Ketika mereka sampai di lapangan, orang itu bertanya naga untuk menunggu di sana, mengatakan bahwa ia harus mengikat anjing dan mempersiapkan keluarganya untuk kunjungan naga. Naga menunggu dengan sabar di samping tas berisi emas dan perhiasan.

Orang tua pergi ke gubuk kecilnya dan memberi masing-masing anak-anaknya pisau dan garpu dan mengatakan kepada mereka apa yang harus dilakukan. Kemudian, dia memanggil naga, "Ayo, teman saya, anjing yang semua diikat."

Naga perlahan-lahan merayap ke pintu dan hanya saat ia hendak membukanya dan berjalan, semua anak berlari keluar melambaikan pisau dan garpu mereka dan berteriak, "Hore! Ayah telah membawa kita naga untuk makan malam kami. Mari kita bunuh dia dan makan dia. "

Naga melemparkan karung harta dan berlari untuk hidupnya, bersumpah tidak pernah datang dekat rumah orang tua itu lagi. Ketika ia sampai ke istana, ia dilarang pintu dan menolak untuk pergi ke luar selama seminggu.

Orang tua itu mengambil uang naga dan membeli rumah baik baru, peternakan, dan baju baru untuk istri dan anak-anak, dan mereka tidak pernah miskin lagi.

Aku benar-benar merasa kasihan naga dalam cerita ini. Orang tua mengingatkan saya Jack di Jack di New Ground Raksasa -mereka harus sepupu.

A long time ago, there was an old man who had a large family, far too large to feed and clothe and house. He lived with his wife and their many children deep in the middle of the forest, sheltered in a small hovel, nothing more than a hole in the ground with a roof of branches.

One day the poor old man asked his wife to make him a honey cake for his dinner and then set off to find some work and make a little money to buy food. He walked all morning until he came to a well. Beside the well there was a large stone that served as a table for travelers.
The old man sat next to the stone and placed his honey cake on it, thinking he would eat the cake after he had rested a bit. Soon, he was fast asleep. While he slept the birds came down and gobbled up his honey cake, and when he woke the flies were finishing the crumbs.

“Leave me nothing,” he cried when he saw the flies. Quickly, he brought his hand down on the stone killing fifty of his tormentors with one blow. Proud of this feat, he took a burnt stick and wrote on the stone table that he had killed fifty souls with just one blow. Then, still tired and hungry, he put his head down and resumed his nap.

While the old man slept, a dragon came to the well for a drink. When he saw the man sleeping there, the dragon crept closer. Reading what was written on the stone, the dragon stepped back in fright. Feeling the ground shake, the old man woke up and saw the dragon. Then the man was frightened, so he and the dragon just sat there, staring at each other.

Each one was so afraid of the other that together they swore an oath of brotherhood. They would be friends no matter what happened, and neither one would harm the other. The dragon then invited the old man to his palace to dine with him and his wife. As the old man walked down the forest path, the dragon followed. Each time the dragon exhaled, his breath pushed the old man forward, and each time the dragon inhaled he pulled the old man backward.

The dragon was perplexed by this behavior. “Brother, why do you walk running forward and then running backward?”

The old man replied, “Brother, when I think I might kill you, I run backward, but when I remember our oath, I run forward. Perhaps you should walk in front, so I can keep my eyes on you and remember my promise to be your brother.”

The dragon was afraid that the old man might kill him, so he replied, “I will gladly walk in front of you.”

Soon, they came to a cherry tree filled with the ripest, most delicious-tasting cherries. The dragon flew up to the top branches and began to eat. He looked down at the old man and said, “Brother, come up here. The nearer they are to the sun, the sweeter they taste.”

“No, thank you. I can reach these lower branches where the birds do not peck away all the juice as they do further up the tree.”

The dragon took hold of a huge branch filled with cherries and bent it down so it touched the ground. “Here brother, these are the best cherries of all. Take hold of this branch.”

The old man caught hold of the branch and the dragon let go. The branch snapped back just like a catapult and the old man thought his arms might be ripped out of their sockets. As he followed the branch, the old man decided to let go and he flew through the air like a bird. When he landed, he fell on a poor rabbit and killed it.

The dragon was surprised to see the old man jerked through the air and then fall to the ground. “Was the branch too strong for you, my friend?”

“By no means,” replied the old man. “I saw a rabbit over here and decided to catch it, and so I have.” He held up the hare for the dragon to see.

The dragon was impressed. He thought to himself, “I’d better be careful. This old man is very clever.”

When they got to the dragon’s palace, the old man bowed to the dragon’s wife and presented her with the hare. She thought it would be wonderful to have a stew that night for supper.

The dragon asked the old man to take a pitcher, go down to the well, and bring back some water for the stew. The old man took one look at the

dragon-sized pitcher and knew he couldn’t lift it while it was empty, let alone filled with water. He asked the dragon for a shovel.

“Why do you need a shovel to bring back the water?” asked the dragon.

“I’m going to dig around the well and bring the whole thing back to you on my back. Then we won’t have to go to the well for several days.”

The dragon was shocked. “No, brother, that won’t do at all. When the well is dry, we’ll all die of thirst.”

“I’m sorry, Brother. Its either the whole well or nothing,” cried the old man.

“I will fetch the water myself,” said the dragon. “Why don’t you go into the forest and bring back a nice oak tree for the fire.”

The old man walked into the forest and began to make a bark rope. He twined it around and around a grove of trees. The dragon came looking for his guest and found him tying the grove together.

“What are you doing?” the dragon asked.

“I’m not going to waste my time with just one tree, so I decided I’d bring this entire grove to the palace. This way you and your wife will have firewood for weeks.”

“No, Brother, please leave my forest as it is.”

“All or none,” said the old man, so the dragon pulled a tree up by its roots and brought it back to the palace himself.

That evening, the old man, the dragon, and his wife enjoyed their supper, talked a while, and finally said goodnight. After the dragon had gone to bed, the old man crept out of his room and listened at the dragon’s door as he and his wife were talking.

“I’m really afraid that this old man will forget his oath and kill us both as we sleep,” said the dragon.

“Why don’t you take your huge club and hit him on the head while he sleeps? Then you can forget about being afraid.”

Hearing this, the old man hurried back to his room where he took a log and carefully dressed it in his nightclothes and pulled the blankets over it. Then, he hid in the closet. The dragon came in and whack, whack, whack, hit the log with his club and went back to sleep.

In the morning, the old man came down to breakfast to the surprise of the dragon and his wife. “Brother, I slept terribly last night,” he said. “There was a fly that kept landing on my head.”

Once again, the dragon shook with fear. “Shouldn’t you be on your way home today?” he said.

“I came out to seek my fortune, and if I return without something to show for my travels, my wife will be upset with me.”

The dragon hurriedly went to his treasure room and came back with an enormous sack filled with gold and jewels. “Here, Brother, take this to your wife with my compliments.”

The old man knew he could never lift that sack of treasure. “Brother, didn’t I bring your wife the rabbit for our supper myself? It would be rude for you not to take this to my wife yourself.”

“I would be happy to take it to her,” replied the dragon anxiously.

The dragon hoisted the sack onto his back and they walked off to the old man’s home. When they got to the clearing, the man asked the dragon to wait there, saying that he must tie up the dogs and prepare his family for the dragon’s visit. The dragon waited patiently beside the bag of gold and jewels.

The old man went into his little hovel and gave each of his children a knife and fork and told them what to do. Then, he called to the dragon, “Come on, my friend, the dogs are all tied up.”

The dragon slowly crept to the door and just as he was about to open it and walk in, all of the children ran out waving their knives and forks and screaming, “Hurray! Father has brought us a dragon for our supper. Let’s kill him and eat him up.”

The dragon threw down the sack of treasure and ran for his life, swearing never to come near the old man’s home again. When he got to his palace, he barred the door and refused to go outside for a week.

The old man took the dragon’s money and bought a fine new house, a farm, and new clothes for his wife and children, and they never were poor again.

I really do feel sorry for the dragon in this story. The old man reminds me of Jack inJack in the Giant’s New Ground—they must be cousins.

There is a great version of this tale in The Red King and the Witch by Ruth

Manning-Sanders.

[This story is taken from Elder Tales: Stories of Wisdom and Caurage from Around the Worlds edited by Dan Keding, Library Limited, London]