The Dragon Of The Well

Once upon a time very long ago, even before there were school buses and planes and trains, and even before people knew how to spell the word environment there was a king who had three daughters. And one day he did a very foolish thing, but because he was king and no one else could tell him what to do, he did it. He called his daughters to him and said, 'My children, I love you better than my life, and I should like to know how much you love me in return.' Now, if he had really loved them more than his life he would have never questioned their love for him, but he was king and foolish. What more do I need to say?

Said the first princess, the one with the blonde hair, 'Father, I love you like honey.'

And the king was so pleased.

  Said the second princess, the one with the brown hair, 'Father, I love you like sugar.'

And again the king was very pleased.

The youngest princes, the one with the black hair, stood silent. She was thinking deeply. And the king said, 'Come, my little daughter, how much do you love me?'

'Father,' said the youngest princess at last, 'I love you like salt.'

And the king was angry. 'Salt!' he sputtered and raged. 'Salt! A bitter, common thing that the cook takes between finger and thumb and drops into the soup! If you love me no better than that,' he raged,'you are no daughter of mine!' And he jumped up from his throne, took the princess roughly by the arm and hurried her to the palace gate. And there, seeing a poor man passing by, he called to him, and said, 'Here is some unwanted baggage -- take her away and marry her!'

Can you believe that a father would do that? It is hard to believe that even a king, a foolish king would do so, but that is how the story goes.

The man, whose name was Douglas, took the princess home to his mother, and married her as he was commanded. And they came to love each other dearly, but there were very poor. They were so poor that Douglas didn't even have a second name. Sometimes Douglas had work, and sometimes he couldn't find anyone to hire him, for the times were hard. And there came a day when they had nothing but some lentils left to eat.

Said Douglas to his wife, who was taking this poverty in good stride, considering she'd grown up a princess in a palace with lots to eat, 'Dear wife, if we go on like this we shall presently starve to death. I must journey to the next town, and earn some money for the three of us.

Said the princess, who was now so poor that she had only half a name, Char (before she'd been Princess Charlotte), 'Go, my husband, and God go with you.'

So they embraced each other, and Douglas departed.

In town he met three merchants who were going on a business journey to the sea port. And he hired himself to them as a servant. And they set out, the merchants riding on their horses, and Douglas on a mule.

The day was very hot and the road was dusty. Remember this was long before school buses and cars and blacktop roads. By and by they got very thirsty. They drank all the water they carried with them, and still they were thirsty. So when they came near a place where there was a well, one of the merchants said to Douglas, 'Take these four water bottles and go to the well and fill them. We will ride on slowly, and you can catch up with us.' Now, don't you think he should have thought of the animals and watered the three horses and the mule too? Ah well, if he had then the story wouldn't have the same ending.

Douglas got off of his mule and tied it to a tree, and went up to the well with the water bottles. But the well was the home of a dragon, and as soon as Douglas touched the water, the dragon rose up out of it, and he was not a pretty dragon. In fact, he was more hideous to look on than any nightmare.

'Good-day, friend,' said Douglas.

The dragon opened his mouth in a tremendous grin. He was very sensitive about his appearance, and he had never met a man before who had not screamed at the sight of him.

'Since you have called me friend,' he said to Douglas, ' I will not eat you, as I have eaten all the others who came here. Fill your water bottles, friend!'

Douglas thanked the dragon and asked if he could also draw water for the mule.

The dragon gave his permission and sank down into the well.

Douglas filled the water bottles, watered the mule, and was walking away, when the dragon rose out of the well again.

'Hi, friend!' he called. And his voice was louder than the beating of a drum or a TV with the volume turned all the way up.

Douglas stopped and turned around, and after calming the mule, returned to the dragon at the well.

'A present for you, friend!' said the dragon. And he gave Douglas three pomegranates which he was holding in his claws. 'Have you a wife, friend?' he asked.

'I have' said Douglas. 'The best in the world.'

'Send her one of these pomegranates,' said the dragon with a grin. 'Keep the other two safely hidden, and do not cut them till you reach home. A pleasant journey to you, friend!'

Douglas took the pomegranates, and thanked the dragon. The dragon sank down into the well again; and Douglas fastened the water bottles to his saddle bow, got on his mule, and rode on after the merchants.

The merchants grumbled at him for being so long in bringing the water; but Douglas said nothing. He hid the pomegranates under his coat; and by and by they met a countryman who was returning to the village where Douglas and Char lived. And Douglas gave the countryman one of the pomegranates to take home to the princess, his wife.

'Tell her I am safe and well,' said Douglas, 'and I hope to see her soon. In the meantime, I'm sending her this little present, which is all have to give her.'

The countryman took the pomegranate and went on his way. By and by he came to the village, and knocked at the door of Douglas and Char's poor little hut, and gave the pomegranate to the princess.

'How nice!' said Char to her mother-in-law. 'We will cut the pomegranate in two and eat half each. It will refresh us.'

And Char got a knife, and cut the pomegranate in two.

'Mother! Mother!' she cried. 'Oh Mother, come and look!'

They could scarcely believe their eyes. They laughed and cried for joy. For every seed in that pomegranate was a sparkling diamond.

Now they were rich. They took the diamonds to the town and sold them, and with the money they built a palace. And at the palace gate they made a fountain, where all poor thirsty people might come and drink. And there were a great number of poor about, remember these were hard times.

Meanwhile, Douglas travelled on with the merchants, and when they had done their business at the sea port, they returned by the way they had come to town. And there the merchants paid Douglas his wages, and dismissed him. The wages were scanty enough, but Douglas took them with great thankfulness. 'Now I have something to buy us food with!' he thought.

And he hurried home to his hut in the village.

But what had become of his hut? It had vanished; and in its place stood beautiful palace, with a fountain sparkling in he sunlight at its gates. Feeling very bewildered, and no little troubled, Douglas went into the court of the palace to ask if anyone could tell him where the princess, his wife Char, was. And whom should he see, sitting at one the windows, but the princess herself, dressed in a pretty gown of rainbow-colored silk. She jumped up and came running out into the courtyard to fling her arms round him.

'Welcome, welcome home, dear husband!' she cried.

'But I don't understand,' said Douglas. 'What happened? Where is our home?'

'This is our home,' said the princess. 'We sold the diamonds you sent, and pulled down the old hut, and built this palace. I hope you like it? Come in and look!'

'Diamonds! What diamonds?' said Douglas. 'I sent no diamonds!'

'Oh yes you did,' said the princess. And Char told him about the pomegranate, and Douglas said, 'But I have still two more pomegranates!' And they got a knife and cut them open. And in these, also, every seed was a sparkling diamond.

So they sold these diamonds also, and they built an even finer palace, with magnificent gardens. And, remembering how often they had felt hungry, they set up an inn at the gates of the palace, where all poor people might come and eat without paying anything. And they gave away money to all who needed it.

Their fame spread through all the country round. And the king, the princess's father, heard of it.

Said the king to his vizier, 'Who is this stranger who lives like a king and gives away his money to all who ask? We must pay him a visit.'

And the king sent a courier with a polite letter, asking if he might have the honor of paying Douglas a visit. And Char, the princess, sent back a polite letter, inviting the king and the vizier to a banquet. Then she called the head cook and said, 'For today's banquet there must be no salt in any dish.'

'But, my lady,' said the cook, 'the food will be uneatable!'

'Nevertheless, it must be served without salt,' said the princess.

The king and the vizier arrived and sat down to the banquet. The table was laid with gold and silver, and all the dishes looked most tempting. But scarcely had the banquet begun, when the king and the vizier laid down their knives and forks.

'What is the matter/' said the princes.

'You must forgive me, madam,' said the king, 'but I am not hungry.'

'Yet eat a little,' said the princess.

And the king, almost in tears with embarrassment, burst out, 'But there is no salt! And food without salt is uneatable!'

'Oh!' cried the princess. 'And when I told you I loved you like salt, you drove me away!'

Then the king recognized Char as his daughter, the princess, and embraced her, and asked her forgiveness. 'I have been foolish and blind,' he said. 'Salt is more needful than sugar, and more precious than honey!'

The princess laughed. Said she, 'You drove me away in disgrace, only to find what my heart desired.'

And after hugging Douglas, she clapped her hands and ordered in more dishes, properly seasoned. And they feasted and made merry. And as far as we can tell, they all lived happily ever after.

As for the dragon, having found a man to call him friend, he no longer wanted to eat anybody. He allowed travelers to drink at his well, without rising up to frighten them. And sometimes these travelers, when they had quenched their thirst and rested by the well, would drop thank-offerings into the water. These offerings the dragon collected; and even when they were no more than bent pins or metal buttons, he hoarded them up as his greatest treasures not because of the gifts but because of the givers.

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