Giovanni Francesco Straparola

“ And having thus spoken the peasant, as a testimony of his word, drew forth from his bag the horrible head of the slain monster and laid it before the king. The king, when he beheld the head of the beast, once so fierce but now a thing of nought, and considered in his mind how his daughter had been rescued from death, and his country freed from the ravages of the dragon, gave orders for universal rejoicings, and for the preparation of a sumptuous feast, to which should be bidden all the ladies of the city. ”

“ Now it happened that a certain peasant, a coarse, worthless rogue of a fellow, was passing by the spot where lay stretched out the dead body of the fierce and horrible monster, and as soon as he caught sight of the savage, fearsome beast he took in his hand the knife which he carried at his side, and struck off therewith the dragon’s head from the body, and having placed the same in a large bag which he had with him, he took his way towards the city. ”

“ When the hermit had heard his story, and was fully persuaded that Cesarino was the slayer of the dragon, he betook himself to the presence of the king, and having withdrawn his ragged cowl from his head, he thus spake: “Most sacred majesty, it would in any case be a shameful thing if a malignant rascally fellow, one for whom a hole in the ground is a home good enough, should become the husband of a maiden who is the very flower of loveliness, the example of good manners, the mirror of courtesy, and richly dowered with every virtue ”

“ But these women had not been long in the land before they grew so envious of Cesarino’s good fortune that they took thought of nothing else than how they might work his downfall, and their hatred, which increased day by day, at last stirred them to cause him to be privily murdered. ”

“ When the hermit heard this he was heavily grieved, and, putting aside for the time all thought of seeking for alms, he returned forthwith to his hermitage and made known to Cesarino the thing he had just heard. The youth, when he listened to this, was much grieved, and having brought forth the tongue of the slain dragon, he exhibited it to the hermit as a trustworthy proof that he had himself destroyed the wild beast. ”

“ But the wolf went on making signs and gestures to them, so that at last they knew what he wanted to tell them, namely, that some one was dead. Then the bear set to work with his hard crooked claws, and dug down into the lion’s ears, deep enough to bring out the seal. And the lion did the same to the bear and the wolf. ”

“ As soon as the priests and the others who were assisting at the funeral saw the three animals, they all took to flight, and the men who were bearing the corpse put it down and fled likewise, but some there were of firmer courage who wished to see the end of the affair. Immediately the animals began to work hard with their teeth and claws, and before long they had stripped the grave-clothes off their master’s body, and, having examined it very closely, found the fatal wound. ”