Wawel Dragon

The Wawel Dragon (Polish: Smok Wawelski), also known as the Dragon of Wawel Hill, is a famous dragon in Polish legend.

The legend of the Wawel dragon:

It was a long, long time ago ... On the Wawel Castle, on the Vistula River, there was a wooden castle, where King Krak's roost with his own daughter, Wanda. And in the pit, deep in the hill, there was a terrible dragon.

The dragon ate sheeps and rams, then ate the people, and finally wanted to eat even the princess. King Krak summoned the knights for help, but none of them managed to defeat the dragon. The monster breathed fire, wagged its spiked tail and its sharp claws tore the steel armor of the knights.

The shoemaker Kuba lived in the city of Krakow, located at the foot of the Wawel Castle. Kuba decided to kill the dragon and made a cunning plan. He took a ram's skin, stuffed it with sulfur and tar, sewed it carefully, made legs out of sticks. At sunrise, he tossed the puppet under the dragon's lair.

The dragon went out in the morning to eat and was very glad to see the breakfast ready. He ate the ram, which was stuffed with sulfur and tar, but just finished, he felt thirst burning through him. He went down to the river and began to drink. He drank, drank and drank ... The water filled his belly so that it became round like a balloon and burst like a balloon.

There was great joy in the city and in the castle. And the shoemaker Kuba collected pieces of dragonskin and made shoes for princess Wanda.