"But, father, you can't let such a handsome young man as that go off
with the sheep! It would be dreadful if he never returned!"

The Tsar whispered back:

"Hush, child! Your concern for the young man's safety does credit to
your noble feelings. But this is not the time or the place for
sentiment. We must consider first the welfare of the royal sheep."

He turned to the Youngest Prince:

"Very well, young man, you may consider yourself engaged as shepherd.
Provide yourself with whatever you need and assume your duties at once."

"There is one thing," the Youngest Prince said; "when I start out
to-morrow morning with the sheep I should like to take with me two
strong boarhounds, a falcon, and a set of bagpipes."

"You shall have them all," the Tsar promised.

Early the next morning when the Princess peeped out of her bedroom
window she saw the new shepherd driving the royal flocks to pasture. A
falcon was perched on his shoulder; he had a set of bagpipes under his
arm; and he was leading two powerful boarhounds on a leash.

"It's a shame!" the Princess said to herself. "He'll probably never
return and he's such a handsome young man, too!" And she was so unhappy
at thought of never again seeing the new shepherd that she couldn't go
back to sleep.

Well, the Youngest Prince reached the lake and turned out his sheep to
graze. He perched the falcon on a log, tied the dogs beside it, and laid
his bagpipes on the ground. Then he took off his smock, rolled up his
hose, and wading boldly into the lake called out in a loud voice:

"Ho, dragon, come out and we'll try a wrestling match! That is, if
you're not afraid!"

"Afraid?" bellowed an awful voice. "Who's afraid?"

The water of the lake churned this way and that and a horrible scaly
monster came to the surface. He crawled out on shore and clutched the
Prince around the waist. And the Prince clutched him in a grip just as
strong and there they swayed back and forth, and rolled over, and
wrestled together on the shore of the lake without either getting the
better of the other. By midafternoon when the sun was hot, the dragon
grew faint and cried out:

"Oh, if I could but dip my burning head in the cool water, then I could
toss you as high as the sky!"

"Don't talk nonsense!" the Prince said. "If the Tsar's daughter would
kiss my forehead, then I could toss you twice as high!"

After that the dragon slipped out of the Prince's grasp, plunged into
the water, and