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The Scurfhead
Once upon
a time there was a king who had three sons. He also had a beautiful
garden with a quince tree in it which bore only three quinces
a year. Every time the  tree bore fruit, a dragon came by and
gobbled them up. The king desperately wanted to eat one of the
quinces because they were so beautiful, but the dragon got them
every time.
The eldest son decided to guard the quinces
and went to his father to ask him for a net, a rattle and three
candles to light his way in the dark. The father gave him what
he asked for and the youth went into the garden and chose a place
in the tall tree to wait for the dragon. The dragon arrived at
midnight as usual and, seeing the light, guessed that a trap
had been set for it. It therefore let out a frightening roar,
threw itself with all its might against the tree, plucked a quince
and was off in a flash. The youth was so frightened that he could
not even move. The next morning he returned downcast and pale
with fear to his father and told him what had happened. The father
was very disappointed that his son had proved to be such a coward.
The second son then said, "This
time I will go and guard the quinces!" At first the father
did not want to let him go, for the second son was also a coward
just like the eldest, but eventually he gave in. The second brother
took a net, a rattle and light with him and set off for the garden
to guard the quinces. That night, the very same thing happened.
The dragon arrived, stole the second quince and disappeared,
and the second son, having failed to put up any defence at all,
was obliged to return to his father in shame.
The third son was a scurfhead. He was
delighted at the failure of his brothers and went to his father
saying that he too would go into the garden to guard the last
quince. He gathered together everything he needed to guard the
last quince, entered the garden and hid behind a tree. When the
dragon arrived, the youth bravely lunged forth, struck the beast
and wounded it so badly that it took flight. When the two older
brothers saw how courageous the scurfhead had been they hung
their heads in shame. They were jealous because they themselves
had failed to fight the dragon. Nevertheless, when they heard
their brother shouting and the dragon roaring, they ran to help
him and the three of them pursued the dragon with fury until
it disappeared into a hole in the ground. Standing in front of
the hole, they talked to decide which of them would enter. The
two older brothers were too afraid. Only the undaunted scurfhead
was still willing to pursue the dragon. He tied two ropes around
his waist, a black one and a white one, to be lowered into the
cave, and they agreed on a signal. If he tugged on the white
rope, everything was all right, but if he tugged on the black
one, it meant he was in danger and they were to pull him up immediately
to save his life.
And so the scurfhead entered the cave,
looking for traces of the dragon. He wandered around for some
time until he saw a small slab of iron on the floor, covering
a hole. With all his might, he lifted the slab and descended
three steps. At the bottom of the steps, he found a tiny house
and knocked at the door. A fair maiden came out, one of the three
Earthly Beauties. She welcomed him and asked him what he wanted.
The scurfhead replied that he had come to slay the dragon which
frightened everyone. The maiden replied, "The dragon is
very strong indeed. If you want to slay it, you will first have
to find out if you are strong enough to do so, otherwise you
will be killed yourself. Anyone who does slay the monster will
become known as the saviour of our country and I will take him
for my husband." As a sign of their betrothal, she gave
him a spindle which could make gold. He threw it onto the floor
and a golden apple appeared.
He then continued on his way, came across
another house, and knocked at the door. The maiden who answered
was even fairer and more attractive than the first. She too said
that she would marry the man who slew the dragon. As a sign of
their betrothal she gave him a bowl. When he placed the bowl
on the floor, another golden apple appeared. He accompanied the
maiden to a third house and knocked at the door. There, too,
a maiden answered who was more beautiful and wondrous than the
first two, who were her sisters. After she had welcomed him and
they had talked for a while, she gave him a hen with twelve chicks
as a sign of their betrothal because she, too, wanted to marry
the man who would slay the dragon. Then she took him into the
den of the dragon, who had not yet returned.
As he waited and pondered on how best
to slay the dragon, he saw a crowd of people in the distance
who were weeping and lamenting. They were accompanying the king's
daughter who was to be offered to the dragon, for the country
was forced to offer one maiden a day to the dragon as payment
for the water which it owned. The maidens were chosen by lot
and that day the lot had fallen to the king's daughter. The crowd
brought the poor maiden to the dragon's den and left her there.
When the scurfhead saw the maiden sobbing and weeping, he felt
sorry for her and asked her what was wrong. She told him her
sad tale and he replied, "Don't be afraid, I'll save you.".
At last the dragon arrived, still covered
with blood from the wound it had received in the garden. The
scurfhead had fallen asleep with his head in the maiden's lap.
When she caught a glimpse of the dragon covered with blood from
the wounds it had received in the garden, she began to tremble
and warm tears welled up in her eyes. One of the tears dripped
onto the scurfhead's face and woke him up. He sprang to his feet
and asked the frightened maiden what had happened. Although she
was speechless with fright, she managed to show by her glance
that the dragon had arrived. The youth set upon the monster like
a serpent, mortally wounding it so that it could neither stand
nor move, and plunged straight into a well. When the dragon hit
the bottom of the well, the water which the townspeople needed
so badly began to gush forth. It formed streams which flowed
through the villages, still crimson with the blood of the dying
dragon. The maiden went to the scurfhead and thanked him on her
knees, saying, "I will never forget you for saving me!"
Then she filled her jug and returned to the palace.
When the king and queen saw their daughter
return safe and sound, they were overjoyed and asked with great
astonishment how she had escaped from the monster. The maiden
recounted everything that had taken place and how an unknown
hero in the dragon's den had saved her. The king immediately
gave orders for the hero to be summoned, for he was anxious to
meet the man who had slain the dragon and saved his daughter.
The youth was brought in and the king rose to welcome him, offering
the boy a seat at his side. The king praised the scurfhead's
bravery and added, "Tell me what you would like to have.
Don't be afraid to ask, even if it is half my kingdom! I'll give
you whatever you want to pay you back for the service you have
rendered us by ridding our kingdom of the dragon and by saving
my daughter. I would also be very pleased if you would have my
daughter for your wife." The hero replied, "The honour
and tribute you have paid me have made me very happy. I need
nothing at the moment, but if I should ever be in need, I will
gladly call on you for help." He then departed content.
From there, our hero returned directly
to the three Earthly Beauties who were impatiently awaiting him.
They reminded him that they had given him their word that they
were willing to marry him. He, too, spoke warmly to them, saying,
"I have come to take all three of you with me. The two older
sisters I will give in marriage to my brothers and the youngest
one I will marry myself." The three maidens made themselves
ready and the four of them set off to return to the surface of
the earth. The maidens took all of their belongings with them
and went to the opening of the cave. There the scurfhead called
his two brothers and they let down a rope. The scurfhead tied
the rope around the eldest sister and shouted to his brothers
to pull her up, explaining that she was to be the wife of the
eldest brother. When they let down the rope again to pull up
the second maiden, he explained that she was for the second brother.
As soon as the two elder sisters had been pulled up, the youngest
maiden, who was the prettiest of all, said, "I have an inkling
that something terrible is going to happen to you. Your brothers
have wicked intentions. They want to leave you down here forever
and have me, the prettiest one, for themselves. But don't be
afraid. If they do leave you here, run back into the dragon's
den. There you will find two rams, a black one and a white one.
You must seize the white one, which will take you back to the
surface of the earth. Be careful not to seize the black one,
because if you do, you will have to remain here and will be lost
forever. I will never belong to your brothers, even unto death.
I will wait for you until you come." The two brothers then
lowered the rope for the third time and pulled the maiden up.
When they saw how beautiful she was and heard the scurfhead say
that she was for him, they decided to abandon him in the cave
below.
The scurfhead remembered what the maiden
had advised him to do and ran back to the dragon's den. There
he found the two rams, the black one and the white one. But to
his great misfortune he seized the black ram instead of the white
one and was thus condemned to remain in the depths of the earth.
The poor lad wandered off, downcast and
despondent in his misfortune. He happened upon an oak tree where
he sat down in the shade. There he heard birds chirping and,
looking upwards, he saw a nest of young eagles. He also noticed
a snake slithering up the tree to devour the eaglets. The birds
cried out as if begging him to save them from the snake. Taking
pity on them, he jumped up, drew his knife and slew the snake.
Then he returned to his resting place under the tree and fell
asleep. When the mother eagle returned and saw the sleeping hero
in the shade of the tree, she imagined that he intended to kill
her babies, and set upon him. But the babies, by means of sounds
and signs, made it clear to her that he had been their saviour,
not their attacker. She flew off to the sea to moisten her wings
and returned, sitting at the youth's head with wings outstretched
to protect him in his sleep. When he awoke, he saw the eagle
hovering over him with its wings outstretched and thought that
it intended to kill him. But the eagle calmed his fears, telling
him in a gentle and soothing voice, "You saved my children.
I am therefore indebted to you. I beg you to regard me as your
servant and tell me freely what wish of yours I can fulfil to
repay you." The hero replied by asking, "But how could
you repay me? You are a bird." "I will do whatever
you want," responded the eagle. "All right," declared
the scurfhead, "I'd like you to take me back to the earth
if you can. That is my only wish." The bird replied, "That's
easy enough for me. But you must bring with you an oven full
of bread, two roasts of mutton and a barrel of water for the
journey. Pack everything on my back, climb on and we will fly
back to the earth."
The scurfhead recalled the promise of
the king whose daughter he had saved from the dragon, went to
him and asked for the things the eagle had demanded. The king
was surprised at how little the scurfhead wanted in compensation
for his great deed, but ordered that he be given everything he
needed. The scurfhead then loaded everything onto the eagle,
climbed onto its back and they took off, soaring into the air.
They flew for a long, long time through wind and rain and finally,
after great exertions, they arrived on the earth.
The youth was overjoyed at having escaped
from the underworld and asked first of all whether his parents
were still alive and how they were faring. When told that they
were well, he thought it was high time that he made some money
for them. The next morning he went for a walk and, lost in thought,
came upon three feathers. He singed the tip of one of the feathers
and suddenly three mares appeared, saying to him, "What
is your command, master? We are here to serve you." Although
he was particularly delighted to have found a source of income,
he told them after a moment's thought to go their way and that
he would call on them if ever he needed them.
He still wanted to find work and went
to see a silversmith, asking if he could serve as the man's apprentice.
He said that he wanted no wages, only food and some old clothes.
The silversmith saw that the youth was dressed like a noble and
accepted him as an apprentice. One day, a herald arrived from
the palace and told the silversmith that the king wished to see
him. The silversmith was quite alarmed and went to the palace.
There the king ordered him to made a spindle which could make
gold. He said to the silversmith, "I want to marry off my
eldest son, but his bride wants a spindle like the one she had
when she was a child. I summoned you because you are the best
silversmith of all. Have the spindle ready for me within three
days or you will lose your head!"
Though the silversmith was very talented,
he had no idea how to make such a spindle. Fearing for his life,
he said nothing and returned home in dismay. The scurfhead, sitting
at his work, saw his master returning in distress from the palace
and asked him why he was so upset. The silversmith replied, "Hold
your tongue! It is not your place to ask such questions."
But the scurfhead asked again and again until finally the silversmith
told him about the spindle. The scurfhead allayed the silversmith's
fears and boasted that he could make such a spindle in one night.
He would need only five kilos of nuts and plenty of good wine.
Although the ill fated silversmith found this hard to believe,
he took heart and went out to buy what the scurfhead had asked
for.
The scurfhead locked himself in his room
and began cracking open the nuts and drinking the wine. His frightened
master tiptoed up to the door and looked in through a crack to
see what the apprentice was doing. The sly fox, however, frightened
his master even more by calling out, "Be off with you or
you'll ruin my work with your evil eye!" The next morning
he gave his master the spindle he had received as a gift from
the first Earthly Beauty. The silversmith was overjoyed and relieved
when he saw the wonderful craftsmanship, and ran off to the king
with it. The king, too, was very satisfied with the spindle and
gave orders that the silversmith be given five cartloads of gold
for his work. The silversmith accepted them and returned to give
half the reward to his apprentice. The scurfhead, however, simply
replied, "It is enough for me to know that my master is
pleased with me."
The next day, the eldest son was to be
married and the silversmith was invited to the wedding. He wanted
to take his apprentice with him, but the youth would not go.
A lofty pole had been set up on a hill outside the town, with
a golden apple and a bag of money hanging from it. The king sent
heralds all over the kingdom to proclaim that anyone who could
jump high enough to reach the apple would receive a royal gift.
Many brave men arrived from all corners of the earth, but none
could reach the apple. When the scurfhead heard of the proclamation,
he singed one of his three feathers and one of the three mares
appeared on the spot with garments of gold for him. Dressed in
his golden garments, he mounted the mare and rode off to the
pole where a large crowd had gathered. He called to them in warning
and, taking a mighty leap, plucked the apple from the pole. Everyone
was amazed at such bravery. And so, the struggle between the
scurfhead and his brothers ended and he was rewarded with the
prettiest of the three Earthly Beauties.
[Source: Albanikê
melissa (Bêlietta sskiypêtare). Syggramma albano-hellênikon
periechon meros historias 'Dôra Istrias - hê Albanikê
fylê', Albano-Hellênikas Paroimias kai Ainigmata,
Albanika kyria onomata, Asmata kai Paramythia Albanika, kai Albano-Hellênikon
leksilogion meta parabolês Albanikôn lekseôn
pros archaias hellênikas. Syntachthen hypo E. Mêtku
(Typ. Xenofôntos N. Saltê, Alexandria 1878), reprinted
in Folklor shqiptar 1, Proza popullore (Tirana 1963).
Translated from the Albanian by Robert Elsie.]
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