A poor family lived in a village. The man gave his son a little bull-calf before he died. His widow later married another man, who was very unkind to the boy and his bull-calf, who was his only friend.
The boy always fed him half his bread. Once an old man came to the boy and said, “You had better go away from here. Take your little bull-calf and seek your fortune.”
The boy took his bull-calf and walked away. He begged for some bread and shared it with his bull-calf. Later, he got some cheese and curd and shared that too with his pet.
But the bull-calf refused. He said he was going into the forest where there were many wild animals and a dragon. He would fight and kill all of them, except the dragon.
“For the dragon will kill me,” he said, “Watch from the tree-top, but don’t interfere. When the dragon goes away, take my bladder out and blow it up like a balloon. It will be a strong club that you can use to kill anything. Use the club to kill the dragon and cut his tongue out. It will be your fortune.”
Saying that, the bull-calf went to the forest and the boy climbed up a tree. Everything happened exactly as the bull-calf had said. Then, when the dragon had gone, the boy came down and sadly took the bull-calf’s bladder. He blew it and it became a strong club. Then he went looking for the dragon.
As he walked along, he saw a princess tied to a stake, to be sacrificed to the dragon. The boy untied her and waited for the dragon to come.
Soon he heard the dragon’s roar. The dragon came shooting flames. The boy fought the dragon who bit off his forefinger. But he killed him with the mighty club and cut off his tongue.
When he was leaving, the princess tied a gold ring into his hair. The king sent messengers to look for him everywhere. But there was no sign of the boy with a golden ring in his hair, a club, and the dragon’s tongue, but without a forefinger. Many men came and tried their luck but failed.
One day, a ragged man came and the princess recognised him. He had the ring in his hair, the dragon’s tongue and the club and he had lost a forefinger.
The young man married the princess and later became the king. The bull-calf had made his fortune!
