Smok Wawelski, the Dragon of Wawel

In the days of King Krak, founder of the city, a dragon crawled from the cave in Wawel hill. Every day the beast devoured sheep, cattle and sometimes a shepherd who did not flee fast enough.

The king promised his daughter and the throne to whoever could kill the monster. Knight after knight rode out, in shining armour and with a sharp sword. Not one of them returned. The dragon was too large, too cunning and too furious.

Then came a poor cobbler’s apprentice named Skuba, with a plan that had nothing to do with strength. He took a sheepskin, filled it with sulphur and pitch, and sewed it shut until it looked like a real sheep. In the dead of night he laid the bait before the cave.

At first light the dragon appeared, hungry as ever, and swallowed the false sheep in a single bite. The sulphur began to burn in its belly, with a fire that could not be quenched.

Mad with thirst, the monster ran to the Vistula and drank and drank, until it held so much water that it burst apart. So the dragon met its end, not by a knight’s sword but by the wit of a simple boy.

Skuba received his reward, and Kraków grew into a mighty city. Guides still show the Dragon’s Den beneath Wawel, and the fire-breathing bronze recalls the trick that saved the town.