After that he freed all whom the Draken held prisoners, amongst others,
a king’s daughter. Out of gratitude she would have taken him for her
husband; but he put her off, saying: ‘For the kindness that I have been
able to do to you, you shall receive in this castle all the blind and
lame who pass this way.’ The princess promised him to do so, and on his
departure gave him a ring.
So Janni plucked the pears and took them to his sister, who, when she
had eaten them, declared she felt better. When, however, the Drakos
heard that Janni had come back yet a third time safe and sound, he fled
for fright forty fathoms deeper underground; and, next day, when Janni
was away hunting, he crept out and said to the sister: ‘Now are we
indeed both lost, unless you find out from him wherein his strength
lies, and then between us we will contrive to do away with him.’
When, therefore, Janni had come back from hunting, and sat at evening
with his sister by the fire, she begged him to tell her wherein lay
his strength, and he answered: ‘It lies in my two fingers; if these are
bound together then all my strength disappears.’
‘That I will not believe,’ said the sister, ‘unless I see it for
myself.’
Then he let her tie his fingers together with a thread, and immediately
he became powerless. Then the sister called up the Drakos, who, when he
had come forth, tore out Janni’s eyes, gave them to his dogs to eat, and
threw him into a dry well.
Now it happened that some travellers, going to draw water from this
well, heard Janni groaning at the bottom. They came near, and asked him
where he was, and he begged them to draw him up from the well, for he
was a poor unfortunate man.
The travellers let a rope down and drew him up to daylight. It was not
till then that he first became aware that he was blind, and he begged
the travellers to lead him to the country of the king whose daughter he
had freed, and they would be well repaid for their trouble.
When they had brought him there he sent to beg the princess to come to
him; but she did not recognise him till he had shown her the ring she
had given him.
Then she remembered him, and took him with her into the castle.
When she learnt what had befallen him she called together all the
sorceresses in the country in order that they should tell her where the
eyes were. At last she found one who declared that she knew where they
were, and that she could restore them. This sorceress then went straight
to the castle where dwelt the sister and the Drakos, and gave something
to the dogs to eat which caused the eyes to reappear. She took them with
her and put them back in Janni’s head, so that he saw as well as before.
Then he returned to the castle of the Drakos, whom he slew as well as
his sister; and, taking his dogs with him, went back to the princess and
they were immediately married.
The Partnership of the Thief and the Liar.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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