The dragon was the nephew of the evil sorcerer Nemal Chelovek, who had kidnapped the czar's daughter and promised her to the dragon. The czar offered riches to the one who could rescue her and many tried and filed.

Ivan, one of his guards, came forth and the czar gave him the magic sword Samosek for the journey. Ivan knew where to go since he'd heard 2 crows talking, and once there, he found the castle unguarded. He found the princess and, when confronted by the sorcerer, the sword killed him and then flew through the castle killing the rest of his servants, including the dragon.

The couple returned to the czar and were married.

Dobrynja was warned by his mother not to bath in the river, but after such a long journey, the river looked too good. Goryntch, the 3 headed and 7-tailed dragon, came after him. Dobrynja knelt beside the river, saying that he needed to retrieve his helmet, filled the helmet with sand (or water) and swung it at Goryntch, stunning him.

• Goryshche