Stan Bolovan
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Time Period: Unknown
References in Literature: None
Sources: The Violet Fairy Book, Edited by Andrew Lang
(As this tale is lengthy, only a summary is given.)
Stan had a wife and they were both very unhappily childless, so he went to a wise man who gave them 100 children. Although happy, they were now broke and hungry so Stan journeyed in search of food for his family.
He came across a pasture with sheep, but every night a dragon came and took some away. He made a deal with the shepard - Stan would get 1/3 of the flock if he could get rid of the dragon.
On the first night, the dragon was found to be cowardly and the dragon offered him a great deal of gold for 3 days servitude. But Stan tricked him and his mother - first in a cub-throwing contest, then in carrying water, and finally with chopping wood.
This enraged the dragon and his mother so much that they went to kill Stan in the night. But Stan had overhead their plan and prepared so that the dragon only hit a pile of dirt in the bed. The dragon and his mother were so scared of Stan that they bribed and even carried the money home for him. At the sight of Stan's 100 children coming at him, however, the dragon dropped the money, ran, and was never seen again.
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