Stan Bolovan facts for kids
Stan Bolovan is a classic Romanian fairy tale. It was first collected in a book called Rumänische Märchen by Mite Kremnitz in 1882. Later, a famous fairy tale collector named Andrew Lang shared it in his book, The Violet Fairy Book, in 1901. This exciting story has been told again in other books too. Ruth Manning-Sanders included it in A Book of Dragons (1965) and A Choice of Magic (1971). Christopher Rawson also featured it in The Usborne Book of Dragons (1979).
Contents
The Story of Stan Bolovan
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Stan Bolovan and his wife were doing well. They had plenty of money and a good life. But Stan's wife was still very sad. She told Stan that she was upset because they had no children.
Stan decided to visit a wise old man. He begged the wise man to give them children. The wise man warned him that feeding many children would be a huge challenge. Stan did not listen to the warning.
A Hundred Children!
When Stan returned home, his wife was overjoyed. They now had a hundred children! Soon, Stan and his wife realized the wise man was right. They could not find enough food for all their children. Stan knew he had to find a way to get more food.
He set out and found a large group of sheep. Stan hoped to take some of them. But a scary Dragon was also stealing animals and milk from the sheep flock.
Stan Meets the Dragon
Stan asked the shepherds for help. They promised him one-third of their sheep if he could get rid of the dragon. Stan agreed to the deal. He soon met the dragon. Stan bravely told the dragon that he ate rocks at night and flowers during the day. He said he was ready to fight.
Stan then suggested a contest. He squeezed buttermilk from a piece of cheese. The dragon tried to squeeze liquid from a hard rock. The dragon failed and had to admit that Stan was stronger.
Tricking the Dragon's Mother
The dragon then offered Stan a job. He said Stan could work for his mother. She would pay him many sacks of ducats (gold coins). Stan agreed and went with the dragon.
The dragon's mother gave them two difficult tests. First, her son threw a staff as far as he could. Then it was Stan's turn. Stan pretended to be afraid he would throw it too hard. He said he might accidentally kill the dragon with the force. Then he claimed he was waiting for the moon to move out of the way.
Next, the mother sent them to fetch water. Stan could not carry the heavy animal skins she gave him. But he said it was too much trouble. He threatened to carry the whole stream instead! The dragon got scared and carried the skins for Stan.
Then, the mother told them to gather wood. Stan started tying many trees together. He declared he would carry the entire forest back home. The dragon quickly brought back wood for him. He did this before Stan could really uproot the whole forest.
Stan's Escape
The dragon's mother told her son to crack open Stan's head during the night. But Stan was clever. He hid under a pig's trough. So, he was not harmed at all.
The dragon family then gave Stan gold to make him leave. The gold was too heavy for Stan to carry. But Stan pretended he wanted to stay and work for them. He said his friends would be ashamed if he carried so little gold. The dragon family urged him to go. Stan agreed, but only if the dragon carried the gold back home for him.
Stan did not want the dragon to know where he lived. So, he planned to leave the dragon before reaching his house. But his hungry children came running out. They were so hungry they shouted for the dragon's flesh! The dragon was terrified. It dropped the gold and ran away as fast as it could. Stan and his family were left with the gold and lived happily ever after.
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