That done, as he was so faint and weary with the fire and the battle, he said to the maiden, we are both faint and weary, we will sleep awhile. Then she said, yes, and they lay down on the ground, and the huntsman said to the lion, you shall keep watch, that no one surprises us in our sleep, and both fell asleep. The lion lay down beside them to watch, but he also was so weary with the fight, that he called to the bear and said, lie down near me, I must sleep a little. If anything comes, waken me. Then the bear lay down beside him, but he also was tired, and called the wolf and said, lie down by me, I must sleep a little, but if anything comes, waken me. Then the wolf lay down by him, but he was tired likewise, and called the fox and said, lie down by me, I must sleep a little, if anything comes waken me. Then the fox lay down beside him, but he too was weary, and called the hare and said, lie down near me, I must sleep a little, and if anything should come, waken me. Then the hare sat down by him, but the poor hare was tired too, and had no one whom he could call there to keep watch, and fell asleep. And now the king's daughter, the huntsman, the lion, the bear, the wolf, the fox, and the hare, were all sleeping a sound sleep. The marshal, however, who was to look on from a distance, took courage when he did not see the dragon flying away with the maiden, and finding that all the hill had become quiet, ascended it.
There lay the dragon hacked and hewn to pieces on the ground, and not far from it were the king's daughter and a huntsman with his animals, and all of them were sunk in a sound sleep. And as he was wicked and godless he took his sword, cut off the huntsman's head, and seized the maiden in his arms, and carried her down the hill. Then she awoke and was terrified, but the marshal said, you are in my hands, you shall say that it was I who killed the dragon.
I cannot do that, she replied, for it was a huntsman with his animals who did it. Then he drew his sword, and threatened to kill her if she did not obey him, and so compelled her that she promised it.
Then he took her to the king, who did not know how to contain himself for joy when he once more looked on his dear child in life, whom he had believed to have been torn to pieces by the monster. The marshal said to him, I have killed the dragon, and delivered the maiden and the whole kingdom as well, therefore I demand her as my wife, as was promised. The king said to the maiden, is what he says true. Ah, yes, she answered, it must indeed be true, but I will not consent to have the wedding celebrated until after a year and a day, for she thought in that time she should hear something of her dear huntsman.
The animals, however, were still lying sleeping beside their dead master on the dragon's hill, and there came a great bumble-bee and lighted on the hare's nose, but the hare wiped it off with his paw, and went on sleeping. The bumble-bee came a second time, but the hare again rubbed it off and slept on. Then it came for the third time, and stung his nose so that he awoke. As soon as the hare was awake, he roused the fox, and the fox, the wolf, and the wolf the bear, and the bear the lion. And when the lion awoke and saw that the maiden was gone, and his master was dead, he began to roar frightfully and cried, who has done that. Bear, why did you not waken me. The bear asked the wolf, why did you not waken me. And the wolf the fox, why did you not waken me. And the fox the hare, why did you not waken me. The poor hare alone did not know what answer to make, and the blame rested with him. Then they were just going to fall upon him, but he entreated them and said, kill me not, I will bring our master to life again. I know a mountain on which a root grows which, when placed in the mouth of anyone, cures him of all illness and every wound. But the mountain lies two hundred hours, journey from here.
The lion said, in four-and-twenty hours must you have run thither and have come back, and have brought the root with you. Then the hare sprang away, and in four-and-twenty hours he was back, and brought the root with him. The lion put the huntsman's head on again, and the hare placed the root in his mouth, and immediately everything united together again, and his heart beat, and life came back. Then the huntsman awoke, and was alarmed when he did not see the maiden, and thought, she must have gone away whilst I was sleeping, in order to get rid of me. The lion in his great haste had put his master's head on the wrong way round, but the huntsman did not observe it because of his melancholy thoughts about the king's daughter. But at noon, when he was going to eat something, he saw that his head was turned backwards and could not understand it, and asked the animals what had happened to him in his sleep. Then the lion told him that they, too, had all fallen asleep from weariness, and on awaking, had found him dead with his head cut off, that the hare had brought the life-giving root, and that he, in his haste, had laid hold of the head the wrong way, but that he would repair his mistake. Then he tore the huntsman's head off again, turned it round, and the hare healed it with the root.
The huntsman, however, was sad at heart, and traveled about the world, and made his animals dance before people. It came to pass that precisely at the end of one year he came back to the same town where he had rescued the king's daughter from the dragon, and this time the town was gaily hung with red cloth. Then he said to the host, what does this mean. Last year the town was all hung with black crape, what means the red cloth to-day. The host answered, last year our king's daughter was to have been delivered over to the dragon, but the marshal fought with it and killed it, and so to-morrow their wedding is to be solemnized, and that is why the town was then hung with black crape for mourning, and is to-day covered with red cloth for joy.
Next day when the wedding was to take place, the huntsman said at mid-day to the inn-keeper, do you believe, sir host, that I while with you here to-day shall eat bread from the king's own table.