Week 14 Reading Notes: How the Dragon was Tricked, Part A

Illustration by H. J. Ford
Link to story.

Title: How the Dragon was Tricked

Publication: The Pink Fairy Book, 1897

Author: Andrew Lang

Illustrator: H. J. Ford

Notes: Andrew Lang (March 31, 1844—July 20, 1912) was a Scottish poet, novelist, and anthropologist who wrote a multitude of folk and fairy tales. In his series of Lang’s Color/Rainbow Fairy Books (a collection of 25 books overall), the ninth installment known as The Pink Fairy Book was published in 1897. Henry Justice Ford (1860—1941), a successful English artist and illustrator, did numerous illustrations for Lang’s books.

Characters:
Father
Oldest brother
Youngest brother/Trickster
Shepherd
King
Flying horse
Dragon
Dragoness

Places:
Europe (based on a Greek tale)

Events:
A man has two sons that do not get along
Out of jealousy, the eldest son ties the youngest son to a tree
The boy tricks a shepherd into freeing him, driving away his sheep
The trickster becomes popular for his mischief
The king hires the trickster to steal the dragon’s flying horse
The trickster steals the horse and returns to the king
The king orders the trickster to bring the dragon’s bedding
That night, the dragon catches the trickster and ties him up
The dragon asks his wife, the dragoness, to kill the trickster the next day

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