Legends - meeting 4

MEETING FOUR: 23/2/2021

Topic: WHAT IS A LEGEND?

What is a legend?

A legend is a very old story which has been passed on from person-to-person over the generations.A legend has important meaning or symbolism for the culture in which it was born. A legend usually includes an element of truth, or is based on historic facts, but with 'mythical qualities'. Legends usually involve heroic characters or fantastic places and often mirror the spiritual beliefs of the culture in which they were born.

Today we will tell you probably the most famous Polish legend: "The Legend of the Dragon of Kraków".

Kraków is a very old city not far from our city, Katowice.

Once upon a time there was a beautiful town called Kraków. Over the town there was a hill and on the hill there was a big castle.

A good king lived in the castle with his beautiful daughter.

All the people of Kraków loved the king and the princess. Everyone was very, very happy.

WW

NN

One day, something terrible happened. A huge dragon came to Kraków and settled down in a dark cave under the castle.

Every day, the dragon flew over the town and over the fields. It ate animals and burnt the houses. People cried and cried and were very sad.

Every day, the dragon flew over the town and over the fields. It ate animals and burnt the houses. People cried and cried and were very sad.

MB

The good king was very sad, too. He didn't know what to do. He called brave knights and told them to kill the dragon. The knights took their swords and went to look for the dragon.

KB

But then, he saw the beautiful princess and had a better idea.

TC

The knights found the dragon next to its cave. They fought and fought, but the dragon was very strong and he defeated them all. He ate them, too! The dragon got very angry and decided to destroy the town.

The dragon came up to the king and told him that he was very angry about the knights. He said he would kill all animals and all people in the town if the king didn't give him his daughter. The dragon told the king to bring the princess to his cave in the morning. The king was very unhappy.

MB

MM

A young shoemaker came to the king and said, "Dear king, I will help you. Don't worry about anything."

The shoemaker took some sheep skin, some sticks and a lot of sulphur. He made a puppet in shape of a sheep and stuffed it with sulphur. Then, he took this "sheep" and put it in front of the dragon's cave.

OM

The dragon woke up in the morning and looked out of the cave. He didn't see the princess, so he was angry. But then he saw the sheep. He was very hungry, so he decided to eat the sheep immediately. He came closer and swallowed the sheep.

MM

MM

After a moment, he felt something burning in his stomach. He ran to the river and started drinking. He drank and drank and drank untill...he exploded!

All the people in Kraków were very happy. The king hugged the shoemaker and gave him half of his kingdom as a reward. He also gave him the hand of the princess, who now became the shoemaker's wife.

MW

The shoemaker and the princess lived happily ever after and when the king died, they became king and queen and lived in the beautiful castle. The people of Kraków loved them and always remembered that it was the shoemaker who had saved the town from the dragon.

MW

THE END

Now, let's practise some new words:

princess

knight

shoemaker

explosion

sword

castle

cave

king

dragon

sheep

river