Dragon carries off the kings daughter, Four Clever Brothers, Rackham1909
Actual colour plate individually inspected: airborne winged dragon carries young woman over distant castle. Primary book caption explicitly identifies abduction by Dragon; exact Four Clever Brothers section. Alternate black-and-white plate shows princess seated on sleeping dragon; both belong to same named witness.
Overview
A king's daughter disappears into a dragon's custody. Four brothers trained in extraordinary trades locate her through an astronomer's telescope and sail to a rock far out at sea. The creature sleeps on her lap, making a direct shot unsafe. The thief instead removes her so gently that the dragon continues snoring while the rescuers depart.
Waking to find the prisoner gone, the dragon follows through the air and circles over their ship, preparing to descend. The huntsman shoots it in the heart, but its enormous falling body smashes the vessel. A tailor's magical needle repairs the wreck from floating planks and fragments. The monster's death therefore creates another danger instead of immediately ending the ordeal. The story gives no head count, fiery breath, scales or precise wings, so these remain unspecified.
Origins & earliest records
The dragon appears in Grimm's tale129, Die vier kunstreichen Brüder, selected through Margaret Hunt's1884 translation. It is identified by its individual abduction-and-pursuit episode, not by a personal name. The collected printed account supplies a traceable literary witness, while neither tale numbering nor publication demonstrates when such cooperative dragon-rescue stories first circulated orally.
Records & interpretation
The primary narrative directly describes sleeping on the princess's lap, aerial pursuit and a falling body heavy enough to destroy a ship. It explains why the thief acts before the marksman can safely shoot. These are textual details of one antagonist. No external zoological evidence accompanies them, and familiar dragon attributes absent from this witness should not be supplied.
In the literature
“his fall shattered the whole ship”
Tale 129, The Four Skilful Brothers; After the huntsman’s shot · Margaret Hunt
The dragon remains destructive through the weight of its dead body.
Selected bibliography
Documented works and useful reading. This is not a list of every appearance.
- 01
Household Tales, tale 129: The Four Skilful Brothers
Specific numbered primary tale inspected. English translation terms and literary transmission remain distinct from oral origin.
- 02
Household Tales — The Four Skilful Brothers
Margaret Hunt historical English translation (1884); Project Gutenberg5314. Exact numbered tale and observed HTML anchor used; no inferred printed page or earliest oral date.
Family & connections
A source-supported family tree or inspiration record has not yet been compiled for this profile. Related reading below indicates a connection in subject matter, not a proven lineage or creative influence.
Located primary passages
Specific passages supporting details in this entry, grouped by their published witness.
Household Tales, tale 129: The Four Skilful Brothers
Margaret Hunt historical English translation (1884); Project Gutenberg5314. Exact numbered tale and observed HTML anchor used; no inferred printed page or earliest oral date.
- The dragon carries off a princess and lies asleep on her lap on a sea rock. The astronomer finds her and the thief removes her without waking it; the huntsman initially refuses to shoot because she would also be hit.
Tale 129, The Four Skilful Brothers; Abduction and quiet rescue on the sea rock
- After discovering the escape, the dragon flies after the ship. The huntsman shoots its heart while it circles overhead; its falling body shatters the vessel. The tailor’s needle repairs the wreck and saves the party.
Tale 129, The Four Skilful Brothers; Aerial pursuit and fatal fall
Complete named tale read. Original narrative curse causes and modern species identities are not inferred; prose only, no song or ritual-formula excerpts.
References
Sources supporting this profile. Linked pages have their own scope and editorial standards.
- Primary textHunt's Household Tales — 129 The Four Skilful BrothersResearch access: 2026-10-05
Image credits
Historical illustrationDragon carries off the kings daughter, Four Clever Brothers, Rackham1909
Actual colour plate individually inspected: airborne winged dragon carries young woman over distant castle. Primary book caption explicitly identifies abduction by Dragon; exact Four Clever Brothers section. Alternate black-and-white plate shows princess seated on sleeping dragon; both belong to same named witness.
