In a long time, before Mieszko I (First Polish king) joined the Slavic tribes, a city grew up on the Wawel Hill, ruled by the noble King Krak.
The principality was beautiful and rich, Krak’s subjects were happy that they had such a good ruler and a wonderful city which was named after him Krakow. The king also had a beautiful and wise daughter, Wanda. Krakow developed quickly and people from neighboring tribes nailed to its gates.
Among the pilgrims looking for happiness, there was a young shoemaker named Skuba, who was driven to Krakow by the pursuit of his own shoemaking workshop. For the inhabitants of Krakow, life was happy and the days passed carelessly. One day their peaceful lives were filled with terror. A huge dragon appeared in the sky. Its great wings dimmed the sun, and its thick armor was resistant to arrows and swords. The dragon lived in a cave beneath the hill, ignoring the people who would in time become his food. From that day on, the beasts, throughout the land and among the neighboring tribes, began to be called the Wawel Dragon.
People in small groups began to leave the city, fearing the Wawel Dragon, who was eating helpless cattle every now and then. The city slowly emptied, the noisy and busy streets turned into silent labyrinths. Leaving the house was no longer natural, but true bravery. The Helpless King turned not only to his advisers, but also to knights and the inhabitants of Krakow. It was advised to collect a flower of Slavic chivalry that would kill the Wawel Dragon and save the city from his tyranny.
The Wawel Dragon was not going to give way, every knight who came to the cave alone was immediately devoured. Even small groups of knights were not a problem for the Wawel Dragon. In the end, an army of one hundred daredevils, armed with shields and swords, stood in front of the pit, but they also became the main dish of the Wawel Dragon.
Skuba thought a lot about the Wawel Dragon “It cannot be that the whole of Krakow suffers from one monster.” For days he was looking for a way to outsmart the monster. The foreman was curious what the young shoemaker had come up with. When he got acquainted with Skuba’s plan, he decided to help him, although he was afraid that he would not find enough materials. On the same day, he carried his puppet to the dragon’s den and set it up so that it looked like a real sheep.
When the shoemaker returned, people started asking him if he had seen the Wawel Dragon. Skuba replied that the Wawel Dragon sleeps in a cave. Then he told everyone about his plan. Then there was a terrible roar, the Wawel Dragon had to wake up and devour the sheep. People started climbing the city walls to get a better view of the beast.
At that time, the Wawel Dragon, drinking water from the Vistula River, wanted to extinguish the fire that the sulfur had ignited in it. The beast could not control itself, despite the full belly, the Wawel Dragon drank more and more, until the excess was dead. People immediately rushed to skin the dragon so it wouldn’t rise again. Carrying Skuba in their arms, they happily returned to the city. The king of advice that someone had finally defeated the Wawel Dragon promised the shoemaker his daughter’s hand, to which the young Wanda agreed with joy. The wedding lasted a week, and Skuba gave his wife dragonskin shoes as a wedding gift. Two years after the wedding, Wanda gave birth to a beautiful daughter, Żaganna.
