Once in the village of Spurǧān there was a man who used to work hard. He wanted to marry. He searches and searches and marries a woman whose name is Mahə. This Mahə annoys this man so much. She does not work, she moans, she even throws stones at the man. When he comes home, she does not give him food. In the end he gets fed up, he is fed up with his life. One day in the middle of the night he wakes Mahə and says ‘Mahə, there is a pearl, it is in a well, big, it is so big, which I think you would like. Come and see what it is.’ She says ‘Let’s go.’ He goes and ties a rope to Mahə. The moon is casting its light in the well and appears like a huge pearl. He ties a rope to Mahə and sends her into the well in order for her to take out the pearl. Mahə goes until she reaches the bottom. He says ‘Has your hand touched (it)?’ She says ‘Yes.’ He throws down the rope. He puts a large stone on the hole. He leaves Mahə there. He goes and breathes a sigh of relief concerning his life. He says ‘Forget about the wife from now on.’ Several years go by. Several years have gone by and a shepherd is grazing sheep there. He sits exactly by that stone, by the stone of the hole where Mahə is. As he is sitting in this way, the stone moves. He pushes it a little. Suddenly a dragon rises upwards from the hole. It goes upwards (into the air) and immediately puts the stone back into its place. He says ‘Thank you. You have saved my life for me.’ ‘What has happened?’ He says ‘Several years ago they sent from there a woman whose name was Mahə. She has made me so fed up, that you cannot understand. Now I’ll give you anything you want in this world, since you have saved my life.’ He says ‘I do not know what to say, what I want.’ He says ‘I know what I shall do for you. There is a girl in another land. She is the daughter of a king. I shall go and wrap myself around that girl. I shall eat and burn anybody who comes. But when you come, I shall release myself and free her, so that they will give the girl to you and you will become the son of the king.’ He says ‘Very good.’ He does this very thing. He goes and wraps himself around the girl. An army marches (there) from other countries, strong men go (there), but they cannot remove the dragon. The shepherd slowly walks along the road. He reaches that town. He goes and says to the king ‘I shall save your daughter.’ He says ‘If you save my daughter, I am a king, I shall give you my kingdom.’ He says ‘Very good.’ The shepherd goes up. As soon as the dragon notices the shepherd, he releases the girl. He says to the shepherd, he says ‘If once more—I shall do this for you only once, since you saved my life once. But if you come once more to another town on similar business and want to save other people, I shall eat you. Do not come after me. Do not come after me. Come only once.’ He says ‘Very good.’ The shepherd releases the girl. He goes and the king gives the kingdom to the shepherd. He becomes the son of the king.

He becomes the king. Again several years pass by. Several years pass by and they bring word to the king saying ‘King, may you be well. In another town the dragon that wrapped himself around your daughter has gone and wrapped himself around another girl. We need help.’ The king says ‘Well, my son-in-law is a champion of a man. I shall send him there in order to save your daughter.’ He says ‘Very good.’ He comes and says to his son-in-law, he tells the story. He says ‘Go to the other town. A dragon has wrapped himself around another daughter of a king. Save her. I am asking you because they are very good friends of mine. It is a town that is close to us.’ He says ‘Very good.’ The shepherd sets off on the road. He goes with several horsemen. They go there. They arrive at the town. He goes and ascends to the place where the dragon has wrapped himself around the girl. As soon as the dragon notices the shepherd, he releases the girl and comes to eat the shepherd. He twists himself around the shepherd. The shepherd (says) ‘Dragon, stop, stop so that I can speak before you eat me, so that I can speak to you. You have saved my life, you have made me king. I am not mad enough to come to you, and so forth, for you to eat me.’ ‘But’ he says ‘why have you come? Did I not tell you that I shall to do this for you only once and the second time I would eat you?’ He says ‘Yes, I know you have said so, but I have come to save you.’ He says ‘What do you mean “save me”?’ He says ‘I have heard—do you remember that stone?’ He says ‘Yes.’ He says ‘Another man has pushed it back. Mahə is on the way, she is coming for you.’ While the shepherd was standing there, the dragon releases the girl and goes away.