ONCE upon a time there lived an Emperor， called the White Emperor， who had three daughters， each one more beautiful than the other。He kept them locked up in strong towers for fear lest the Zmei， or Dragons， should steal them。
Close by there lived another Emperor， known as the Red Emperor， who had three sons。The eldest son， Ion， who was of a somewhat weak nature， had fallen in love with the eldest daughter， Ileana。The second son， Vlad， who was more valiant than his elder brother， loved the second daughter， Dorna； but the third， called Sucna Murga， who was as brave as he was handsome， was head over heels in love with the youngest daughter， Marintse。
One day the eldest Prince Ion came to the Emperor and asked him to allow his eldest daughter Ileana to take a walk with him in the garden。The Emperor， who could not get rid of his fear， at first refused， and told the Prince that he was afraid that he might lose his daughter through the wiles of the Zmei； but the Prince assured him that he would take good care of the Princess， and， moreover， the garden was surrounded by very high walls。There was nothing to fear。
At last the Emperor consented， and the eldest Princess came out to spend some time with the Prince in the garden。It was a right royal garden， full of trees and flowers， beautifully laid out and well kept。For some time they were walking up and down hand in hand， when the Prince suddenly espied a beautiful flower at some distant part of the garden。He let go the Princess’s hand and went across the lawn to pick it to bring to her。No sooner had he left her than a small cloud appeared in the sky over the place where the Princess stood， and， descending swiftly， enveloped and carried her away。It was all done in the twinkling of an eye。
The Prince came back with the flower in his hand and looked for the Princess。She had disappeared， and in vain did he search for her high and low。She was nowhere to be found。Vexed and troubled in spirit， he went back to her father and told him the sad news。The Emperor felt as if part of his heart had been torn out， for he loved his daughters dearly。He realized what had happened， and instead of joy there was sorrow in the palace。
Some time afterwards the second son Vlad came， and he asked the Emperor to grant permission to the second daughter Dorna to take a walk with him in the garden。The old father， remembering what had happened to his first daughter， refused， but the Prince pressed him so hard that he at last consented。
Great was the joy of the young girl when she found herself in the open air walking about with her beloved。Time passed quickly。Suddenly this Prince also espied a beautiful flower in some part of the garden， and went to pick it。No sooner had he left her when another but somewhat thicker cloud was seen descending swiftly from the blue sky。It enveloped the Princess， and， lifting her up， carried her away。
Great was the sorrow and grief and vexation of his spirit when the Prince， having searched in vain for the Princess， had to break the sad news to the old Emperor。Again there was weeping and lamenting in the palace， but nothing could be done。Both the Princesses had disappeared。
Again， after some time had passed， Sucna Murga， the youngest Prince， taking his heart in his hand， went to the Emperor with a similar request。At first the Emperor would not hear of it。
“The fate of the two girls ought to teach us to beware of exposing the third to the same fate，”he said。“It is bitter enough for me to have lost the two elder daughters。Why add to my grief by the loss of the third and only daughter left to me？”
But Sucna Murga entreated him so hard and spoke so sweetly that at last the Emperor gave way， though with a heavy heart。
So the youngest Princess and her beloved walked in the garden and whiled away the time picking flowers and throwing them at one another。So they often separated and met again， she picking them in one part of the garden and he in another， when， having gone each one farther away from one another than before， suddenly another thick cloud appeared from which forks of lightning were darting out。
It descended upon the young girl， enveloped her， and before you could pass your hand over your eye had lifted her up and was gone。
Then Sucna Murga returned to the meeting place， and he waited there a long time， but she never came back。Thinking perhaps she was playing a game of hide-and-seek， he went through every nook and corner of the garden in search of her。
When he had satisfied himself that she had really disappeared， there was nothing left for him to do but to tell the Emperor what had happened。I leave you now to imagine the weeping and lamenting， the grief and sorrow， not only in the palaces of the two Emperors， but also in the two countries， for the news had spread that the Zmei had stolen the Emperor’s daughters， and all the people joined in the grief and sorrow of their Emperors。No music nor laughter was heard any more in those countries。Joy had disappeared， and people walked about in deepest grief。There was nothing left but sadness and sorrow。This lasted for a time。But the three Princes could not endure it any longer， and above all Sucna Murga。He determined to go in search of the Zmei and to rescue the Princesses。One day he caught a flea， which， as you know， in those times had shoes on its feet each weighing a hundred tons， and yet they were able to jump as high as the heavens。So he took some of the shoes and made a chain which weighed twelve thousand pounds and was so long that it reached from the earth to the sky。
Then he said to his brothers：“Come， let us go together in search of our beloved ones。”
So， taking the chain on his back， they went until they came to the end of the earth where the hinges of the heavens are。There he asked his eldest brother to throw the chain on to the hinges， but he could not。Then he told the second brother to try； he also did not succeed。Then he threw the chain up， and it fastened itself on to the hinge of the heavens。
After he had tried the chain and found it secure， he said to his eldest brother：“You try and mount on this chain and get to the sky。”
But when the eldest brother had climbed up to the middle of the chain， he got giddy and frightened and he came down。
Sucna Murga asked him：“Have you got up to the sky？”
“No，”he said。
“How far have you gone up？ What did you see？”
“Well， I saw the whole earth looking like a mole hill and a wide thread of waters surrounding it。”
Then Sucna Murga asked his second brother to go up to the sky。He climbed up a little higher than his elder brother， and then came down to earth again。He had only seen the earth， but smaller than his elder brother had seen it。
Then Sucna Murga said：“I will try now。But mind you do not leave this place。Wait until you see the chain moving。That will be a sign for you to know that I have killed the Zmei， and that I am bringing back our beloved ones。”So he climbed right up。
When he reached the sky he found himself on a wide road。It was the road of the Zmei， and was leading to their palaces。
Now， the first Zmeu， who had stolen the eldest Princess， had one head， and the second had two heads， and the third had three heads， and each one of these was stronger than the other。Walking along， the Prince came to the palace of the first。What a surprise for the poor Princess！ She could not believe her eyes。She could not understand how he had got there， and he had to assure her that he was well and alive， and that he had come to rescue her。
She said to him：“I fear me that Zmeu of mine will prove stronger than you are。”
He replied：“Leave that to me， but tell me only what is his daily ration。”
And she said：“Five roasted calves， five ovenfuls of bread， five casks of wine， and when his club knocks at the gate the food must be ready， the table must be decked， and the food must be neither cold nor boiling hot。”
Whilst they were speaking there came a tremendous knock at the gate， which shook the palace。
Sucna Murga then said to her：“Where can I hide myself so as to meet him unawares？”