"To fight the dragon is hopeless. He will conquer you as he did your brothers."

"But I must slay the dragon," the prince protested. "He slayed my brothers, and such an action must be punished!"

"To fight the dragon is hopeless," the magnificent creature insisted. "He will conquer you as he did your brothers."

"How then do I defeat the dragon?" the prince asked.

"Dragons can be defeated. They are smart, and this one, particularly so. But man is clever. To defeat a dragon, a man must not fight. Man is weak. Man must outwit a dragon."

"How?" the prince wondered.

The magnificent creature turned his head away and spoke as though to the trees in the forest. "I cannot tell the prince how to outwit the dragon. The prince must figure that out himself." And, with those words, the creature slipped away.

The prince looked at his potion, thought of his wife, unborn son, and brothers, and set out to figure out how to outwit a dragon.

…stared in fear at the dragon's flames.

The poor young prince lost his right eye to the dragon's searing flame before he managed to escape. The prince would never see with said eye again, and so could no longer hunt as he had. The second eldest prince, hoping to win glory and to claim the dragon's hoard, pledged to avenge his brother rode to the dragon's mill.

On his way he passed an old woman. The first prince had passed the same woman, but in his haste to chase the rabbit he had missed her words of advice. This time the young man slowed his horse and listened to her words. "Young prince." she said, "You must push all fear from your heart and look only into the dragon's eyes." The young man smiled and told the old woman not to worry- for he would certainly slay the dragon, and rode off without another word.

But when the young Prince entered the mill and faced the dragon he forgot the advice he had received from a wise old woman. Instead of looking into the dragon's eyes as she had advised the young prince he gazed in fear at its flames.

This time with some warning the prince managed to save his right eye, but only to lose his left before he too managed to escape.

The youngest of the three princes was dismayed to see his two brothers defeated so, and pledged to seek out the dragon and try his luck in battle.

The third prince set out the next day, and at noon he met the very same wise old woman as his brother. Heeding her calls the young man jumped down from his horse. "Young Prince," she told him, "You must push all fear from your heart and look only into the dragon's eyes." The young man did not understand the advice, but being kind of heart he offered to split his provisions with her for their mid-day meal.

As they ate the wise woman explained. "You see the dragon in the Mill is a great sorcerer, able to change his shape at will, and he has but one weakness. If you were to gaze steadily into his eyes he would be unable to move or spout flame. But be warned. The calamities of the world are reflected in those eyes. But you must not look away, even for an instant, or his flames will burn you."

"I understand," the young man told her, "Thank you for your kind words of advice." "My advice is hardly worth your good food." The woman told him. Come with me to my hut and I shall give you better gifts."

The young man followed the woman to her hut. The wise woman handed him a sword of steal, ancient to be sure but sturdy in its make. "This sword is better suited to dragon-slaying than a simple spear. I give it with my blessings and the hope that you shall be victorious in your quest."

The young man accepted her gift with thanks, mounted his horse, and continued his journey. He reached the mill at sunset, and with his sword at the ready he stepped inside.

The dragon filled the room, its black wings stretched out wide. It stood atop a mound of riches, each enough to make any man rich as a king. But the prince remembered the woman's advice the young man looked away from the treasure and stared into the dragons eyes. The dragon froze, not a part of him moving except for the images the young prince saw in his eyes.

First he saw his brother wandering in a desert. Parched and scorched until he died of thirst.

Next he saw his older brother sailing in a ship, but all his nets were empty and soon he died of hunger.

Then he saw his father grow old and sickly until he too succumbed to death.

Last he watched his mother sowing by the hearth. He watched as the hem of her gown caught fire and heard her screams as she tried to put out the flames.

With a fierce cry the young prince drove the sword into the dragon's heart, killing it in one fell swoop. The prince had defeated the sorcerer and claimed his hoard as his own.

On his journey back to the castle the prince met the old woman once more. She met him at the road and greeted him with a smile.

The Prince thanked the woman once more, and offered her his sword. "Thank you." he told her, "without this sword and your good advice I never could have defeated the dragon." The woman laughed. "This old sword served you no better than any spear. It was your courage that defeated the dragon."

The prince was still grateful and gave a great bagful of treasure to the woman- enough to last her many life times- and told her that she was always welcome to visit the castle.

With a final farewell the prince continued on and was welcomed back with great joy and celebration. The King and princes were amazed to see the prince walking beside his charger, laden with treasure and unmarked.

The King held a great feast in his honor and chose this son as his heir.

The End ^^ (unless you wanna add on? feel free...)