OUR BOOK OF LEGENDS

In the old days, when there were still dragons, a king named Sieghard ruled in the Netherlands. This king had a son named Siegfried. Even as a child, Siegfried was big, strong and very adventurous. From an early age he wanted to go out into the wide world to test his strenghts. When he was again alone in the woods, he got very hungry. So he knocked at a blacksmith's house, who lived lonely in the forest. “Can you give me some food?”, Siegfried asked, “I will work for it”. The blacksmith could really use a strong young man, so he was happy that Sigfried stayed.&nbsp;

Siegfried thought of nothing bad when he came to the place his master had told him. Suddenly with a great “Roaarrr!” the bloodthirsty and fire- breathing dragon appeared. But young Sigfried was quick. He tore a large tree from the ground and threw it at the dragon, entangling it in the branches. When the beast could hardly move, Siegfried took the earth that was still glowing from the dragon’s fire breath and used it to set the tree and the dragon on fire.&nbsp;

The blazing fire melted the dragon away. Without much hesitation, Siegfried took a bath in the still warm blood so that it covered his every part of his body. Only between his shoulder blades a small lime leave settled unnoticed, so that no blood covered Sigfried at this little spot. After the blood had dried, Siegfried’s skin had become invulnerable so that no sword could cut him where the dragon’s blood had touched him.

Parchment

The count left for Salerno to see his friend’s aunt. The old woman gave him the remedies. He went back to the king to ask him for his daughter. “If you can reach the top of that cliff carrying my daughter upon you back without any pause”, the king said, “then she will become your wife!” But he was certain that the young man would fail.&nbsp;

In years that passed, many other ships saw The Flying Dutchman around the Cape of Good Hope. Its Captain had shouted “Even if I need to sail until the end of time …” He had been sailing for a long time now. Maybe the curse will be broken one day and the Captain will find his peace...&nbsp;

Some years later, another ship was travelling back to the Netherlands. Around the Cape of Good Hope, a seaman suddenly saw a black ship with fiery red sails, sailing in the opposite direction from the wind! A ghost ship! He shouted and other sailors came to see what was happening. The ghost ship turned and sailed straight at them. The sailors shouted in fear – but the ship just passed through them like it was flying. There was no crash, only a feeling of cold. “The ship had a Dutch flag! It was a Dutchman!”, said the captain. “The Flying Dutchman”, said one of his sailors. Everyone repeated this, and so the ghost ship got its name - The Flying Dutchman.

When he was two-thirds of the way up the cliff, the young girl told him to drink the liquor again. The count refused, there were only a few more yards to go. And then, at last he was at the top. But he was so tired that he fell to the ground. The young lady thought that her lover was ill. So she took the liquor to restore his strength.&nbsp;

The young girl realized that whitening the wool was an impossible task but she still went to the river, hoping for a miracle.

Baba Dochia Shamahran The Flying Dutchman Sigfried, the Dragon Slayer The Cliff of the Two Lovers

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The Flying Dutchman

The king called for a big tournament to find the one knight who would be brave and strong enough to rescue his daughter: “He who rescues her, will marry her”. Siegfried was by far the strongest and won the tournament.

On the search for Florigunde, Siegfried met the king of dwarves, Egwald, who told him about a huge treasure that was hidden at the Drachenfels where he knew the dragon had taken the princess.

“Listen”, she said, “I have a very rich aunt in Salerno. She knows the virtues and properties of herbs and roots ; you will go to her with my letter and she will give you potions to double your strength. When you return, you will ask to see my father and accept his challenge: with the help of the potion, you will climb the cliff and get to the top successfully.”

He climbed very fast and was soon half way up. His joy made him forget the remedy. The princess said to him: "My friend, you are tired, drink, please, to have more courage“. "No, my beautiful!“, he answered, "I am full of vigor and I don‘t want to stop. It would slow me down“.

With this new power Siegfried felt he wanted to go out into the big wild world. His path led him to the castle of the famous King Gilbald. He felt the deep sadness that lay over the land. The princess, the lovely Florigunde, had been kidnapped by a bloodthirsty dragon. The king and queen were desperate and had already sent messengers to find out where the dragon had taken his daughter.

Thus, on a cold winter day, Baba Dochia gave the girl a ball of black wool and asked her to go to the river&nbsp;to wash the wool until it turns white again, threatening her not to dare to return until the job is done.&nbsp;

He saw a beautiful young woman who was half human and half snake. He was so surprised he said nothing but this exotic creature said: “Don’t be afraid. We won’t hurt you. I am Shahmaran and I am the Queen of the snakes. You are our guest. Now, you are with us you must feel safe and you must rest. We will talk tomorrow.” and she went away. Tahmasp thought he was dreaming but he closed his eyes and fell asleep again.

The captain slammed his fist on the table: “I don’t care!” shouted he. “I don’t care about the Easter Friday, I don’t care about the storm, we will sail when I say so! Make sure that everything is ready tomorrow!” He went to his cabin and continued cursing for hours. The following day, the storm was even worse. The waves were huge and crushed against the ship. Dark clouds hung above the harbour. But the voice of the captain thundered above the storm: “Raise sails! Raise anker! We are leaving!”.

            So the king ordered everyone to go to the public baths and under the eyes of his soldiers, to immerse themselves.&nbsp;Tahmasp tried to hide but was found by the soldiers who took him to the town baths and threw him in.&nbsp;As the Shahmaran had told him, his skin took on the appearance of a snake and the soldiers dragged him from the water, bound him and took him to the king.

&nbsp;But nothing happened to him. The Captain collapsed and died as did the king.The truth was that the wisdom of Shahmaran filled her head and now was part of Tahmasp.&nbsp;However, Tahmasp simply couldn’t bear the sorrow of losing Shahmaran, so he left his home and wandered about the country from land to land and from mountain to mountain and became known far and wide as a wise man.&nbsp;But they say, the snakes know how Shahmaran was killed and because of this, snakes became the mortal enemy of man.

On the appointed day, many people were there to see the count climb. The princess wore only a shirt and had eaten nothing to be as light as possible. The count gave her the potion. &nbsp;“Are you ready?”, the king said. The young man took the princess on his back and began to climb the cliff.

As she was growing up, people started murmuring that the king did not want the princess to get married. The king heard the rumors. He was very sad at the idea of giving up his daughter but he did not want to displease any of her many suitors. So he proclaimed that the man who would carry the princess to the top of the mountain without resting would become his son-in-law. A lot of young people came from all sides to try their luck. Some went a quarter of the way, others halfway; but all of them failed.

In the country lived the son of a count, he was a brave handsome young man. He often came to the king's court. When he saw the princess, he immediately fell in love with her. They carefully hid their love from everyone. But one day, the young man said: “If you love me, dear friend, follow me, let us go to another country; if I ask your father for you, I will get a refusal or he will demand that I carry you to the top of the mountain.”

The girl gladly returned home to her love but Baba Dochia, as expected, wasn’t too happy about that. But when she saw the red flower pinned to the girl’s blouse, Baba Dochia believed that spring had already come so&nbsp;she hurried to take her sheep up in the mountains.&nbsp;

Under torture, he gave up his secret and the soldiers went to the well and entering into the Kingdom of the Snakes, captured Shahmaran and took her to the palace of the king. Tahmasp felt full of shame and remorse when she saw Shahmaran. Shahmaran then turned to the soldiers and the king and said “As I am about to die, I will give you my secret. Whoever eats my tail will attain wisdom beyond measure and long life but whoever eats my head will die.”&nbsp;Upon which, the Captain of the King's Guard killed Shahmaran and cut her into three pieces. The Captain of the Guard, wanting to gain wisdom for himself, ate a piece of her tail, while Tahmasp distraught at the death of Shahmaran, consumed part of her head wanting to die.&nbsp;

The ghost ship never reached East Indies. It did not return to any Dutch harbour either. The families of the sailors kept waiting for them to return. The owners, East Indian Company, never received any message about the ship. Did the ship sink? Slowly, people forgot all about it.&nbsp;

But in the evening, a cold wind started to blow as winter was still present. Then Baba Dochia, as well as all her sheep, got frozen and then, God knows what forces, turned them into stone. On&nbsp;Bucegi Mountains, up on the plateau, there are some strange stone formations that apparently, represent exactly Baba Dochia and her sheep.

It is said that once upon a time, there was an&nbsp;old lady named Baba Dochia. She had a son,&nbsp;Dragobete, a very handsome and kind boy who fell in love with a girl. Their love was so powerful that they got married immediately and only after that they said the news to Baba Dochia.&nbsp;

The dragon, tired from the flight, had brought the princess to the Drachenfels on the Rhine. There the beast fell asleep and snored so loudly that the entire mountain shook. These stones can still be seen in the Rhine today.

There is no Romanian who hasn’t heard at least once&nbsp;the legends of Dochia. Sometimes presented in the form of a beautiful girl, other times in the appearance of an old lady, Dochia is probably one of the most known legendary figures. &nbsp;But the most famous legends of Dochia are those&nbsp;connected with the arrival of the spring.

In spite of his happiness Tahmasp still felt a sense of emptiness because he missed his family. Shahmaran didn’t want to let him go but because she loved him so, she allowed him to return to the world above but she warned him that he must not tell anybody about the subterranean kingdom of the Shahmaran and the Land of Snakes. She also warned him that because he had been with her for so long, he had taken on some of the characteristics of the Land of Snakes.&nbsp;She told him not to bathe with other people, because on contact with water his skin would take on the appearance of a snake’s skin and mankind would know his secret. Tahmasp returned to the surface and kept his counsel and kept his promise to Shahmaran.

She took&nbsp;twelve coats on her, but as she climbed the mountains, the weather began to be warmer and warmer and&nbsp;each day she got off one coat&nbsp;until the 12th day when she remained only in a blouse.&nbsp;

In Normandy, there is a high chalk cliff which lies between the river Andelle and the Seine. It is known as the Cliff of the Two Lovers. In the Middle Ages, a widowed king lived there with his daughter, which was very beautiful, kind and a great source of comfort to her father.

Tahmasp&nbsp;climbed down&nbsp;the well to recover the honey, but when the honey was all gone, his friends left him in the well and went away. When he realised they weren’t coming back he lost all hope until he saw a hole at the bottom of the well.&nbsp;Using his knife he made the hole big enough to squeeze through and he found a large cavernous space. Exhausted from his efforts, he fell asleep.

But when she knelt down, she saw that it was too late, he was dead.&nbsp;The princess gave a great cry, looked wildly about her and threw away the bottle which contained the remedy. She threw herself on the body of her friend and fell next to him. The king and all the assembly could not see the two young people so they decided to climb the mountain.

When they arrived, they saw the horrible spectacle: the two lovers were dead. Three days later, the young people were put together in a marble coffin and they were deposited on the top of the mountain. The herbs that grew on the place where the potion was thrown became famous for the cures they produced.

The&nbsp;helmsman&nbsp;tried once again: “Captain, today is Easter Friday and our sailors do not want to sail on such a holy day”. The Captain laughed at him: “I give orders here! And I say that we will sail, be it Easter, or storm”Then the sailors started getting ready. Their captain was a brave man, he had led them through dangerous adventures before. They trusted him. While they were working, the first sounds of Easter bells were heard. The&nbsp;helmsman&nbsp;tried for the last time: “It is Easter, Captain”. The Captain cursed and shouted back “Who cares about Easter? I said that we will sail and we will! Even if I need to sail until the end of time, we are leaving now!”.

This is the story from the times of elegant sail ships and dangerous journeys across perilous seas…Some people say that the captain of the story comes from the Dutch town of Terneuzen and that his name was Willem van der Decken. For some days already, a fierce storm was raging and huge waves were crashing in the small coastal town. A ship lay safely in the harbour, waiting for better weather. This ship was full of precious cargo and needed to travel to East Indies. Its captain was a brave but impatient man who wanted to start his journey as quickly as possible.

The crew obeyed their Captain: he was really brave! What was it that he said? “Even if I need to sail until the end of time, we are leaving!”&nbsp;They worked busily and soon finished all preparations.The first mate looked for the Captain to report that everything was ready. “We carried out your orders, Captain”, said the first mate. But the Captain just stood there, he did not move, his eyes were frozen, his arms unmoving. It was like all life had left him. Then the first mate froze as well. All the sailors suddenly stopped moving. The crew of the ship stood, lifeless, on the board.

When Siegfried started to work and wanted to use the hammer and the anvil, Siegfried struck so hard that the iron broke and the anvil dug deep into the earth. When the blacksmith and his wife saw that, they asked themselves: “How can we get rid of him again. He is so strong, that is scary.” So they thought about a solution. The next morning, the blacksmith sent Siegfried into the forest to fetch coal. He sent the young man to the very place where a dreaded dragon lived. Many brave warriors and noble knights had already tried to defeat the dragon to free the land from fear. But the dragon had killed them all. Master blacksmith thought: “The dragon will have an easy time with Siegfried. He will eat him so he will never come back.”

The captain was angry because he had to wait. He was walking around the ship in rain and wind, he was cursing. How dare this storm to make him wait! Wasn’t he the bravest captain in this world? His ship was the quickest, he had sailed so many times through dangerous seas and terrible storms. Nothing could stop him! The weather was so terrible, that all the crew members sat inside, playing cards. The crew trusted their captain completely – he was a great captain and he had saved them so many times.&nbsp;

Do you like stories with dragons, ghosts and magic ? Do you know why snakes are afraid of men? Do you want to learn about real places and their legends? This book is just for you!

audio ebook created by pupils from Collège Jules Michelet, Bihorel (France), Paul Klee Gymnasium, Overath (Germany), Haags Montessori Lyceum (The Netherlands), Secondary School Nr 18, Sibiu (Romania), Mehmet Sinan Dereli Middle School, Kocaeli&nbsp;(Turkey)

cover illustration by Chloé and Louise

&nbsp;Her love for Dragobete was truly sincere and the thought of never seeing him was unbearable so she consciously began to wash the wool in the frozen waters of the river. Her delicate hands rapidly began to bleed but the wool remained black. But suddenly, out of nowhere, a strange man, touched by the girl’s grief, came close to her and gave her a beautiful red flower saying that if she will put the flower into the water, the wool will turn white and that’s exactly what happened.&nbsp;

Siegfried did not hesitate, he reached the Drachenfels and climbed the rock to rescue his Florigunde. The big dragon came dangerously close and spat fire, so that even the rock crumbled. He was full of rage when he saw that the princess was to be stolen from him. He attacked brave Siegfried with such force that the earth shook. But nothing could harm Siegfried who was invulnerable because he had bathed in the dragonblood. He took his sword with both hands and struck at the dragon with all his strength. The dragon roared even louder with rage. Siegfried struck again with all his might and cut the monster in half. Florigunde fell into the hero’s arms and on their way down the Drachenfels they discovered Egwald’s huge treasure that should become famous as the Nibelungen treasure that people still try to find today.

In the morning, Tahmasp woke up and found himself in a large hall and nearby he saw Shahmaran reclining at a table where a sumptuous breakfast had been laid out. Warily, he joined her at the table, completely captivated by her beauty. He couldn’t take his eyes off Shahmaran. They had breakfast together and Shahmaran told him stories about the history of mankind. Tahmasp was captivated by the stories and entranced by Shahmaran’s kindness and care for his comfort.&nbsp;Before long they had fallen in love with each other.

Siegfried married his Florigunde and they lived happily for eight more years at the castle... Until one day the little lime leave that once had fallen between Siegfried’s shoulders would be the reason for big grief - but that's another story that is to be told another time... The ruins of the castle on the Drachenfels still sit high above the river Rhine today and a castle and a reptile museum remind people of the old legend.&nbsp;&nbsp;

She got madly furious so she decided to give a lesson to her new daughter-in-law.

&nbsp;Some versions of this legend claim that the strange man who helped the girl was&nbsp;Martisor, the Messenger of the Spring, celebrated on the&nbsp;1st of March. &nbsp;In Romania, the days at the beginning of March are considered&nbsp;days of a new beginning or Baba Dochia's Day. So, before the 1st of March, especially women use to choose one day from the first 9 and judging by how the weather is on the chosen day, they know how the new year will be for them.

But the ship shuddered and moved! As if by magic, its sails flew in the opposite direction from the wind. And while no crew member stirred, the strange ship moved slowly out of the harbour. The people in the town stared, not believing: a ship going into that terrible storm? Against the wind? With the crew that looks dead? This was strange! Then suddenly, all the sails lighted red. In just one moment, the ship turned black, as if burned by some magical, invisible fire. The ghost ship, black, with fire-red sails and dead crew, sailed into the storm.

The princess hoped to escape but no matter how she tried and wept, Florigunde had to stay with the dragon. Years passed and Siegfried had grown into a handsome man, when he heard the king's messengers spread the word about the kidnapped princess. That night Siegfried dreamed that beautiful Florigunde was standing in front of him in person. “Oh, Florigunde” he sighed and went to find her.

            Many years later the King of the surface world in which Tahmasp lived, fell ill,and his doctors told him that the only cure for his illness was to eat the flesh of Shahmaran.&nbsp;They then told him the story that there were people in the land who knew about the underworld kingdom of the snakes and that the only way to find out who they were was to pour water upon them because water would turn their skin into scales like a snake.&nbsp;In this manner they would be able to find someone who knew the way into Shahmaran’s kingdom.&nbsp;&nbsp;

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Yes, the crew respected their captain and always obeyed his orders, even though he was sometimes impatient and rash. The captain entered the room where his crew were playing cards and shouted: “Whatever the weather may be, tomorrow morning at 6 o’clock, we are sailing out”. Everyone fell silent. They looked at each other in shock. Then the first mate dared to say: “But Captain, Sir, tomorrow is Easter Friday”. “This is true, Captain!”, repeated all the other sailors. At that time, people were very religious and believed that it was a sacrilege to start sailing on Easter Friday.&nbsp;

There was a young&nbsp;man whose name was Tahmasp. He was tall and handsome. He was a son of a poor family and he worked as a wood cutter. One day, he and his friends were working around the forest, collecting wood, when they found a well which was full of honey. They decided to take the honey.&nbsp;

When he woke up, he saw thousands of snakes around him. The snakes were looking at him. When they noticed he was moving, they started to approach him. He thought, he would be&nbsp;killed by them and he felt so helpless that he closed his eyes and began to pray to God, but nothing happened. So he gathered up his courage and opened his eyes.&nbsp;

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