Long ago

It was a fine winter afternoon, and King Raghuram of Amarpur was resting in his palace after lunch. All of a sudden, someone knocked at his door. He found his chief minister, Ramsingh, standing there, looking excited and worried. Before Raghuram could say anything, Ramsingh said in a worried voice, "I have bad news. That wicked dragon has come again; it attacked Princess Rupa and took her. The dragon killed her friends and soldiers. One of the soldiers somehow managed to escape and reported it to me."

 Hearing this, the king was shocked for a short while. Rupa was his daughter, whom he loved very much. She was a brave, beautiful, and humble twenty-year-old. She was fond of archery and hunting and had been on a hunting trip in the jungle with her friends and some soldiers. The dragon was a sworn enemy of the king and his state.

 Soon, recovering from the shock, the king cried out in anger, "How dare that cowardly, filthy dragon touch Princess Rupa? How did that coward get into our state again? We had defeated him and made him run away." The chief minister replied, "I have already sent troops in search of the princess." 

The people of the state were also worried and sad, and they were trying to search for the princess.

Shanker Singh was the prince of the neighboring state, Veerpur. He was brave, handsome, and well-educated. When he heard the news of the kidnapping of Princess Rupa, he decided to go in search of her. When he told his father, King Ramesh, about his decision and asked for permission, Ramesh did not grant it, saying, "King Raghuram is our enemy, and so are his daughter and son. You do not need to help him." Shanker Singh replied, "My dear father, I am not going to help him and save his daughter. I am going to capture her. Later, we will use her to take back the area of our state that we lost in the last war." Ramesh became happy hearing his son's idea, so he permitted him to go. 

Shanker Singh took some selected soldiers, disguised himself as a businessman from the neighboring state, and crossed the border. 

The dragon was an enemy of the king and the state. Years ago, the dragon had come to the state. Nobody knew where it had come from. It was cruel and had the ability to spew fire from its mouth. Soon, it started killing and robbing cattle, burning harvests, and scorching the people. When the situation went out of control, King Raghuram took military action against it. Seeing the increasing military pressure, the dragon had to flee the state. Gradually, people forgot about the dragon. One day, all of a sudden, the dragon appeared again, attacked Princess Rupa, and took her with it.

 Shanker Singh was in search of the princess. One day, Shanker Singh's men found an injured dwarf lying on the bank of a stream near their camp. They brought the dwarf with them, and after treatment, the dwarf was produced before Shanker Singh.

Dwarfs lived in the deepest parts of the jungles of the state. They never came to the villages and cities. They liked to keep away from humans. 

Shanker Singh was surprised when he saw the dwarf for the first time. He said, 'I have never seen such a tiny man before. Where has this wonderful tiny man been brought from?' 

One of the soldiers said, 'These tiny people live in the deepest parts of the jungle where we do not go. Today, we found him near the camp and brought him to you.'

 Shanker Singh asked the dwarf, 'What were you doing near our camp?' 

The dwarf said politely, 'Pardon me, sir. I, along with some friends, was in search of food far away in the jungle. When we heard the cries and shouting of a woman, we went in the direction from where the cries were coming, and we saw that a beautiful lady was being taken by a very big dragon. We threw our poisonous arrows and lances at the dragon to stop him, but our weapons were of no use against that big dragon. But the dragon got angry with us and began to spew flame on us. All of my friends were killed, but I somehow survived. I was injured and ran away from the scene but could not go far. After going about a mile, I lost consciousness and fell on the bank of a water stream.'

 This was like a ray of hope to Shanker Singh. He said to the dwarf, 'Can you take us to the spot where you found that dragon?' The dwarf replied, 'Yes, I will take you to the spot. Your men saved my life. I am indebted to you.' The dwarf took Shanker Singh to the spot. Upon reaching the spot, Shanker Singh and his men began to search for any clues. They soon found a golden chain and some big footprints on the wet soil of the jungle. Shanker Singh observed these footprints carefully. The footprints were not of any simple wild animal. Fortunately, the dwarf was with him and had great knowledge about the jungle. Shanker offered the dwarf some gold coins and good food and made him his friend. The dwarf became Shanker Singh's guide for that jungle.

Prince Rajsingh was desperately in search of Princess Rupa. One day, one of his spies informed him that Prince Shanker Singh, along with some men, had entered the state. Hearing this, Rajsingh became alert and worried. It occurred to him that Shanker Singh might be behind the abduction of Princess Rupa. With that thought, he immediately sent a message to his father to prepare for war against Veerpur. 

After kidnapping Princess Rupa, the dragon had immediately set off for the palace of a magician named Mahmud. Mahmud had been waiting for the dragon because the dragon was bringing Princess Rupa to him. Mahmud was a great magician, but a wicked and cruel person who always misused his magical powers. He had seen the princess for the first time when he was on tour in the state Amarpur. The princess, along with the king, had come to watch his show, and, being impressed with his performance, the king had given him some gold and money. Instead of being grateful to the king, the magician fell in love with Princess Rupa and began to dream of marrying her. But he knew neither the princess nor the king would accept him. So, he decided to use his magical power to win the princess's love. He tried all his magical powers but could not succeed because the state was already protected by super magical power, and no other magic could take effect due to this barrier. He got frustrated and left the state. He went to the neighbouring state of Veerpur and began to live in a small town far from the reach of that super magic. But he never forgot Princess Rupa. He always thought about her and made plans to get her. 

After being defeated by Raghuram's army, the dragon had been wandering here and there in the forests of Veerpur. One day, when the dragon was trying to steal a goat from a village to quench his hunger, he came across Mahmud. Mahmud took pity on him and gave him food. Since then, they became friends. As Mahmud was a wicked man, he took advantage of the friendship and convinced him to kidnap Princess Rupa.

 Mahmud became happy when he saw the dragon with the handcuffed Princess Rupa. The dragon said to him, "Here is your Princess Rupa." Saying so, the dragon pushed her towards Mahmud. Rupa was staring at him with anger, but she was helpless because of her tied hands and chained legs. She shouted, "Who are you? Why did you have me brought here in this way?" Mahmud looked at her and said, "I will marry you." Hearing this, she began to call him names. Mahmud got angry and slapped her tightly. She fell silent.

Dragon said to Mahmud, "If you are done, give me my award."

 Mahmud turned to him and asked, "What award?" 

Dragon replied, "You promised to give me a potion that will increase my power of spewing fire." 

Mahmood replied, "Oh, yes, you will have to wait for about a week. It is in progress."

 Then the dragon said, "And the gold?" Mahmud replied, "Along with the potion."

 Saying so, he turned to Princess Rupa, smiled with affection, and said, "I like you very much and want to marry you." 

Hearing this, Rupa got angry, spat at him, and said, "I would rather die than marry you." At this, Mahmud said, "You will not die. I will turn you into a goat until you agree to marry me." Saying so, he turned Rupa into a goat and threw her into a cage.

Meanwhile, Rajsingh was leaving no stone unturned in search of the princess. One day, his spies informed him that the dragon took the princess towards the border of the neighboring state. Rajsingh immediately moved to the border. On the other hand, Shanker Singh was already looking for Rupa in the jungle adjacent to the border. Both of them were not far away from each other.

 One night, after having dinner, everyone was sleeping in the camp, but Shanker Singh was enjoying the warmth of the campfire. All of a sudden, he heard footfalls in the nearby bushes. He became alert, and his hand moved to his sword. He picked up a piece of burning wood with his other hand and shouted, "Who is there?"

 "I am a fairy; don't be afraid. I want to see you," came a response from the bushes.

 Shanker drew his sword and said loudly, "Come out of the bushes." 

The next moment, a beautiful fairy was before him. He was surprised to see her. For the first time in his life, he was seeing such a creature. She said, "I have heard that you and your men are in search of someone who has been abducted by an evil dragon."

 Shanker said, "You are right. She is Princess Rupa. Do you know anything about the dragon? Would you like to help us?" 

She said, "Why not? That dragon is a potential threat to us fairies and the other creatures and animals dwelling in this beautiful jungle. It is necessary to remove this threat." She paused for a short while and then said, "Some of my friends in this jungle can help us search for the princess. I will meet them and ask about it in the morning. I will see you soon. Wait for me." Saying so, the fairy departed. Shanker Singh had no other option but to wait. Meanwhile, Rajsingh reached the jungle and began the search for Princess Rupa.

The next day, while the dragon was hunting in the jungle, it came across some soldiers who were in search of the princess. The soldiers attacked it, but the dragon was full of vengeance. It began to spew flames at the soldiers; some were burnt to death, while others ran away from the scene. After this incident, the dragon returned to Mahmood and told him about its fight with the soldiers. Hearing this, Mahmood said, "Soon the king or his chief minister will get us. We will have to do something." He thought for a while and then said, "I will make my palace invisible, along with you and that proud Rupa, alias the goat." 

Soon, Mahmood, the dragon, Rupa, and the palace became invisible by the magic of Mahmood.

Those were the soldiers of Rajsingh. When Rajsingh heard about the killing of his soldiers by the dragon, he was filled with anger and immediately set off to find and kill it. 

Meanwhile, the fairy found out the whereabouts of the dragon and reached Shanker Singh, saying, "That magician, Mahmood, made the dragon and the princess, along with his palace, invisible. But don't worry; I know how to make them visible. Come with me. I will take you to Mahmood's palace." So they set off for Mahmood's. When they reached there, they found nothing. The fairy began her magic to make the palace visible. Soon, she succeeded. Mahmood and the dragon still thought themselves to be invisible. Shanker Singh and his soldiers stormed into the palace and began to search for the dragon and the princess Rupa.

     When Mahmood and the dragon heard the footfalls, they were shocked. Within a minute, Shanker Singh was before them with a sword in his hand. Seeing that, the dragon began spewing fire at him, but Shanker was swift and brave. He dodged the dragon. Before the dragon could move toward him, Shanker took a flying leap at the dragon and poked his sword into the dragon's chest. At this, the dragon grew mad with anger and pain and grabbed at Shanker. Shanker again dodged the dragon, took a big leap, and this time, he cut the dragon's neck with his sword. The dragon fell down and died. 

Meantime, Mahmood ran away from the scene, but he could not go too far. The soldiers and the fairy saw him running and caught him. He was taken to Shanker. Shanker asked him, "Where is Princess Rupa?" Mahmood was trembling in fear. Somehow he managed to say, "I don't know." Hearing this, Shanker kicked him. He fell to the ground. Shanker again asked, "Tell me where Rupa is. Otherwise, you will be killed." Mahmood replied, "I turned her into a goat and put her in a cage." Hearing this, Shanker began to beat him and said, "Turn her back into a human, or I will kill you." Mahmood had no choice but to obey him.

Mahmood took Shanker and the fairy to where Rupa was kept. He turned her back into a human. When Shanker saw Rupa, he kept looking at her, impressed by her beauty. 

 Rupa was happy to be free from Mahmood's magic. She thanked Shanker and the fairy. When she asked, Shanker introduced himself. Shanker began to like her and forgot his plan of capturing Rupa. Shanker ordered his soldiers to kill Mahmood. Mahmood was put to the sword, and the carcass of the dragon was burnt to ashes. 

When Shanker Singh was returning from the scene with Rupa, he encountered Prince Rajsingh along with his soldiers. Seeing Shanker with Rupa, Rajsingh grew angry and prepared to fight Shanker. Seeing this, Rupa stopped him and explained that it was Shanker who had saved her from the dragon and the magician. Then, she told Rajsingh everything that had happened and how Shanker and the fairy had found the dragon and Mahmood and killed them. Hearing this, Rajsingh was impressed with Shanker and made him his friend, inviting him to his palace as a guest. King Raghuram was happy when he heard that Rupa was safe and had returned home. Rupa told him all that had happened and how Shanker Singh had saved her life from the wicked dragon and magician. 

Gradually, Rupa, too, fell in love with Shanker Singh.

After some days, when Raghuram came to know that Rupa and Shanker liked each other, he  gave  Rupa's hand in marriage to Shanker Singh. After their marriage, Shanker and Rupa lived a happy and prosperous life for a long time.