Long ago, there was a proud King who had a beautiful daughter. But she was a child of ill-luck. It was time to get her married. All the suitors assembled before the King’s palace. She would throw down a ball of red silk among the suitors, and whoever caught it, would be her husband. Now, there were many princes and counts who had gathered before the palace. Among them, there was also a beggar.
The princess saw dragons crawling into his ears and crawling out again from his nostrils. This means that he was a child of luck. So, she threw the ball to the beggar and he caught it. The King asked angrily, “Why did you throw the ball into the beggar’s hands?” “He is the Fortune’s favourite,” said the princess, “I will marry him, and then, I will have a share in his good luck.”
