He vowed that his sword should never rest in its sheath till they were set free , and bade the girl come with him , and show him the way . The maiden gladly consented to go with him , but first she gave him a golden rod , and bade him strike the castle with it . He did so , and it instantly changed into a golden apple , which he put in his pocket . After that , they started on their search . They had not gone far before they reached the castle where the second girl was confined by the power of the dragon with twelve heads , who had stolen her from her home . She was overjoyed at the sight of her sister and of Paul , and brought him a shirt belonging to the dragon , which made every one who wore it twice as strong as they were before . Scarcely had he put it on when the dragon came back , and the fight began . Long and hard was the struggle , but Paul 's sword and his shirt helped him , and the twelve heads lay dead upon the ground . Then Paul changed the castle into an apple , which he put into his pocket , and set out with the two girls in search of the third castle . It was not long before they found it , and within the walls was the third sister , who was younger and prettier than either of the other two . Her husband had eighteen heads , but when he quitted the lower regions for the surface of the earth , he left them all at home except one , which he changed for the head of a little dwarf , with a pointed beard . The moment that Paul knew that this terrible dragon was no other than the dwarf whom he had tied to the tree , he longed more than ever to fly at his throat . But the thought of the eighteen heads warned him to be careful , and the third sister brought him a silk shirt which would make him ten times stronger than he was before . He had scarcely put it on , when the whole castle began to shake violently , and the dragon flew up the steps into the hall . ` Well , my friend , so we meet once more ! Have you forgotten me ? I am Shepherd Paul , and I have come to wrestle with you , and to free your wife from your clutches . ' ` Ah , I am glad to see you again , ' said the dragon . ` Those were my two brothers whom you killed , and now your blood shall pay for them . ' And he went into his room to look for his shirt and to drink some magic wine , but the shirt was on Paul 's back , and as for the wine , the girl had given a cupful to Paul and then had allowed the rest to run out of the cask .
At this the dragon grew rather frightened , but XXXXX a moment had recollected his eighteen heads , and was bold again .
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