The Serpent of Warsaw

In the city of Warsaw, a long-long time ago, there lived a terrible creature. It dwelt in the cellar of a place known as the house in Crooked Wheel Street. This mysterious creature, which frightened people near and far, was called the basilisk.

None of the locals had any idea as to what the creature actually looked like, because no one alive could pass-on the information. Anyone who looked into its eyes was immediately turned into stone. But there was a rumour that it was a huge creature with bat wings, a crocodile tail, and extremely sharp claws. Its entire body was covered in hard scales, and it was said to be able to breathe fire.

During the day, the basilisk slept, but at night it would wander into the streets. The fires it started with its fiery breath destroyed buildings as well as humans. Whenever the monster was hungry, it feasted on cattle and fowl.

No wonder, then, that people spent day and night trying to figure out how to get rid of it. From time to time, some hero armed with a shield and a sword would try to kill the beast. But he always met the same fate as the brave men who tried before him: the basilisk turned him into a stone statue at a single glance.

For this reason, even the sun itself was afraid to appear in Warsaw, so for days the city was covered with dark storm clouds. People had no desire to venture out — who would want to rush into the streets when they could lose their lives at any moment?

One day a young tailor arrived in town. He was confused when he didn’t meet a living soul. The markets were empty…