Wendish Folklore Portfolio 8. PŁON - Dragons
8. PŁON - Dragons
Translated by Elmer Hohle
[Hohle's Wendish translation: 'Wild animal'
A house spirit of a different sort than the impish goblin (Kubołćik or Kobold) was the dragon or Płon. He
had a more devilish nature. Like a fiery bullet with a long tail, He went on his rounds at night, over the roofs and through the chimneys into the
attic of the homes of the farmers who called for him. Then he spit out whatever the greedy desired: grain, milk, or gold coins. In lieu of payment, he
required only good food, mostly millet porridge. Yet he was insidiously underhanded. If his gifts were stolen, or if someone didn't treat him well, he
viciously avenged himself against such.
A certain farmer from Trebendorf once had the Płon. He fed him well, and the dragon in turn brought him money - a nice pile each time.
The farmer was crafty. He didn't keep the money at home. Instead, he loaned it out to other people at interest. When he had accumulated an adequate
fortune, he then wanted to get rid of the dragon. So he nailed a wool sock to a rafter in the attic and cut off the toe end. Then, he commanded the
Płon to fill the sock with money. Since he couldn't get the sock filled, he no longer was given anything to eat. The Płon,
seeing that he wasn't succeeding in filling the sock, left the farmer.
All the money the farmer had accumulated for himself suddenly turned into "horseapples."
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