The Dragon Of The North | Peaceful Sleep Story

Welcome back, sleepy listeners. Tonight, I’ll be helping you drift off to a magical tale called The Dragon of the North. This is a gentle retelling of the classic story from Andrew Lang’s Yellow Fairy Book, lovingly adapted to help you relax and unwind. So settle in, get cozy, and let the story carry you off to a dreamy world of enchantment.

And just so you know, the music will continue softly for a few minutes after the story ends, to help you ease even more deeply into rest. I hope you enjoy it.

So lights out and sweet dreams!
Music in this track via Epidemic Sound

Transcript

Hello dear listener,

I'm Joanne and this is Drift Off,

A quiet space just for you to slow down and find rest.

Tonight's story is part of the Drift Off premium feed.

A heartfelt thank you for supporting the podcast and helping keep this space peaceful,

Ad-free,

And free of sponsorship announcements.

I'm so grateful you are here.

So let's take a moment now to gently settle in.

Allow your eyes to close,

And take a slow,

Comfortable breath in,

And then softly exhale.

Let yourself arrive,

Just as you are,

In this moment of stillness.

There's nothing you need to do now,

Nor else you need to be.

This time is just for you.

Tonight,

I'll be reading a timeless fairy tale from the Red Fairy Book.

A story full of enchantment,

Mystery and courage,

Gently retold to help you drift off to sleep.

And so my friend,

When you're ready,

Let's begin.

Very long ago,

As old people have told it,

There lived a dreadful monster who came out of the north and laid waste to entire stretches of land.

It devoured both people and animals,

And was so fearsome,

Many believed that unless some kind of help arrived,

No living creature would survive.

This monster had a strange and terrible form.

Its body was shaped like an ox,

But its legs were like those of a frog.

Two short forelegs in front,

And two long hind legs in back.

It also had a serpent-like tail,

Ten fathoms long,

That's 60 feet if you can imagine it.

When it moved,

It leapt like a frog,

And with every bound,

It covered half a mile of ground.

Fortunately,

It had one strange habit.

Once it arrived in a place,

It would stay there for several years,

Not moving on until it had devoured everything.

Every creature,

Every trace of life,

Leaving only silence behind.

Nothing could harm it.

Its entire body was covered in scales that were harder than stone or metal,

And its two enormous eyes glowed in the dark,

Shining at night like the brightest lanterns.

Even during the day,

Their gleam was terrifying.

Anyone who made the mistake of looking directly in those eyes became bewitched,

As if enchanted,

And would rush helplessly into the monster's open jaws.

And so,

The dragon fed with ease.

It never needed to chase its prey.

It simply waited,

And let them come to it.

The kings of all the neighboring lands offered great rewards to anyone who could destroy the monster,

Whether by strength or sorcery.

Many had tried,

But every one of them had failed.

Once,

Someone even set fire to the forest where the dragon was sleeping.

The whole forest was burned to ashes,

But the fire didn't leave so much as a mark on the monster.

Still,

There was one old legend that offered hope.

Among the wise men of the land,

It was said that the dragon could be defeated,

But only by someone who possessed King Solomon's signet ring.

The ring was engraved with a secret inscription,

And anyone wise enough to read it would discover the secret of how to destroy the beast.

The trouble was,

No one knew where the ring was hidden,

And there was no magician or learned man left who could read the strange writing on it,

If it were ever found.

Now at that time,

There lived a brave and clever young man in one of the northern kingdoms.

He had heard many stories about the terrible dragon,

And though others trembled at the thought of it,

The young man's heart stirred with something different,

Something bold and curious.

He had no sword for great fame,

Nor magic cloak,

Nor royal title,

But what he did have was determination and a quiet confidence in his mind and spirit.

One day,

He made a solemn vow.

He would seek out King Solomon's lost ring and discover a way to defeat the dragon.

So he packed a little satchel with bread and water and set off without delay,

Heading first toward the lands of the east where the old traditions whispered of wise men,

Ancient books and hidden knowledge.

He wandered far from his home,

Over hills and forests,

Through cities and deserts.

He asked questions in every village and studied every old tale he could find,

But no one could tell him where to look for the ring,

And many scoffed at his quest.

Still,

He did not give up.

At last,

After many months of travel,

He came to a place where the people spoke of a great magician who lived deep in the mountains.

They said the magician was very old,

Very powerful,

And very secretive.

He might know something about the ring,

If he could be persuaded to speak.

Without hesitation,

The young man climbed the steep and winding path that led into the mountain.

For days he searched,

And finally,

One cold morning,

He came to a little stone hut hidden among the rocks.

Smoke curled from his chimney,

And the air shimmered with a faint scent of herbs and wood smoke.

The young man knocked three times at the door.

After a long pause,

The door creaked open,

And there stood the magician.

His eyes were sharp and bright,

Like they held storms and stars within them.

His beard was long and white,

And his robe was woven with strange silver patterns.

He studied the young man for a moment before speaking.

What is it that you seek?

He asked,

In a voice as quiet as wind through the trees.

The young man bowed his head and said,

I seek King Solomon's ring.

I believe it holds the secret to defeating the Dragon of the North.

The magician was silent for a long time.

Then,

At last,

He stepped aside.

Come in,

He said.

We shall see.

The young man stepped quietly into the hut.

It was dim and warm inside,

Filled with curious things.

Jars of dried herbs,

Glowing stones,

And scrolls covered in ancient writing.

The magician pointed to a small wooden stool,

And the young man sat down without a word.

For a while,

The magician moved about in silence,

Stirring something in a pot and muttering to himself.

At last,

He turned and looked the young man full in the face.

You are not the first to come here asking about Solomon's ring,

He said,

But you are the first who asks not for riches or power,

But to help others.

This is why I will help you.

The young man listened intently as the magician continued.

The ring you seek lies deep beneath the earth,

In a secret place known only to the spirits of the old world.

To reach it,

You must journey to the far edge of the world,

Where the cliffs fall into the sea.

There you will find a cave guarded by powers that no sword can fight.

The magician stepped closer and placed a small charm into the young man's hand.

This will protect you from enchantments,

He said,

But you must also carry patience,

Kindness and cleverness.

These will serve you better than any weapon.

The young man bowed gratefully.

Once you find the ring,

The magician added,

You must bring it back to me.

I alone can read the inscription and tell you what it means.

The young man promised.

He spent one more night in the magician's hut,

And before dawn he set off again,

This time toward the edge of the world.

The young man traveled for many days and nights through wild forests and quiet valleys,

Across wide rivers and windswept plains.

He carried little with him now,

Just the charm from the magician,

A small bit of food and the courage in his heart.

At last,

He came to the place the magician had spoken of,

The far edge of the world,

Where steep cliffs drop down into the sea and the wind howled like an old song.

There,

Hidden beneath a curtain of ivy,

He found the entrance to a dark cave.

The air around it felt strange and heavy,

As if the space itself remembered old magic.

He stepped forward carefully,

Holding the magician's charm in his hand.

As he entered,

He felt the charm grow warm,

And the strange weight in the air began to lift.

The cave was quiet and cool,

The stone walls glistening as if touched by starlight.

Deeper and deeper he went,

Until the passage opened into a great chamber,

And there,

On a pedestal of crystal,

Lay a simple gold ring.

It was small and plain,

But it shimmered faintly in the dim light.

When he picked it up,

He saw the tiny inscription carved around the band,

Letters he could not read,

But which seemed to shift and shine as if alive.

At that moment,

The cave trembled softly,

And a voice,

Not loud,

But ancient and clear,

Whispered through the stones.

Wisely held,

Rightly used.

The young man bowed his head,

Tucked the ring safely away,

And made his way back into the light.

He did not look back.

The young man traveled swiftly,

The ring tucked safely beneath his coat.

Though the path was long,

He felt lighter than before,

As if the ring itself guided his steps.

At last,

He returned to the magician's hut,

High in the mountains.

The old man greeted him with a quiet nod.

You have it?

He asked.

The young man placed the ring in his outstretched hand.

The magician turned it slowly,

Letting the light catch the hidden writing.

Then he nodded once more.

Yes,

He said softly,

This is King Solomon's ring,

And here,

In this inscription,

Lies the secret of how the dragon may be overcome.

He sat down by the fire,

And began to read the ancient words aloud,

Slowly and carefully.

As he spoke,

The letters on the ring seemed to shimmer more brightly.

The one who bears this ring,

The magician read,

Must not strike with word or spell.

The beast is bound by deeper magic,

And its doom lies in a hidden word,

One that must be spoken aloud in the presence of the creature itself.

The young man leaned forward.

And what is the word?

The magician looked at him seriously.

The word cannot be spoken yet,

He said.

First,

You must journey to the land of ice,

Far to the north,

And find the Lady of the Northern Lights.

Only she can tell you the word.

The young man felt a flicker of fear,

But he nodded.

I will go.

The magician placed the ring back into his hand.

Be wise,

Be kind,

And trust what is true.

The journey will test your spirit more than your strength.

The next morning,

Just as the sun was rising,

The young man set off once more,

This time toward the frozen lands of the north.

The road to the north was long and cold.

As the young man journeyed farther,

The air grew sharper,

And frost clung to the trees like silver lace.

The sky became paler each day,

And the sun,

When it appeared,

Stayed low on the horizon like a watchful eye.

But he did not turn back.

He crossed frozen rivers and climbed icy hills.

He passed through still forests where not even a bird stirred,

And across vast white fields where only the sound was the crunch of his boots in the snow.

At last,

When it seemed he could go no further,

He came upon a place unlike any he had seen before.

The snow beneath his feet sparkled like stardust,

And the sky above shimmered with pale blue and violet light.

This,

He knew,

Must be the land of the Northern Lights.

And then,

Without a sound,

The Lady appeared.

She seemed to rise from the air itself,

Wrapped in robes that shifted like the aurora.

Her eyes held the call of distant stars,

And her voice,

When she spoke,

Was gentle and clear as wind over snow.

You have come for the word,

She said.

The young man bowed low.

Yes,

My Lady,

I carry the ring of Solomon,

And I seek the word that will undo the dragon of the North.

The Lady looked at him kindly.

You have shown courage,

And a heart that seeks no glory for itself.

That is why I will give you the word,

But you must speak it not in anger nor in fear.

Only when the dragon sees his end in your eyes,

And you offer him peace,

Will the word hold its power.

She leaned forward and whispered a single word into his ear,

A word so ancient and pure it seemed to echo through the sky itself.

The young man bowed once more.

Thank you,

He said,

And as he looked up,

The Lady was gone.

Only the swirling lights above remained,

Dancing quietly in the northern sky.

The young man made his way homeward.

The word of power held softly in his heart.

The journey back was cold and long,

But the lightness within him seemed to carry him faster than before.

At last,

He reached the lands where the dragon still lay,

Where the fields were quiet and no birds sang,

And no living creature dared to go near.

The monster was there,

Just as the stories had said.

Its great body lay stretched across a barren plain,

Its eyes burned like twin flames in the dusk,

And even now it did not move,

Only waited.

But the young man did not flinch.

He walked slowly toward the beast,

Holding the ring in his hand,

And when he was close enough to feel the warmth of its breath,

He spoke.

He did not shout.

He did not tremble.

He simply met the dragon's gaze and said the word.

The moment the sound passed his lips,

The dragon gave a great,

Shuddering breath.

Its eyes dimmed.

Its terrible body began to tremble,

Not with rage,

But with something like sadness.

The beast bowed its great head low to the earth,

And then,

Slowly and gently,

It vanished.

Like smoke on the wind,

Like a shadow leaving at sunrise,

It was gone.

The land sighed with relief.

Birds returned to the sky.

The grass grew green again.

The young man stood in silence,

The ring still warm in his hand,

And knew that the spell had been broken,

Not with fire or steel,

But with courage,

Kindness,

And a word of peace.

And now,

As the dragon disappears into mist and memory,

And the earth breathes quietly beneath the stars,

You too can settle into stillness.

Let your eyes rest.

Let your breath be slow,

And feel the weight of the day gently melt away.

There's no need to hold onto anything now.

Like the hero in the story,

You've come far,

And now you can simply rest.

My friend,

You are safe,

And you can let go now.

You can let go,

And simply rest.

Sweet dreams,

Dear one.

Sleep well.

Reviews

Thank you, Joanne. I’ll listen to this again so I can hear more of it. 💜

I fell asleep before hearing the end, so will listen again. Thank you for another soothing sleep story.

I fell back to sleep after maybe 10 minutes! Thank you for that, I listen again! 🙏🐲🐉