@Mala921 said in #51:
> For those of us who are much, much, much too busy but still interested, can you make a synopsis?
> In other words, what is your main message?
I can only offer a translation from the Russian Wiki.
A certain wanderer, wandering through the fields, is attacked by an unknown flying creature, which shoots fire at him. The Stranger escapes by diving into a pond, where three fishermen notice him. They tell him that this creature is a dragon, the ruler of their country, whom, despite all his cruelty, all people praise, and every person, according to the dragon, is obliged to know him. The wanderer tells the fishermen that he would have killed him in their place, and leaves, when suddenly the fishermen wound him in the leg and deliver him in nets to something like a receiving point, which is a conveyor belt, on which people like the wanderer move in nets, hanging upside down. Having stolen a knife from the guard, the wanderer escapes by throwing himself into the river. At a small port, he sees a young fisherman aiming a gun at him. However, the fisherman refuses to shoot, calling the wanderer's name Lancelot.
Lancelot ends up in the house of the archivist Charlemagne, whose only daughter Elsa has just become the chosen one of the dragon: according to tradition, the dragon, who has been living for four hundred years, once a year chooses a girl as his chosen one, who lives with him until he chooses another . According to the archivist, people have long been accustomed to this, as well as to other atrocities of the dragon. As a positive side of the reign of the dragon, Charlemagne calls the fact that he saved the inhabitants of the country from the gypsies. Lancelot is amazed at their patience and does not understand why people did nothing to get rid of their ruler. In response, Charlemagne reports that in this case, another dragon may come, and you can only get rid of it if you have your own. Lancelot is about to leave when suddenly Elsa realizes that he is a knight. Indeed, it turns out that Lancelot is a maternal descendant of the famous knight. When he found out about this, he went on a long journey in search of adventure. Sympathy arises between the knight and the girl.
Here there is a roar and noise: the dragon himself decided to visit the old archivist’s house, which, contrary to Lancelot’s expectations, instead of a three-headed monster, appears before the owners of the house in the form of an ordinary person in a military overcoat, helmet and with a terribly mutilated face. Lancelot appears before the ruler of the country as an ordinary passerby. Elsa, playing the flute, demonstrates her humility in front of the dragon, which is interfered with by a stranger who has come, as a result of which he demands that he leave. Deciding to save the girl and other people, Lancelot introduces himself to the dragon as a knight and challenges him to fight. Hearing this, the dragon demonstrates its power in front of him, changing one head after another, which represent completely different individuals. The dragon is ready to inflict a fatal blow on Lancelot, but the archivist stops him, presenting him with a document signed by the dragon stating that the ruler of the country has no right to kill an opponent before the duel. The dragon eats this document. Charlemagne, albeit awkwardly, tries to protest, but in response to his attempts, the dragon is about to destroy the house. However, the young fisherman who watched all this threatens the dragon to tell everyone about it and, calling him an “old lizard”, runs away from home. Now the dragon is forced to accept the challenge of Lancelot, having fulfilled all obligations to him, namely to ensure the safety of the opponent and supply him with weapons. Enemies agree to meet in a duel on Monday.
The dragon is clearly afraid of a duel with Lancelot and wants to get rid of him, in connection with which the next day his "right hand" - the burgomaster of a free city, elected 17 times in a row by a mentally ill old man for life, tries to persuade Lancelot with the help of pressure from the "best people of the city to leave the country, but without success. After that, the burgomaster's son Heinrich, who has long been in love with Elsa, gives the girl the dragon's order to kill Lancelot with a knife hidden in a flute. If she refuses, she and her family face reprisal, but if Elsa obeys the order, she will receive freedom. After some persuasion, the girl agrees to do this, but she understands that she cannot kill a person.
As a weapon - a shield and a sword - the burgomaster and Heinrich provide Lancelot with a plate with a kitchen knife, which causes discontent among the dragon. The ruler of the country meets with Lancelot and explains to him that it is not worth going to death for the sake of freedom of those people who do not need freedom and who are happy with everything. He proves this with the example of the scientist Friedrichsen, dousing him with cognac and piercing his genitals with a fork. All this happens in front of the little son of Friedrichsen, whom the dragon orders to kill, fearing later revenge. The Dragon awards Friedrichson's wife with an order, and she no longer worries about the death of her son. After that, the dragon invites Lancelot to say goodbye to Elsa and leaves. Shocked by what happened, Lancelot is already ready to refuse the duel and runs into the basement, where he finds magnificent works of art. Impressed, Lancelot changes his mind and goes to say goodbye to Elsa. The knight confesses his love to her and dissuades her from committing murder. Elsa reciprocates Lancelot, kisses him, then throws the flute and declares to the "lizard beast" that she is no longer afraid of him. For the failure of the operation, the dragon punishes Heinrich with beatings and attacks Lancelot, taking on his true appearance.
Fleeing, Lancelot meets a young fisherman, who leads him to the anti-dragon gunsmiths and a balloonist. They supply the knight with a sword, a cap of invisibility, and a balloon. The whole city is watching the deadly fight. Lancelot deprives the dragon of one head, which is rumored in the city. The burgomaster makes sure that such rumors do not spread, and orders to board up all the windows in every house. In the end, Lancelot wins, but he himself is badly injured. Landing in a swamp, he loses consciousness. After the death of the dragon, chaos reigned in the city: people, feeling free, began to smash and rob the entire city. One of the townspeople kills a policeman. The burgomaster, taking advantage of the fact that the true winner has not been found, appropriates the victory over the dragon and becomes the ruler of the country. Under him, repressions begin, many dissenters, in particular gunsmiths, end up in prison, which the inhabitants of the country are intimidated by.
A year passes. Lancelot lives in a cave in the hope that people now have freedom and happiness. A young fisherman visits him and talks about the latest events in the city. Lancelot is disappointed in himself and refuses his name, offering to drink the memory of himself. Nevertheless, the fisherman reproachfully refuses and leaves. Lancelot follows him to the city, where he frees his associates and breaks into the burgomaster, who is about to marry Elsa. People perceive Lancelot as their new master. The knight in anger calls them all slaves and explains that it is time for everyone to kill the dragon in himself. He says that he will force everyone to do it, but does not notice that by applying such methods, he himself becomes like a dragon. After that, Lancelot demands that Elsa marry him, which greatly offends the girl who immediately fell out of love with him. The burgomaster assures that the inhabitants will definitely fall in love with Lancelot, and Charlemagne says that "the winter will be long."
The knight leaves the city. Walking across a snow-covered field, he notices a horde of children with whom a good-natured man with a beard is playing, launching a snake in the form of a dragon into the sky. Coming closer to him, Lancelot recognizes his enemy, and he invites him to start the fight again, but better later, not with children. Lancelot refuses and intends to fight right now. The dragon, informing that “the most interesting thing” will begin now, leaves with the children and Lancelot into the distance ...
