Rustam and the Dragon:
On the first night of their journey a lion came out of the dark with the intent of killing and eating the hero. But Rakhsh, the horse, reacted bravely and saved his master by killing the lion. When Rustam awoke and saw the lion's body he thanked Rakhsh for saving his life but told the horse to wake him up next time so as not to endanger the horse's life.
The next night the dragon who guarded a spring where they were sleeping came out of hiding to kill the hero and his horse. Rakhsh woke his master who sprang up from his slumber and grabbed his sword. But the dragon slipped back into hiding and Rustam scolded his horse for waking him up for nothing. Again the dragon came out of its hiding place and again the horse woke his master, and again the dragon slipped back into hiding before Rustam saw it. This time he was really mad at his horse. The third time the dragon came out Rakhsh didn't know what to do, and it wasn't until the last second that he roused his master. Rustam woke up, furious, but this time the dragon was too close to escape and Rustam slew it.
