Ruslan rides along a dark path and sees an enormous black hill.  Suddenly, the hill, faintly illuminated in the fog by the moon, becomes clear.  Before him is a living head.  Its huge eyes are filled with sleep; it snores.  Inexplicably, he wants to disturb its mysterious dream.  He tickles its nostril with his spear.  Wincing, the head yawns, opens its eyes, and sneezes.  Ruslan’s zealous steed gallops away.  A loud voice rings, “Come back here! I’ll swallow such an impudent fellow!”

Ruslan exclaims, “Be quiet, you empty head!  When I collide with you, I’ll make you pay.”

From blind rage, the head puffs up; it blows to meet the knight.  His steed strains in vain and races away to rest.  The head follows him, “Ah, hero! Make me happy with at least one blow before you overwork your steed.”  In anger, Ruslan hits it with a spear.  The cold steel pierces its insolent tongue.  Blood flows from its jaws like a river.  Reeling, the hear falls over, revealing a sword.  Our knight, quivering with excitement, grabs it and gallops to cut off the head’s nose and ears.  Yet hearing the pitiful moan of the praying head, he lowers his sword.

“You have conquered me,” the head says with a sigh.  “Once I was a bold knight!  I would have been happy, if I hadn’t had my younger brother as a rival!  Evil Chernomor!  The shame of our family, he was born a dwarf with a beard.  From his youth, he couldn’t look at my wondrous height without annoyance; so he hated me.  Once he said, ‘I discovered in my black books that beyond the eastern mountains is a sword that will be the ruin of us both: it will cut off my beard and your head.’

A knight stands over a three-headed dragon he has killed.

"We set off for the distant mountains and found the secret sword.  But who should own it?  Chernomor said, ‘We will both put our ears to the ground, and whoever hears the first bell chime will own the sword to his grave.’ Then he lay down.  Foolishly, I also stretched out.  The villain stole up behind me.  Soon, my head fell from my shoulders, but supernatural force kept the spirit of my life in it.  The spiteful dwarf carried me to this deserted corner of the world, where I was to eternally watch over the sword you now hold."