[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"doc-detail-92492-en":3,"doc-seo-92492-105":28,"detail-sidebar-cat-0-en-105":89},{"code":4,"msg":5,"data":6},0,"success",{"doc_id":7,"user_id":8,"nickname":9,"user_avatar":10,"doc_module":4,"category_id":11,"category_name":12,"doc_title":13,"doc_description":14,"doc_content":15,"file_id":16,"file_url":17,"file_type":18,"file_size":19,"view_count":4,"is_deleted":4,"is_public":11,"is_downloadable":11,"audit_status":11,"page_count":20,"language":21,"language_code":22,"site_id":23,"html_lang":22,"table_of_contents":24,"faqs":25,"seo_title":13,"seo_description":14,"update_tm":26,"read_time":27},92492,8796095461564,"Liam","https://ap-avatar.wpscdn.com/davatar_155a257f0dc6eb9ab79c44ca47cae57d",1,"Story & Novel","The Young Man and The Dragon - Parasitic Worms - Story","A young man is sent to destroy a dragon that weakens a king’s people and prevents the villagers from living and working. Through clues gathered with the help of an old woman, he discovers the “dragon” is actually a parasitic worm living in villagers’ legs under the skin for a long time. When it emerges it causes painful sores and releases baby worms into water sources that spread the infection to others. The story ends with the young man understanding how the disease spreads.","The Young Man and The Dragon: Parasitic Worms  \nEnglish Health  \nThe Young Man and The Dragon: Parasitic Worms  \nEnglish  \nCopyright © 1997, SIL Cameroon  \n[http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/](http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/)[ ](http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/)[You may not use this work for commercial purposes. You may](You may not use this work for commercial purposes. You may)[ ](You may not use this work for commercial purposes. You may)adapt and add to this work, but you may distribute the resulting work only under the same or similar license to this one. You must keep the copyright and credits for authors, illustrators, etc.  \nText and illustrations adapted with permission of: EDICEF, Institut Santeà et Deàveloppement, Collection “L’Enfant pour l’Enfant” 58, rue Jean-Bleuzen, 92178 VANVES Cedex  \nThere once lived a King (but really God is the only true King), who had a daughter. She was beautiful. She was more beautiful than a calabash full of gold. The king issued a decree: “Whoever wants to marry my daughter must first rid us of the dragon. He will not have to pay a brideprice.”  \nA young man heard people talk of the king's daughter. He mounted his horse and headed towards the king's village. He wore a handsome boubou and carried a fine sword. As he approached the village, he saw abandoned fields. It was the rainy season, but nobody had planted any millet or sorghum. In the village, he saw men, women and children laying listlessly on their mats in front of their huts. They had bandages on their feet.  \nIn the palace, the King addressed the young man,“Our dragon is naked, without scales or claws. He doesn't breathe fire, but instead spews forth his own children from his mouth. You can't hear him or see him, but he is always there in somebody's leg. Destroy the dragon that saps the strength of my people and my daughter is yours. \"  \nThe young man got back on his horse. He began looking for clues to solve the mystery of the dragon. Suddenly, an old woman appeared before him.  \nShe was carrying a heavy bundle of wood. The young man got down off his horse. He took the bundle on his shoulders. The old woman thanked him. Before leaving him, she asked,“My son, where are you going on your horse?”  \nHe answered,“I have heard people speak of the King's daughter. She is very beautiful. The King has said that whoever destroys the dragon will marry his daughter.” And he raised his sword up high.  \nThe old woman said to him,“To thank you for your kindness, I will help you. But put away your sword. It will be of no use against this dragon.”  \n“In truth, our dragon is really just a little dragon. It doesn't have the claws or tail of a true dragon. It does not terrorize the villagers. It immobilizes them. It makes them unable to leave their homes, unable to work. \"  \n“I have seen,” said the young man,“the millet and sorghum fields have not yet been planted...”  \nThe old woman continued,“This dragon really isn't a dragon at all. It is nothing but a horrible round worm. It is round like an earthworm. It is as long as a snake that eats eggs. Some people call it the little dragon of Medina. Other people call it the Guinea worm. It is not an earthworm. It isnot an intestinal worm. It lives in a person's leg. \"  \n“Yes, this dragon lives in the legs of the village people. It lives under the skin in the lower part of the leg. It stays hidden for a long time. Then one day it appears. It breaks through the skin. It makes an open sore. It sticks out its nose through the open sore. Here it waits. It waits until it is near water, such as a spring or well. It doesn't throw itself into the water. It carries thousands of tiny baby worms in its stomach. It vomits these baby worms into the water. These tiny baby worms are so small that nobody can see them swimming in the water.”  \n“The villagers who drink water from these springs and wells also drink the baby worms without realizing it!”, said the young m","cbCaire18MsW9WOy","https://ap.wps.com/l/cbCaire18MsW9WOy","pdf",867160,25,"English","en",105,"# The Dragon’s Curse\n## The Search for Clues\n## The Hidden Worm in the Leg\n## How Infection Spreads","[{\"question\":\"Why does the king ask the young man to destroy the dragon?\",\"answer\":\"The king believes the dragon saps the strength of his people and prevents his daughter’s future marriage, so he offers the young man his daughter’s hand if the threat is destroyed.\"},{\"question\":\"What is the “dragon” according to the old woman?\",\"answer\":\"The old woman explains that it is not a true dragon, but a horrible round worm living in a person’s leg under the skin.\"},{\"question\":\"How does the worm spread to other villagers?\",\"answer\":\"When villagers drink water from springs and wells, they unknowingly ingest baby worms. The worm later waits near water and releases thousands of tiny baby worms into the water.\"}]",1784317454,39,{"code":4,"msg":29,"data":30},"ok",{"site_id":23,"language":22,"slug":31,"title":13,"keywords":32,"description":14,"schema_data":33,"social_meta":84,"head_meta":86,"extra_data":88,"updated_unix":26},"the-young-man-and-the-dragon-parasitic-worms-story","",{"@graph":34,"@context":83},[35,52,66],{"@type":36,"itemListElement":37},"BreadcrumbList",[38,42,46,49],{"item":39,"name":40,"@type":41,"position":11},"https://docshare.wps.com","Home","ListItem",{"item":43,"name":44,"@type":41,"position":45},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/","Document",2,{"item":47,"name":12,"@type":41,"position":48},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/story-novel/",3,{"item":50,"name":13,"@type":41,"position":51},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/the-young-man-and-the-dragon-parasitic-worms-story/92492/",4,{"url":50,"name":13,"@type":53,"author":54,"headline":13,"publisher":56,"fileFormat":59,"inLanguage":22,"description":14,"dateModified":60,"datePublished":60,"encodingFormat":59,"isAccessibleForFree":61,"interactionStatistic":62},"DigitalDocument",{"name":9,"@type":55},"Person",{"url":39,"name":57,"@type":58},"DocShare","Organization","application/pdf","2026-07-17",true,{"@type":63,"interactionType":64,"userInteractionCount":4},"InteractionCounter",{"@type":65},"ViewAction",{"@type":67,"mainEntity":68},"FAQPage",[69,75,79],{"name":70,"@type":71,"acceptedAnswer":72},"Why does the king ask the young man to destroy the dragon?","Question",{"text":73,"@type":74},"The king believes the dragon saps the strength of his people and prevents his daughter’s future marriage, so he offers the young man his daughter’s hand if the threat is destroyed.","Answer",{"name":76,"@type":71,"acceptedAnswer":77},"What is the “dragon” according to the old woman?",{"text":78,"@type":74},"The old woman explains that it is not a true dragon, but a horrible round worm living in a person’s leg under the skin.",{"name":80,"@type":71,"acceptedAnswer":81},"How does the worm spread to other villagers?",{"text":82,"@type":74},"When villagers drink water from springs and wells, they unknowingly ingest baby worms. 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