MICHAEL the Brave was of high and noble birth， but when his parents died the other members of the family drove the little boy away， for they wanted to get hold of all his father’s property。So he lived in a village and played there with other children， trying to earn his bread as best he could， and living on the gifts of good people who treated him as an orphan。
When he grew older he went with the shepherds to the mountains where they fed the sheep。
One day， strolling about in the fields， he climbed up a high mountain which overlooked a valley he had never seen before。When he looked down into that valley， what did he see？ Twelve snakes all gathered in a circle putting their heads together and hissing in a frightful manner。The foam that was running out of their mouths looked like a little hillock。
Whilst he was looking on he remembered that the old people in the village used to say that once every year snakes gathered together and with their foam would make a pearl， and whosoever could get hold of the magic pearl， which was kept on the tip of the tail of the biggest snake， would become rich and powerful， and all his wishes would be fulfilled。
When he saw the snakes engaged in making that pearl he wondered how he could obtain it。They were so far away that he knew it would be impossible for him to get near them， so he sat down despondently and looked on in wonderment， waiting to see what would happen。
As he was looking a raven came and settled on his shoulder。He was startled when he felt the bird settling down。However， it did not rest long on his shoulder， but flew down into the valley， picked up the pearl， and rising in the air flew away。
When Michael saw what had happened he felt the raven had picked up the pearl for him， and he knew that at one time he would become great and mighty。Therefore， leaving everything behind， he followed the raven in its flight， and so eager was he in his pursuit that he did not notice that he was passing by mountains and valleys， forests and hills， towns and villages， and crossing many rivers， until at last he found himself at the gates of Tsarigrad-that is， Constantinople。There the raven suddenly stopped and dropped the pearl， which fell at the feet of young Michael。He picked it up and put it in his bosom。
At that moment the Sultan passed by in his carriage， drawn by six horses。When he saw the young lad standing in the road he recognized him to be a Rumanian， and he ordered his attendants to take the boy and to bring him to the palace。Seeing that the youth looked intelligent， he decided to bring him up in the Mohammedan faith， that he might serve him afterwards in his warlike enterprises。
The boy embraced the Mohammedan religion， as there was no escape for him， but though he lived outwardly as a Turk， he remained a Christian at heart。He lived in the Sultan’s palace until he was twenty-three years of age， and with every year he grew mightier and stronger until he became a giant。The space between his eyes was as three hands’ breadth， for his cap he used three bear skins， for his fur coat he used the skins of thirty rams， and his mail coat and his sword weighed three hundredweight。
When he had reached the age of twenty-three， he remembered his home and the cruelty of his family， and how they had ill-treated him and driven him away into the wide world and had robbed him of his property， and also how they had treated and robbed the poor people； and the desire to avenge the wrong and to free his country from the rule of the heathens-for the Turks were then the masters of the country-entered his heart， and he decided to flee from Tsarigrad and return home to his own country。And so he did。
Knowing that in the stables of the Sultan they kept a magic horse， he one night got hold of it， and mounting on its back flew to his country before anyone knew that he had left the palace。Arrived there， he cleared the country of its heathen masters， of the cruel oppressors and wrong doers who had lived on the labour of others， and he avenged himself on his own relatives who had robbed him of his fortune and had cast him out into the wilderness to perish。He fought battles with seven Kings and Emperors。He reigned for seven years and built seven cloisters and abbeys， so that his name should not be forgotten， and he became the mightiest Prince that ever ruled Rumanian countries。He was the first to unite under his rule all the provinces in which Rumanians lived。
And it was the magic pearl of the snakes which had helped him to gain this power and greatness。
center勇士迈克尔
勇士迈克尔的出身很高贵，可是还在他很小的时候，他的父母就死了。亲戚为霸占他父母的遗产把他赶出了家门，迈克尔住在村里，只能与村里的穷孩子一起玩，并尽自己能力挣点面包充饥，靠着好心人给的食物生活。
当他长大些后，就与牧羊人一起到山顶上去放羊。
有一天，迈克尔独自一人到旷野去闲逛，他爬上高山，向四处了望，看到了以前从来没见过的山谷。他朝下望着山谷，你猜他究竟见到了什么？他看见山谷里有十二条蛇团团围成一圈，蛇头向内聚在一起，嘶嘶作响，可怕地吐着细舌，嘴巴流出的白沫淌成了一个小丘。
迈克尔看到这情景，突然想起以前村里的老人们说过，很多蛇聚在一起，它们流出的口水最后会变成一颗珍珠。这颗珍珠由蛇群中居最大的蛇看守，人们很难得到，如果谁拥有了这颗珍珠，就会拥有力量与勇气，谁的愿望就能实现。
迈克尔一边看着，一边在想怎样才能拿到那颗珍珠。蛇群太远了，他也不可能靠近它们，于是他沮丧地坐在地上，敬畏地观看着，看着事情的发展。
就在这时，一只大乌鸦向他飞来，坐在他肩头上，他吃了一惊。大乌鸦只在他肩上停了一下，就飞向谷底，用大爪抓起珍珠向天空飞去。
迈克尔感到机会来了。他知道这次他能变得强壮有勇气，于是，他不顾一切地尾随乌鸦，越过高山峻岭，穿过森林城镇，还趟过很多河流小溪，一直追到察里津，到达君士坦丁堡。乌鸦忽然停下来把珍珠从空中丢了下来，正掉在迈克尔的脚下，迈克尔拣了起来，放入怀里。
正在这时，苏丹国王坐着六匹马拉的车从这里经过，他一眼看出站在路中间的迈克尔是罗马尼亚人。国王叫侍从们把迈克尔一起带到王宫里去。苏丹国王看出他很聪明，于是，国王决定以穆罕默德的名义把他养大。他想，说不定，迈克尔以后还能帮他打仗呢。
从此，迈克尔开始接受伊斯兰教的文化教育，他外表上看去是个土耳其人，可内心信奉基督。他在苏丹的王宫里一直住到二十三岁，在这些年里，他一年比一年强壮，一年比一年有力量，到最后，长成了一个高大的巨人。他的眼睛有三个常人的手那么宽，他戴的帽子用三张熊皮做成，他穿的毛衣用三十只羊的羊毛编织，他披的盔甲和佩带的剑，加起来足有三百多斤重。
他替苏丹王去打仗，打了一次又一次，都取得了胜利，这都是因为那颗珍珠给了他力量和勇气。
迈克尔成了很有名的将军，得到大家的尊敬。
当他二十三岁的时候，回想起往事，记起叔叔和亲戚怎样残忍地把他驱赶出门，使他不得不到处流浪，他们还夺去了他的财产。他还在打仗途中就听说他国土的贵族生活过得多么奢侈，又如何奴役当地百姓，他很想回到自己的国家，去拯救自己的子民。
几天后，他决定离开察里津回自己的王国去。
苏丹的马厩里有一匹宝马。在一天晚上，他偷到了宝马，骑上马向自己的家乡飞奔而去。到了自己的国土，他就惩处那些奴役人民的贵族；贵族派军队来抓他，可没有一个是对手，不是被打败，就是给杀死，最后听到他的名字就闻风而逃，看到他的影子就发抖。迈克尔解救了百姓，百姓拥护他，呼喊着他的名字，站在他一边。
他也向那些夺去他财产将他赶出家门的亲戚们复了仇，他与七个国王进行战争，建立了七个修道院寺，芳名流世，他成为罗马尼亚国家最强大的统治者，也正是他统一了罗马尼亚。
正是那颗蛇的魔珠赐给他力量和成就。
