Editing Princess and dragon (section)

==Interpretations==
In his study on the historical roots of the [[Fairy tale|wondertale]], Russian scholar [[Vladimir Propp]] interpreted the dragonslaying tale (ATU 300) as an ''inversion'' of the ancient ritual of a maiden sacrifice to a river to ensure good crops. Propp speculated that, in regards to this practice, the hero would be seem as a "profaner" of the ritual, but, as time passed, the maiden sacrifice was discarded and the hero was elevated.<ref>Propp, Vladimir. ''Theory and History of Folklore''. Translated by Ariadna Y. Martin and Richard P. Martin and several others. Edited, with an Introduction and Notes, by Anatoly Liberman. Theory and History of Literature, Volume 5. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 1984. pp. 105-106, 107.</ref>