Contributed by Robert Jaro
Once upon a time, long, long ago in a land far away, there lived two beautiful princesses. They were known through-out the land for their great beauty and their incredible valor. They had defeated entire armies with their trusty lances, and no one dared come up against them. They lived alone in the mountains and ate very special berries that gave them their enormous strength and courage.
One day, they heard about an enormous bird which lived neat a waterfall in a hidden valley in the mountains. They were told that the bird had a huge head and a mouth filled with fearsome teeth and enormous talons on its feet, and that it killed and ate everyone who tried to come near the waterfall.
There was a story about a huge amount of gold that was in a pool below the waterfall and no one could come near it. The princesses decided one day to go to the valley and defeat the dragon bird which guarded the treasure and take it for themselves. They asked an old mountain man who lived nearby to take them to the mysterious waterfall, but he told them that he was afraid of the giant dragon bird and would only take them to the waterfall if they promised to give him one half of the gold and protect him from the fearsome bird.
They both agreed to his requests. They sharpened their lances and checked their armor. They ate many, many berries to give them courage, and gave some to the old mountain man as well. The three of them departed for the hidden valley with the waterfall and the gold. As they neared the fabled falls no giant bird appeared, so they warily went to the pool and filled their packs with the heavy, precious metals. They were hurrying away when suddenly, out of nowhere, came the bird with a horrible rushing sound like a powerful wind and an ear-splitting shrieking sound with flames shooting out of its mouth.
The Princesses, brave as they were, stood petrified for an instant and suddenly for the first time in their lives, they turned and ran back up the mountain in such haste that the dragon bird, quick as he was, was unable to catch them. And while they were running, they threw the gold out of the packs to hasten their flight. It is still there to this day.
The giant bird suddenly diminished in size until it became a little larger than a robin and huddled near the old mountain man, who was awed by all he had seen and heard, so he comforted the gallant princesses and led them to safety where they all lived happily ever after.
