Read Kinard Mythology Anthology Volume III Page 27

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  Out in the surrounding countryside, Drefan, whose name literally meant trouble, was slinking like a snake through the dense undergrowth. He had heard a rumor of a shining statue of gold in the nearby town of Flamingo. Although he knew he could never take the whole statue unnoticed, he thought he could get away with one leg.

  Meanwhile, there was both great sorrow, and great happiness in Flamingo. The sorrow was because of the heavy losses that they had sustained, and the happiness was due to the great victory over the Aracians.

  Drefan waited for hours. As a bandit, he was used to it, but it still made his muscles stiff. He made as if to get up and stretch but then thought better of it. The sentries were alert, but he knew from experience that they would grow sleepy, and then begin to droop until they eventually would fall asleep.

  Three hours later, at 3:10 am, when Drefan was sure the guards were asleep, he began to make his way carefully up the path to the statue garden. Counting on the natural sounds of the bushes in the wind to help him, he took out his razor-sharp knife and began to saw, as surreptitiously as he could, through the left leg of the statue. He was pleased with his work, but he was very disappointed that it wasn’t made of solid gold, but it was too late to turn back. Carefully, he made his way back to the forest.

  The next morning, when the theft was discovered, the townspeople made so much noise, Athena heard it, on far away Mount Olympus. She came to see what the noise was, and she was very angry. Her anger was terrible to behold. She disguised herself as a beggar and went to see what was the matter.

  “What is all the noise for?” she questioned anxiously.

  A nearby servant was the one to answer.

  “One of the legs was stolen from Jaunice’s flamingo,” the woman answered timidly.

  When Athena heard this, she was as furious as a lion. She decided she would turn the one-legged statue into a real, live bird. This bird, she decided would chase down the robber until it got back its leg.

  Later that night, when there were only the sentries on duty in the garden, she changed herself back into her true form, as a goddess. She walked to the garden and was stopped by the sentries, who were very alert.

  “Halt. Who goes there?” one cried out.

  “It is I, Athena,” she replied.

  “Show yourself”

  She moved out of the shadows, and into the light. The sentries could see her very clearly, and they knew that it was her, for, in her goddess form, she was over fifteen feet tall.

  Quickly, the sentries opened the gate for her.

  She walked over to the one-legged statue and touched it with her finger. As she did so, a streak of pink crept along the bird’s feathers, spreading outward like water on a towel. Soon the bird was taking off.

  The next day, Drefan saw a huge, pink bird flapping toward his storage wagon, and then it landed, grabbed something, and flew off before Drefan could even register what had happened.

  The bird landed, and instantaneously, Athena appeared before it. She took the leg between her fingers, and, though it was broken in two pieces, attached it to the bird’s body. To this day, the bird’s ancestors always keep their left legs tucked under themselves.