“It seems that a long, long time ago, when the giants lived in and roamed over the Carpathian Ranges, our Tukholian basin was a huge lake, entirely closed so that the water flowed over its top. It was an evilly enchanted lake with not a sign of life in it. The animals who drank from it had to die and any birds who flew over it, had to fall in and be drowned. This lake was under the influence of Morsanna, the Goddess of Death. But it so happened that the king of the giants quarreled with his mate and to spite her, he dealt the rocky basin such a mighty blow with his giant mallet that he cracked one of its walls and the water all seeped out of it thus breaking the evil spell. The whole section at once came alive. The bottom of the lake became a fertile valley, green with tall, wild grasses and bright with flowers. The stream which flowed through it, became filled with fish. Among the rocks slid various kinds of snakes and in the woodlands appeared wild animals and birds.”
“Morsanna the Goddess of Death was, of course, infuriated because she hates living things and to punish the king she turned him into the stone which is now the Sentinel of Tukhlia. But to the valley itself she could do nothing, for once the waters of death had flowed out of the lake, she could not make them return. Had she been able to return every drop of the water into the enchanted lake and to seal this crevice in the rock, then she would again be ruler over this region. Although the king of the giants is dead, Morsanna does not have any power to rule here either. But the king is not entirely dead. His spirit is present in that column of stone and guards the entrance to the valley. It is said that someday Morsanna will regain her lost power and try to rule over our Tukhlia once more, but when that happens, this enchanted Sentinel will fall upon Morsanna’s evil force and crush it to death.”
Peace-Renown listened raptly, fascinated by the tale, sympathizing with the benign king of the giants who was so ready
36
