One summer at Breeches Lake , Euler the wise old Owl, called for a general meeting of all the birds. The birds gathered in the marshland at 5 AM, to avoid being disturbed by visitors to the lake. Euler the Owl hooted softly for silence and said: “We are one of the most abundant species on the planet yet have never asked ourselves, who among us is the best candidate to be king. Therefore, I propose that each one of our genus groups send a representative who will demonstrate his or her powers to a panel of judges. The judges, yet to be chosen, will elect the most powerful bird and crown him as our king.”
So it came to pass that the selected judges were the Heron, the Owl, the Robin and the Chickadee.
The judges had agreed that a contest was the best way to decide who should be king. The rules were relatively simple. Two selected candidates would compete against each other using their skills to frighten or wound their opponent to the point he or she would give up the fight. Killing the opponent was forbidden.
Thus, the smaller birds quickly withdrew from the contest leaving the Vulture, the Bald Eagle, the Hawk and the Loon as the final competitors.
The judges decided that the winner of the fight between the Vulture and the Eagle would face the winner of the fight between the Loon and the Hawk
The Vulture was very brave and tried to push the Eagle with his larger body, but the eagle decided to fly high and launched an attack at the speed of 150 Km/hr. He hit the vulture right on the head and upper body and then grabbed him, only to let him fall into the lake from 10 metres above the surface. Realising that the eagle had the great advantage of speed and strong grip with his huge claws, the vulture gave up the fight.
The Hawk had to attack the Loon from the air using his usual hunting method. He swooped down towards the Loon’s head which was barely visible above the water. As the Hawk dove, the Loon quickly raised his upper body and, using his beak, hit the hawk on its wing. The Hawk, slightly wounded, managed to get to the shore and declared himself unable to continue the fight.
So, the final competition was between the Eagle and the Loon. The sly Eagle attempted the trick that he had used with the Vulture. He soared high in the sky and then plummeted towards the Loon at a great speed. Once again, the Loon had hidden his body under water except for his head. When the Eagle was so close that his claws were almost touching the water, the loon emerged at full speed and, using his beak as a dagger, struck the Eagle in the leg. The poor Bald Eagle had no choice but returning to the shore to recover from his wound.
With this, the judges declared unanimously that the King of the birds at Breeches lake was the Loon, and he continues being so to this day.
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