Monday, September 26, 2011

Creature of the Week and Winner!

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Today's creature is the Firebird.

The Firebird hails from Russian folklore. A magical bird, it has beautiful plumage of red, orange, and yellow, like the fire it's named for. Its Russian name is Zhar-Ptitsa, meaning "heat bird." At midnight, the firdbird goes into the gardens to eat the golden apples of immortality and to lit up the night. When it sings, pearls falls from its beak.

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 There is a Russian fairy tale about the Firebird. Prince Ivan is the youngest son of a tsar. The prince finds the tail feather of the Firebird and decided to bring the bird to his father. On his quest, he overcomes his two older brothers' treachery, receives help from a magical gray wolf, wins a horse with a golden mane, rescues a beautiful princess (aren't they always beautiful?), and dies. Not to worry, he's resurrected by the magical water of life and death and uses a flying carpet to return home with the Firebird in a golden cage.


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Now that's what I call an adventure!

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And now...


Natalie Aguirre! Natalie wins an ecopy of Woman of Honor! Congrats, Natalie, I'll be emailing you.

And in other news, there's a pitch critique contest going on that I thought some of you might be interested in entering. Good luck if you do!

6 comments:

L. Diane Wolfe said...

Never knew there was a difference between a firebird and a Phoenix.

Cherie Reich said...

Awesome post about the firebird. I didn't realize they're from Russian folklore. Very cool.

Alex J. Cavanaugh said...

Congratulations to Natalie!
Wonder if that's how the Pontiac Firebird got its name...?

Golden Eagle said...

Fascinating post. And I love the pictures!

Susan Gourley/Kelley said...

What a great story and wonderful pictures. Why are the princesses always beautiful?

Natalie Aguirre said...

I'm so excited to win. And thanks for sharing about the firebird.