The Hum of the Hummingbird

by Hayley Durbak
(Sylvania, Ohio. USA)

Once, a long time ago, millions of years ago in the land of Stead, hummingbirds were treated like royalty. Here's how it all started...

It started on a quest, a dark, dangerous quest. You see, the king and queen were in their older years of life. Because they were hummingbirds, they only live for a hundred years in Stead. The king's name was Hownee, meaning warrior, and he fought many great battles. He lost one foot and part of his tail. The queen's name was Hushkow, meaning wind whisperer. All hummingbirds were wind whisperers, of course, but she was an extra special one. But they had no chick of their own to take over for them when they died so they set out this quest.

You must have twenty animals in the group and one leader. To win the quest you must go to the end of the world. (That is were present day Alaska is. You had to get the Golden Cup and bring it back safely.) If you lost one member but brought the Golden cup back, you would lose. The teams were made up of the hummingbirds, the wolves, the lions, the seals and the zebras.

They started on Sunday. The hummingbird's leader was Hemow, meaning leader. What happened to them is all legend, but here it goes. They started right when the sun came up. There was tension in the air. They were to leave when the sun peaked though, it was time! Hemow ordered his group into line, first Hena, then Hown, next came Humy and so on. They all had flown great distances, but none this far.

They took off. They soon reached the Atlantic Ocean. They got a little tired but kept flying. They felt the others' words through the wind. They got to America all right in time to sleep. Overnight one hummingbird had to keep watch while the others rested. The other animals weren't there yet, but still crossing the ocean. The hummingbirds had an hour to sleep before the animals reached their tree; the animals were five hours away, resting too. But Hena was smart. The wind said they weren't far behind. So Hena woke up the others and got them flying again. By the time the others animals got to the tree, they were six miles ahead. But they didn't stop. They kept going. They decided not sleep until they got the cup. Then when they just got to Alaska, a terrible snow storm pounded them from nowhere! Then they saw a light ahead! It was a cave big enough for them to fit in! They flew right to it and almost froze in the air. There was the Golden Cup! They were going to win! All they had to do was wait until the storm blew over. But right now all they had to do was keep the cup safe and hidden.

Now legend says the wolves came in the night half frozen to death. They took one look at the cup and the hummingbirds and died of shock. That morning the hummingbirds woke up and saw the dead wolves. They also saw that the storm had died with the wolves. It took them two days to get back to the kingdom. Hemow and Hena ended up getting married and became the king and queen of Stead. They lived happily ever after.

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