• Once upon a time there was a great Prince. He was revered by all as the greatest warrior in the land. One day, while traveling he came across a Princess from a neighboring Kingdom. The Prince was instantly struck by her beauty and began to court the Princess. Time went by and they fell madly in love with each other.

    Until one day, a courier spied the two together and reported it to the Princess's father, the King. The King ordered her never to see him again and had her locked in her room with the windows barricaded. The Prince went to the King and appealed to be allowed to see his beloved.

    The King had heard tales of the Prince's heroic deeds but had been angered by the deception the two had partaken in. He agreed to allow the Prince to see his Princess on the condition that the Prince slay a mighty Hydra that resided in a cave north of the Kingdom using only a dagger. The Prince readily agreed, eager to do anything he could to see his beloved Princess.

    So the Prince set off to find the Hydra's cave. The journey itself was extremely treacherous leading him through dark forests, deep ravines and over snow-capped mountains. The Prince braved all of these dangers, for his heart knew nothing of surrender.

    Finally, he came upon a dark cave, inside of which he heard a deep rumbling. He knew he had come upon the Hydra's cave. He pulled the knife from its sheath and quietly crept into the cave. He came upon the Hydra sleeping. He placed his blade against the creature's thin neck and cut cleanly through it, removing the creature's head. He grabbed the creature's head as proof of his conquest and began to leave when he heard a stirring.

    The Prince faced the Hydra and saw that where he had sliced the head off, two more heads were emerging. The Prince looked on, horrified, and leaped behind a rock, narrowly avoiding the beast's gaze. How could he ever kill such a creature with nothing but this dagger? The Prince thought long and hard.

    Finally, he got an idea.

    He stepped from behind the rock and stood directly between the two heads of the beast. The two heads simultaneously rushed to consume him and collided, knocking both heads unconscious. The Prince then arranged the heads so that they were close together and tipped the rock that he had been hiding behind over on both of the heads. He heard a sickening crack as the heads were crushed. The creature's body slumped, dead.

    The Prince stepped over the fallen beast's body and retrieved one of the creature's eggs, smashing the remainder of them. He thought this would be significant proof of his victory. The Prince rushed back to the King's castle eager to be reunited with the Princess he so dearly loved.

    Upon his arrival, the Prince presented the incredulous King with the Hydra's egg. The King ordered the egg destroyed and, as a man of his word, allowed the Prince to see his daughter once more. The reunited couple married shortly thereafter and lived long happy lives together.

    The End