The legend of Ayleen and the ogre
- Chapter 1: Prologue -

There was this curse that lay upon the kingdom
It had begun decades beforehand -
One day while the moon eclipsed the sun
An awful ogre raided the land
   It came from the depth of the sea and it crept ashore
   In search of the flesh of a vestal
   A fire-spitting ogre with vast fangs and huge claws
   A scaly beast, that seemed to come out of hell

The ogre scoured the whole kingdom for a virgin
And killed everyone who thwarted it on its prey
Villages, fields and forests burst into flames
The ogre left a path of destruction on its way
   The king sent his bravest knights to fight the beast
   But they all were killed instantly
   Only after its hunger for a virgin was appeased
   The ogre crept back into the sea

From now on the ogre raided the land again and again
And terrified the whole land on its preys
The king promised silver and gold to every man,
Who would kill the ogre and end the raids
   Soldiers of fortune came from everywhere
   Wild fellows who came for the promised meed
   But when they saw the ogre, most of them fled
   And those who fought where killed instantly

No one was able to put paid to the horror
No one was able to end these raids
In his trouble the king made a covenant with the ogre
A pact with the evil, cruel and immane
   Every time when the moon would eclipse the sun
   The king would sacrifice a virgin out of the folk
   So, the ogre wouldn’t have to pillage the whole kingdom
   On search for what it came for

From now on every time when the moon eclipsed the sun
The ogre came and found a tethered virgin at the beach
And after it had allayed its hunger for the flesh of a vestal
It crept back into the sea

- Chapter 2: The day of the solar eclipse -

The migrants had settled in in their new world after a few years
They cultivated the barren ground and they cropped the fields
Shunned by the locals they ploughed and they seeded the seed
And they got a small harvest of potatoes, rye and wheat

Life wasn’t easy, they worked from morning to night
They dug wells and they watered the land, slice by slice
Suspiciously eyed by the locals, a village they based
And there was enough to eat and the migrants felt safe

By and by they forgot the open account for their saving grace
They nearly forgot the tribute they once had promised to pay
They once had promised to deliver a virgin to the crown
Each time when the moon would eclipse the sun

Time passed by but your destiny you can’t elude
And the astronomers presaged, soon the sun would be eclipsed by the moon
The king came to the migrants to fetch a virgin away
He demanded the tribute they once promised to pay

The collective chose a young wench, a poor and innocent soul
She looked like a woman but her mind seemed just eight years old
She wasn’t very pretty and she limped and stammered a little
The people feared her a mite and called her a cripple

But as the henchmen of the king wanted to capture the girl
Her sister Ayleen cried: “Take me instead of her”
So, the soldiers of the king grappled and enchained Ayleen
And they brought her to the coast and chained her to a rock at the beach
And she sat there in her white dress, beautiful, frightened and alone
And she took her harp and sang her sad farewell song

- Chapter 3: Ayleen's song -

Goodbye blue sky
I’ve seen you for the last time
Today I will die
Goodbye blue sky

Goodbye sunlight
You’ve always been a friend of mine
Solace me for the last time
Today I will die

Goodbye starry sky
Last night you had seen me for the last time
Today I will die
Goodbye starry sky

Goodbye sister of mine
Live your life
Therefor I will die
Goodbye, goodbye

Goodbye my friends
I’m afraid of the death
There is so much I would like to know
It’s too late, I have to go

Goodbye my life
I’m too young to die
There’ll never be a love of mine
A kiss my lips will never try

   While the moon slowly moved in front of the sun
   Silence fell over the land, even the birds stopped singing their songs
   Just Ayleen’s song was carried high into the sky
   And reached the horizon while the solar eclipse turned the day into night

- Chapter 4: The ogre and the eagles -

But then, when the sun was totally hidden by the moon
And the whole world seemed to be dunked in gloom
With a rumble in the air, the imminence began to loom
And Ayleen was left to her doom

Thunder rolled through the air and swelled up to a deafening noise
That drowned Ayleen’s voice
A storm arose and began to dance with the waves
Clouds built up and it began to rain
In the air there was a smell of sulfur and death
It was the smell of the ogre’s breath
And then, the ogre appeared from out of the dark of the sea
And moved fast towards the beach and towards Ayleen

And then, when everything seemed lost, hundreds of eagles emerged out of the clouds
They all had heard Ayleen’s song
Near the water surface, they began to orbit the ogre,
Engendered a swirl into the water
The faster the eagles flew, the faster the swirl turned around
And inside the swirl the ogre was caught
A twister arose, a waterspout with an enormous height
And it dragged the ogre into the sky
And when the spout was located exactly over a crag
All eagles flew away and the ogre fell down and got smashed

- Chapter 5: Ayleen's coronation as queen -

The ogre was dead, the storm calmed down
It stopped raining and the clouds melted away
The sea calmed down too, there was silence all around
And then the moon unhanded the sun again
And the sun shone brightly and spread its warmth
And the sky was clear and blue
And then the birds restarted to sing their songs
And a warm and mild breeze
Blew softly from over the sea
And touched like a gentle kiss the face of Ayleen

People came from everywhere
To see for themselves that the ogre was dead
And they celebrated Ayleen as their heroine
And they brought Ayleen to the castle of the king
But the king was sick and old
And got no wife, no daughter, no son
And he was tired of ruling and he handed to Ayleen the thrown
And as Ayleen got crowned
All people kneeled down
And Ayleen promised to minister to everyone

And Ayleen ruled the kingdom, wisely, fairly and well
And under her reign there was freedom, unity and peace
And Ayleen was a fair queen to every woman and every man
And the folk adored the eagles and the people loved their queen
And every time,
When the sun was eclipsed by the moon
The whole kingdom celebrated the day of rescue
And there was a melody
Coming far from the sea
And the wind and the waves sang the song of Ayleen

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