Thursday, September 1, 2011

Old Dutch Story

     Ever visit the spot on the Potomac where George Washington allegedly threw a coin across the river? Libby's Green Giant couldn't throw a coin that far....
     Which reminds me of an old Dutch story about two tribes of Native Americans, and why Connecticut has so many stones and Long Island does not.
     Long ago there were two native American tribes who were all giants and they lived in Connecticut and Long Island. One hot summer the Long Island chief called his tribe together for a raid on the Connecticut tribe. They walked across the Sound with heads above water (giants) and battled the Connecticut giants for two years. Every time a giant fell in combat he was instantly regenerated and resumed fighting. Frustrated by lack of victory, the Long Island chief and his tribe retreated. He was angry. He had lost face and wanted revenge.
     So he called his tribe together again and ordered them to gather all the large stones and boulders on Long Island and place them on a hill near Throggs Neck. The pile of stones reached toward the sky. In a show of defiance, one by one the stones and boulders were thrown over the Sound into Connecticut.
     That is how Connecticut got all the rocks, and Long Island got fine soil to grow corn and Tall Tales.

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