The Golden Voice of Poas

Poas Volcano lay in a beautiful countryside that was also famed for its beautiful birds and for one young girl whose beauty was spoken of across the land. But more beautiful still was the friendship of the maiden with the Rualdo bird.
She had saved him once from a hunter’s snare and since then he had never left her side. They were always seen together, the beautiful girl and the gorgeously coloured bird that sang in its golden voice. People stopped to look and listen, even the shaman or medicine man who rarely liked anything.
But there was trouble coming up in the land. The shaman knew the signs that arose from the Poas Volcano. There was rumbling deep inside the volcano and smoke and flame shot up from the large opening at the top. He had seen the volcano’s fury when he was a little boy. The lava had flowed down the sides when it was angry.

He went to the crater to appease the spirit of the volcano. He asked what sacrifices of animals would please the volcano so that the village might be safe from its fury. “I don’t want animals,” roared the volcano, “Bring me the maiden who is a friend of Rualdo.”
The shaman was miserable. But he had to carry the news to the village and tell everyone the terrible news.
The maiden came with the shaman the next day, trembling with fear. The Rualdo bird was with her all the time. At the mouth of the volcano, a flame shot up and the girl stepped back in terror. But the shaman held her fast.
The Rualdo bird saw her struggling to escape. Without any thought for its own safety, it flew right into the flaming crater to save her.
“Take my gift in place of my friend,” said the bird.
“She has beauty,” said the volcano, “What gift do you have?”
“Take my voice,” offered the Rualdo bird, “Everyone says it is a golden voice. Let me sing for you so that you may decide.”

And the bird sang of its love for the beautiful girl in such a lovely song that the volcano wept. Its tears poured down the mountainside and formed the Botos Lagoon which can be seen to this day. The spirit of the Poas Volcano accepted the bird’s gift. The loyal bird flew back to the village with the maiden it loved.

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