Dead Horse Point

Dead horse point

By Alexa Lara (B-2)

            Once in ancient Greece when the Greek gods were still making creations on the earth Poseidon had a great idea to make a magical creature that could fly but was also strong enough to hold someone up. It would be tall with strong but quick legs, and large feathery wings that stuck out through the sides and that could hold the rest of the body up in the air while soaring through the sky. They would have pointed faces to cut through the wind while flying. It would also have a long, flowing mane and tail that would make it look stand out from all of the other creations. It would be called,a Pegasus.

            Now usually when a god had an idea for a creation they would tell all of the other gods, but Poseidon chose not to because he thought that they would want to take his idea. He decided that the safest place to keep his creation hidden would be at the highest peak in a mountain. While Poseidon wasn’t looking, Hermes decided to check what was going on. Hermes flew on his winged sandals. When he reached the top of the mountain he discovered the land covered with these new magical creatures. As Hermes stood still filled with shock and wonder Poseidon came and found him there. Poseidon said “What are you doing here?!” in an angry voice that made Hermes jump. “Uh, um I was going to go visit my mother, you know, she’s a mountain nymph” he tried to lie. Poseidon made Hermes promise to never speak of his discovery.

             Hermes tried to keep his promise but it was too much to handle (and as we all know, gods hardly ever keep their promises.) Hermes wanted to share this news with his father Zeus. “But the promise,” he said. He knew he couldn’t keep the secret for long. “I’m the messenger god, I have to do this.” Hermes thought back in his promise. He had promised that he would not say anything but he would try to show Zeus some how. The Pegasus could fly and Hermes would “coincidentally” be there to show Zeus.

That was exactly what happened. Hermes told Zeus that there was something amazing that could be seen at Olympus. Zeus sat at his throne at the top of Olympus. Nothing happened and Zeus began to get mad for having wasted his time. At that moment a huge, black figure swooped across. This startled Zeus because he had never before seen such a thing. The Pegasus landed right in front of Zeus. Immediately he asked Hermes if he had ever seen this while flying around, Hermes could lie no more and he told Zeus everything. Zeus was furious! He looked over to the mountain where Poseidon was at. “Why did you create something that would fly through the skies without my permission?! Did you not know I am the king of the gods and I rule over the sky?” Zeus’ voice boomed. “Believe that the punishment that I should give you is to destroy this….. Thing,” he added with a sound of disgust. Just think about how Poseidon felt. His feelings were a mix between anger and sadness. He had created this creature and he would do anything to protect it.

            If Zeus tried to do destroy the Pegasus, it could turn into war, and so it did. Poseidon disagreed with Zeus and Zeus got very angry so he threw a lightning bolt at one of the Pegasus. Such a force sent the Pegasus all the way to the other side of the earth. The impact was so great it created a big hole in the ground. That was the way that the war between these gods had begun. down on the earth the world could be seen, heard, and even felt. lightning filled the skies with flashing, striking light while the thunder rolled through the dark clouds. the seas were uncontrollable, sinking ships, creating tsunamis and flooding rivers. Wind blew through the trees destroying homes and creating hurricanes and tornadoes. After a while the gods began to get sick of fighting and were very angry that Poseidon’s secret had gotten out and started a war. Many thought that the one to blame was the "tattle tale" of all of this. Hermes finally said everything but decided on a solution. Zeus had shot most of the Pegasus but really did no extraordinary damage to all of them. Hermes decided that since most of the damage was done on the wings then they should just take them off in order to stop them from intruding Zeus’s sky. The Pegasus became horses. On the other side of the earth where Zeus had shot the Pegasus (and the force had made a hole in the ground) was later known as the landmark in Utah named Dead Horse Point, and that is how dead horse point and horses came to be.