"(CROW CAWS)" "Come on, then!" "Let me guess." "You want to be smarter?" "Taller?" "Faster?" "Breathe underwater?" "(GRUNTS)" "Able to fly?" "Read minds?" "Great strength." "Ah!" "Which reminds me." "The prince!" "Tell it!" "Tell it!" "Oh, aye!" "I'll tell you a tale, but it's up to you whether you heed the words, or not." "Not far from here, there was a prosperous, flourishing kingdom." "CROW:" "Ancient kingdom!" "Ancient!" "WITCH: (STAMMERING) Would you let me tell it?" "(GROANS)" "It was ruled by a king whose wisdom was equaled by the love of his people." "The King had four sons, each gifted in his own way." "The youngest was wise." "The third was compassionate." "The second son was just." "And the King's eldest son was strong, but he mistook great strength for character." "One dark autumn, the King grew ill." "On his deathbed, he proclaimed the crown would not pass to the eldest, but that he would divide the rule." "That the combined gifts of the brothers would make an even greater kingdom." "But the eldest son felt disgraced." "(THUNDER CRASHES)" "Believing that he alone should be the sole heir, a seed of selfishness grew in him like a poison." "To his brothers he declared his claim, and demanded their obedience, shattering the bonds of their brotherhood." "Words turned to war." "Brother fought brother," "(MEN CHANTING) and the fate of this great kingdom was forever changed." "(ALL YELLING)" "(YELLING CONTINUES)" "(GROWLS)" "The prince commanded a powerful army, but the battle remained a bitter stalemate." "Starving for a victory, the prince cursed his fate." "He stalked the woods, coming to rest within an ancient ring of stones." "(WISPS CALLING)" "The will-o'-the-wisps appeared, drawing him, guiding him, to the edge of a dark loch and a tiny cottage far from the shore." "There, lived a rare creature, a beautiful conjurer, an enchantress of elegance and grace, a ravishing vision of magnificent loveliness." "CROW:" "Please." "WITCH:" "A witch." "He demanded she create a spell that would change his fate." "The strength of ten he desired, and he offered his signet ring to persuade her." "CROW:" "Uh-oh." "WITCH:" "The Witch could see the wounded soul behind his bluster and so she made him a spell that offered him a choice, to fulfill his dark wish or heal the family bonds he had broken." "Baiting his brothers with a false truce, the prince claimed his kingdom." "To the brothers' protests, he stood before them and drank the spell." "At that moment the spell took effect, giving him strength tenfold, but, to his surprise, in the form of a great black bear." "Still there was the spell breaker she had given him, if he would only choose to mend the bond torn by pride." "Instead, he accepted the shape of the monster." "(MOR'DU GROWLS)" "And defeated his brothers." "He returned to command his army, but they saw only the beast." "(MEN CLAMORING) -(ROARING)" "They took arms against him." "He slew a great many, and the rest fled the kingdom in terror." "With the armies of the brothers fractured, the kingdom collapsed into darkness, and the blight of the Great Black, Mor'du, fell across his domain." "Desiring power over the bonds of family," "Mor'du has wandered endlessly, his soul forever buried inside the scarred and tormented shell." "(THUNDER CRASHES) -(MOR'DU ROARS)" "WITCH:" "A grim fate." "But what of you?" "Will you challenge fate?" "(WHIMPERS)" "(STUTTERS) I..." "I just wanted a drink of water!" "(SCREAMS)" "Let me out!" "Oh, no, please!" "(STAMMERING FEARFULLY)" "Sweetie, you've got to pull, not push." "Oh, thank you." "(SCREAMS)" "(LAUGHS)" "Nice chatting with you." "(CROW CAWING)" "CROW:" "Back to wood carving."