Erasmus+ Coded legends activity

1. The crocodile of Maschio
Angioino

2. The Maschio
Angioino was
erected in 1279
during Carlo Angiò’s
realm, as fortress.
Outside it was
partially surrounded
by the sea and one-
sidedly by a moat full
of water. There were
two underground
ditches: one to
preserve corn and
the other to close in
prisoners, and there
the legend was born.

3. As the guards
found less
prisoners in the
ditch, they began
to become
suspicious and to
think that the
prisoners had
found an escape
getway to the
beach. So, they
increased the
controls.

4. In a tunnel there was
a well, so the guards
began to think that
there was someone
inside because the
people who took the
water disappeared,
there were strange
noises and you could
see splashes of water.
The commander put
a guard in front of
the well to find out
who was there…

5. One night they decided
to do an experiment: a
soldier put down a
container and began to
wait. Suddenly they saw
the wide open mouth of
a huge crocodile. The
fishermen did not go
down into the sea any
more from terror!
People thought that the
crocodile had arrived
following an Egyptian
boat. The king ordered
to capture it, then they
attached a horse's thigh
to an anchor and
dropped it into the pit;
the crocodile seized it
and remained captured
by the enormous hook.

6. However, the
crocodile was still
alive and dangerous,
so the guardians
started throwing
arrows and harpoons
to defeat him; he
resisted, but he had a
weak point, the jaw.
In fact, he could not
chew the anchor,
therefore he
swallowed it, so he
died.

7. The king decided
to embalm the
crocodile and to
expose it in the
castle both to
demonstrate the
capture of the
dangerous animal
and to reassure
people.

8. Thank you for watching!
This work has been realized
by students in first B class,
secondary school of first grade.