"Pardon me?" the first person asked.
"You heard me Heracles, you heard me!" said the other person.
"Can you please repeat the instructions for me?" asked Heracles.
"Fine, as you wish, said the second person very annoyed. You will have to go to the far side of the creed on the other side of the town. There, you will find the Stymphalian Marsh. This Marsh is 10 Hectares wide and 10 hectares in length. In that Marsh, is a 'little' lake deep up to your knees. I that are poisonous snakes. After that comes a little field of large spiky plants. And finally comes the shelter of the Hrackling Birds. Do you know what are Hrackling Birds?"
"No King Eurystheus, do tell me!" answered Heracles as nicely as he could despite his hatred for him.
"Don't be rude Heracles, you should act better. You're a Greek God!" replied King Eurystheus who had the feeling for Heracles as he had for him. In fact, King Eurystheus actually wanted him to die in one of his tasks.
You might be wondering how Heracles came to this state. The great God is the son of Zeus, father of 2 boys and husband of a wife. His step-mother hated him so much that she put him in a mad fit. Not knowing what he was doing, Heracles killed his wife and children. As a punishment, the powerful god had to work for King Eurystheus for 12 years, doing each year a task that the King would command.
So, Heracles was still in the king's palace listening to the instructions.
"So! Hrackling Birds are enormous white birds that can shoot there sharp feathers like arrows. Their claws and beaks made out of solid brass can cut through the strongest shield. These animals feed on lambs and small calves and they have a very strong passion for eating Humans.
"So your assignment, continued King Eurystheus, is to capture a flock of these birds alive. I repeat: you should capture this birds alive. No one up to now has been able to through a spear or shoot an arrow at them with enough force to hurt them. Any other questions?"
"No your Majesty," replied Heracles.
"Good. You shall start first thing in the morning. You are aloud only to 100 meters of chain rope and a net. You can make any tools out of what you find in the marsh. You are dismissed. Now go before I will get angry at you!"
Heracles bowed politely (even though he wanted to dance around the King's ugly thrown, as he saw it) and he went home rapidly to get ready for his 6th task while he was thinking about his plan to capture his prey.
"'Don't be rude Heracles, you're a Greek god'" Mumbled Heracles as he arrived at the Stymphalian Marsh. "How in the world am I doing to find those birds?" This Marsh is so mountainous and huge! I can't believe that I have to cross a lake that huge and omnious"
Armed with a long chain and a diamond net, he made a spear out of a wood stick and a sharp rock and he set ready to kill the snakes.
By trying to run in the water, Heracles attracted the dangerous snakes. Getting even moodier, the Greek god struggled and struggled to get away and to kill the snakes. After many hours, the hero arrived at the end of the lake where he found a couple of fruit trees and wood to make a camp fire. He stayed their until he got better and his wounds cured.
The next morning, Heracles sharpened a larger piece of wood to make the blade of an axe. After he attached it to a strong and large stick, he started to chop trough the disgusting, smelly, sticky and spiky plants.
Heracles came out of the forest, he was itching and he was as covered with blood and other disgusting liquids the plants had spilled over him. It took he 2 hours to wash himself and he decided to stay where he was.
The next day, he started off not knowing what he would do and where would he go. As he started, he heard a roaring soar at the distance. Walking through the smelly leftovers of the eaten animals and humans, Heracles saw the enormous (not to mention ugly) Hrackling birds. He ducked down and hid. As he picked at those birds, he saw that they couldn't fly. So he tied the chain to 2 stable rocks and diverted the birds away by throwing a bag of fruit away. He quickly took their eggs as the birds left for the fruit and he put them on the other side of the chain. As the birds came back, Heracles was prepared to launch his net as they tripped and rolled down the steep hill. AT the bottom of the hill lay sharp rocks and spikes that wouldn't kill them.
Of course, the ferocious birds were alarmed and, with their strong sense of smell ran off towards their eggs. Not seeing the chain, they all tripped and rolled down the hill. Heracles, overjoyed, threw down the net at the injured Hrackling birds.
As Heracles came back, he thought "King Eurystheus would be very surprised and disappointed to see me alive [laughs]".