So after showing Tom the picture of the Alligator that I took today he showed me a story about it in one of the Brno guides we have (and in case you're wondering, the picture above has nothing to do with this story, it's just pretty, consider it a photographic non-sequiter). The old story that is told about Mr. Alligator (remember I am looking for a good name for him in the posting below so until I hear one that really fits his personality I am going to have to be formal) is that he wandered away from a group of comedians and became a real nuisance to the townspeople (as most giant carnivorous beasties are) so a prisoner in the Spilberk suggested they use a dead sheep as bait and fill it with quick lime. Sure enough Mr. Alligator fell for the plan and quickly "slake" (the English translation is a little on the iffy side) and was then hung in front of City Hall.
However, the real story is even better than the myth. In 1608 the dragon (oh, did I forget to mention that Mr. Alligator's alias is Brno Dragon since he was believed to be a dragon) was given by a Turkish delegation to King Matthiad. Now, while it was a very rare and costly gift, it didn't really go with any of King Matthiad's furnishings (really, when you think about it, does anything match Alligator/Dragon skin?) so he donated (also known as re-gifting) it to the city of Brno.
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