The residents of Benyok, 250 miles (400km) north-west of Moscow, claim that a huge aquatic beast, 'Brosnie', lurks at the bottom of Lake Brosno. There have been numerous sightings, and tourists camping near the lake took a photograph after their seven-year-old son shouted that he had seen a dragon monster. Caravan-1, a newspaper in Tver, the nearest big town, published the picture, a panoramic view of the lake with an indistinct object floating in the foreground ­ and the story has since flourished in the Russian media. "It was big like this, said a resident, identified as Tanya, as she sketched a snake-like head rising from the water with a large eye on its side. Tourists flock to the lake in hope of catching sight of the serpentine creature, variously estimated to be 13­16ft (4­5m) long. Local people say that there are written reports of monster sightings at Brosno dating back to 1854 and the legend might be even older. Zoologists, however, dismiss the photograph as a log and Brosnie as a fairy tale. Hong Kong Standard, 11 Dec; Observer, 15 Dec; NY Post, 16 Dec 1996.

The giant turtle of Hoan Kiem lake does exist after all. The tiny rubbish-choked lake occupies the physical and spiritual heart of the Vietnamese capital. According to local legend, a giant golden turtle rose from the waters in the mid-15th century to snatch a magical sword from Emperor Ly Thai To, fresh from driving out Chinese invaders. Every so often, the state press runs photographs of crowds gathered at the lakeside pointing excitedly at some fuzzy shape on the surface. Last December, however, doubters have been confounded by the appearance of a very large, very old turtle. A swarm of bubbles heralds its arrival at the murky surface, then out pops a flipper, a corner of its 40in (1m) or so wide shell or even its green and yellow head, about the size of a football. On one occasion, the creature came to within 61/2ft (2m) of the shore, swivelling its head to show a great downcast mouth, its skin peeling.
South China Morning Post, 16 Dec 1996.