Once upon a time, in a far away land (unless you happen to live in Krakow, then it's right around the corner), the prince of Krakow, Henryk Probius, decided it was time to reunite Poland.  It had been divided into 5 pieces for generations.  Henryk talked to the people of the 5 kingdoms, and there was great support for the move.  Nobles throughout the land were excited by the prospect of a reunited, strong Poland.  Once the prince had the people's will to back him, all that was left was to secure the blessing of the Pope in Rome.  He revisited the nobles to request money for the trip south, but none were willing to take the financial risk.

Devastated that he could not even raise the smallest amount of money for his journey, the prince decided to go to the only resource he could thing of... an old witch who lived outside of town.  He cringed at the smell as he walked into her cave, but managed to keep his composure as he explained the situation to the hag.  The witch told Henryk that she would help, however, he would not be allowed to bring any soldier or guard with him on his journey.  Instead, they were to remain in Krakow in the form of pigeons.  The prince was startled by the terms of the witch's assistance, but after careful thought, agreed.  All the guards and soldiers in Krakow were immediately transformed into pigeons and settled on the roof of St. Mary's Church in Market Square.  Every pigeon that landed knocked a few small pebbles into the square.  As they fell, the pebbles turned into gold coins, filling up the square with unbelievable riches.  The peasants and villagers ran to the square, filling their bags and baskets with mounds of gold.

After filling his pockets with more than enough money for the journey, the prince left Krakow en route to Rome.  While traveling, the experience of being so rich got to the prince, and he spent money haphazardly at every stop he made.  Before long, even the abundance of gold was not enough to pay his debts and Henryk had to head back to Krakow before even reaching the border of Italy.  Upon his return, the nobles shook their heads in shame and were happy they did not invest in the prince's mission.  The prince searched everywhere to find the hag, but she was nowhere to be found.  For years, there was no sign of the witch.  The prince eventually went back to his day-to-day life and the soldiers and guards remain on the steeple of St. Mary's to this day, guarding the city with beak and claw.