Rima

Origin
Rima or her true name Riolama was a small (4' 6"), demure, and dark-haired 17 year old girl who wore a smock made of spiderwebs and could communicate with birds which earned her the nickname Bird Girl. She lived in a hut located in a enchanted rain forest near Guyana,Venezuela with her "grandfather" Nuflo. The native in a nearby village feared Rima because of her strange ways and believed she was "the Daughter of the Didi", an evil spirit who guarded the forest. The natives avoided her forest and warned newcomer Abel, a wealthy young Spanish gentlemen, to avoid the place as well, but he refused to listen. Abel met Rima and eventually fell in love with her though she was to young and unfamiliar with white men to understand. Rima belonged to a gentle, vegetarian people without weapons, who were wiped out by Indians, plague and other causes. After discovering she was the last of her tribe, Rima decided to prepare to live a life with Abel, but she was captured by the natives who tree her and then burn the tree. Abel arrives to late and collects her ashes and returns home feeling guilt that if not for his brave entry in the forest the natives would have left Rima alone.

Copyrighted Golden Age Appearances

 * Classics Illustrated #90