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Once upon a time...
This project has been funded with support from the European Commission. This publication reflects the
views only of the author, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of
the information contained therein.
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Once upon a time…
Editors/Partners:
Dimotiko Scholeio Mathiati, CYPRUS
Kose-Uuemõisa Lasteaed-Kool, ESTONIA
Istituto Comprensivo "Rocco Montano", ITALY
Dimotiko Scholeio Ormylias, GREECE
Szkoła Podstawowa w Sobolach, POLAND
Scoala Gimnazialā Nr. 62, ROMANIA
The book was illustrated by the students of the six schools.
Contact E-mail: [email protected]
Printed: Nicosia 2014
COMENIUS MULTILATERAL PARTNERSHIPS 2012-2014
Project
“Having culture as a kite, we travel European skies”
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TRANSLATION AND EDITING OF THE STORIES
Soteroula Marathefti - Dimotiko Scholeio Mathiati, CYPRUS
Sirje Lepik - Kose -Uuemõisa Lasteaed-Kool, ESTONIA
Antonietta Marchese - Istituto Comprensivo "Rocco Montano", ITALY
Ioannis Papanikitas/Giota Nikita - Dimotiko Scholeio Ormylias, GREECE
Wioletta Grochowska - Szkoła Podstawowa w Sobolach, POLAND
Petruta Nicoleta Mocan - Scoala Gimnazialā Nr. 62, ROMANIA
PUBLICATION EDITORS
Soteroula Marathefti
Dimotiko Scholeio Mathiati, CYPRUS
Giota Nikita
Dimotiko Scholeio Ormylias, GREECE
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CONTENTS
Introduction……………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 6
Spanos and the forty dragons: A folk tale from Cyprus……………………………………………… 7
Big Peter and little Peter: A fairy tale from Estonia…………………………………………………… 13
Pinocchio: A fairytale from Italy……………………………………………………………………………….. 22
The abduction of Europa: A myth from Greece………………………………………………………… 26
The Legend of the Wawel Dragon: A folk tale from Poland………………………………………. 29
Salt in our food: A folk tale from Romania……………………………………………………………… 32
The magic land: Our common story ………………………………………………………………………… 42
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INTRODUCTION
In the framework of Comenius Multilateral Partnerships 2012-14, six schools from Cyprus, Estonia,
Italy, Greece, Poland and Romania participate in the European project “Having culture as a kite,
we travel European skies”. Students and teachers of these schools collaborate in carrying out ac-
tivities that deal with various aspects of cultural heritage. Main aim of the programme is to pro-
mote cultural and intercultural awareness and respect between European schools.
All the schools searched and found traditional stories of their countries. The stories were read by
the students and linguistic, meaning, drama and art activities were organized. Then, each school
chose a story characteristic of its culture. The six national stories were translated into English, the
common working language of the partnership and were exchanged between schools. Teachers
translated the stories in the native language of each country and presented them to the children.
Students and teachers were engaged in various activities regarding the foreign stories, as well.
This common book consists of a collection of traditional European stories (myths, legends, tradi-
tions, folk tales) from the partnership countries. It also includes a common story written collabora-
tively by the children of all the participating schools in the form of a patchwork. The book is con-
sidered to be one of the final products of the partnership.
The illustrations of the book were made by the students of all the partnership schools.
The book and the stories can also be found in electronic form on the project’s website:
http://comeniushavingculture.jimdo.com
Enjoy reading!
School Coordinators
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SPANOS
AND THE FORTY DRAGONS
A FOLK TALE FROM CYPRUS
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Once upon a time there was a man who could grow neither a moustache nor a beard, and his name was
Spanos, meaning the Beardless One.
Spanos however used to boast that there was no-one braver than him in the whole wide world.
One day, as he was bragging as usual, his fellow villagers said to him: “If you go and defeat the forty drag-
ons who ‘ve cut off the water coming to our village, we ‘ll finally believe that you’re as brave as you say
you are”.
So he grabbed hold of some ashes and a half-
dry piece of soft white cheese, and headed off
in the direction of the dragons’ lair. On the
way there, he came across the leader of the
dragons and greeted him as one does a king.
The dragon however returned the greeting
with:
“Wherever you try and hide, I’ll eat you!” To
which Spanos replied:
“Let’s make a deal. I’ll challenge you with two
bets, and if you manage them, then go ahead
and eat me. Otherwise, you don’t lay even a
finger on me. You in?”
“Okey,” said the dragon. “Tell me the bets”.
“Can you sit on the ground, “Spanos said, “and as you’re sitting give out a puff of smoke?”
“Let me try,” the dragon responded, and he sat down with all his strength, so hard that his rump sank
down deep into the earth, but no smoke came out. “Okey,” he said to Spanos. “Let’s see you try.”
So Spanos sat down, and he was all but en-
gulfed in a thick cloud of smoke. Of course,
he’d put the ashes in his breeches, and as he
went to sit down, he shook them a bit and
then sat down forcefully, resulting in the ashes
filling the air around him. The dragon however
believed that Spanos had actually managed to
produce smoke by sitting down, and said: “Ah,
you ‘re a strong one! Give me the other bet
and we’ll see.”
“So,” Spanos retorted. “Can you pick a stone
from the ground, sqeeze it, and wring out its
juices?”
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“Let’s see,” replied the dragon. So he picks up a stone, squeezes and squeezes and squeezes and squeezes it
until it crumbles to dust in his fist, but no water was anywhere to be seen. “You try,” the dragon says to
Spanos.
And Spanos grabs the half-dry piece of soft white cheese he brought with him, and with only one squeeze its
juices began flowing through his fingers.
“See the water?” he asks the dragon. “Take a good look!”
‘’I admit,” conceded the dragon, “that you’re stronger than me. You have to come with me and live with
me and my brothers, the other dragons, because you’re even stronger than their leader.”
With that, both headed off towards the tower in which the forty dragons lived. Upon entering, the dragon-
leader called the other thirty-nine and told them that Spanos was stronger than either himself or any other
dragon, and that he’d brought him to live with them.
On hearing this, the other dragons were taken over by fear, and not even a single day went by without
them wondering what would happen if Spanos were ever to get angry and kill them all with one fell swoop.
They were afraid, and they dared not speak to him.
One day however they thought of making him do some work, to test his strength and bravery as it were,
and they asked him, if he so wished, to go into the woods and kill a boar and bring it back so that they all
could feast on its meat. Their thinking, of course, was that if Spanos wasn’t truly strong and brave, the
boar would kill him on the spot.
On hearing their wish, Spanos got the shivers, but what could he do? He headed off towards the forest.
Walking in the woods, he sees a pack of wild boars coming straight at him.
Shaking with fear, he clambered up the closest tree (which wasn’t that tall), looking down at the wild ani-
mals eyeing him from below, heads tilted up and sniffing out his scent.
One of the boars, the largest one, tried to jump up onto the bough on which Spanos was sitting and sink its
teeth into this piece of human meat, but didn’t make it.
Instead, it slipped, impaling itself on a protruding
branch, hanging there, not yet dead. On seeing
what happened to their leader, the other boars
shied away, worried that the same would happen
to them. As for the leader, he twisted and
writhed and tried to escape his fate, but to no
avail. He was soon dead. Spanos tried taking the
boar down from the tree, but the animal was too
heavy.
The dragons meanwhile were waiting for Spanos
to return, but on seeing that he was taking too
long, they upped and went to the forest to look
for him.
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Finding him standing beneath the tree, seemingly deep in his thoughts, they said to him:
“What on earth are you doing here, and we’re waiting for you back home?”
“Well,” he replied. “I killed the largest boar of them all; that’s why I’m late.”
On seeing the dead boar, the dragons were awestruck.
“He really is a strong lad,” they muttered among themselves. “When we want to kill even a small boar, we
come out in threes, but he single-handedly killed one this big!”
Turning to them, Spanos said:
“What are you standing around staring at him for? I killed him; you might as well put your nose to the
grindstone and carry him home.”
So four dragons shouldered the boar and started taking him back to the cave, while Spanos puffed up with
pride that he’d done a brave thing.
Few days later, the dragons got hold of an ox-skin, stretched it across a rounded frame, and made a huge
pannier. They gave it to Spanos, telling him to go to the spring and fill it up with water and bring it back.
What could Spanos do? He slung it over his shoulder and away he went.
“Damn pannier!” he cursed. “I can barely lift it empty, and they want me to fill it up with water and take it
back to them? How am I going to do to that?”
On reaching the spring, instead of filling up the pannier and heading back to the tower, he threw it on the
ground and, grabbing a sturdy piece of wood lying there, began digging a ditch.
Back at their tower, the dragons were wait-
ing to see how Spanos would cope with the
difficult task they gave him. Wait as they
would though, there was no sign of the
young lad, so they decided to go see for
themselves what was happening. On see-
ing him digging away with the sturdy piece
of wood, they asked him what he was do-
ing, to which Spanos explained that he was
opening a ditch to transport the water to
the tower so that he wouldn’t have to carry
it in the pannier.
“For God’s sake!” they shouted, filled with
fear.
“Stop what you’re doing at once, because what you’re doing will reduce the river water down to a trickle,
and the king and his army will come and cut us to pieces.”
“Okay,” Spanos responded. Since you don’t want me to, I’ll stop, but I refuse to carry your water for you.”
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“We’ll take it!” they retorted, and grabbing the pannier, filled it up and headed back to their abode.
Home by now, they sat and thought of how they could get rid of Spanos during the night, killing him in his
sleep, but the young lad overheard them plotting. He waited until the dragons fell asleep, and then got up
himself. Taking a large gourd off a shelf, he filled it with dark red wine, corked it, and placed it in his bed,
covering it with a blanket. He then climbed up onto the roof and waited.
After some time, he heard the sound of strong thwacks. The dragons had woken up and were pounding and
pummeling what they thought was Spanos under the covers, trying to kill him. The gourd cracked open with
the very first blow however, and seeing the dark red liquid seeping through the covers and onto the floor,
the dragons figured they’d finally killed Spanos, and went back to bed.
After they fell asleep once again, Spanos came down from the roof on tiptoe, careful not to wake up the
dragons, and curled up under the covers of his own bed. On hearing the dragons rise with the morning sun,
he threw off his covers in a single rapid move. The dragons didn’t know what to think! Finally, their leader
plucked up the courage and approached Spanos.
“I want to tell me how you managed to survive last night,” he said. “We all gathered round your bed with
our clubs and bludgeoned you till the blood started gushing out. Now I see you here, standing in front of
me, alive. How on earth did you survive?”
“Let me tell you something,” Spanos replied. “I‘ve been anointed with a magic salve. No matter who tries to
kill me, I cannot die!”
“Maybe you could anoint us as well?” the dragon-king asked. “So that we become like you?”
“I will,” Spanos said with a knowing smile. “But each one of you has to go into the forest and gather two
okes of resin, melt it down in his room and lock himself up until I come to anoint him.”
The dragon-leader called his brothers and told them what they all had to do so that Spanos could anoint
them and make them, like himself, invulnerable.
Without a second thought, all forty spilled out into the forest, each one gathering his two okes of resin, and
soon returned to the tower. Spanos once again explained to them what they had to do, and each retired to
his room.
Once they’d melted down the resin,
Spanos began anointing them, one by
one. He’d enter the room, draw the bolt,
on the door, and tell the dragon to sit on
a chair. Filling a gourd with boiling-hot
resin, he’d pour it over the dragon, killing
him instantly, and then would move on to
the next room and his next victim. In this
way, one by one, he killed all forty.
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After killing the feared dragons, Spanos made his way to the river and broke open the weir which the drag-
ons had built to divert the water to their fields and orchards, and the water began flowing towards the vil-
lage.
By the time Spanos made it there, the water had already reached the village, and on seeing it, the villagers
realized that the young, beardless lad had killed the dragons.
On seeing Spanos himself, they all gathered round him and sang his praises, shouting out with glee:
“Well done, Spanos! Now we can see that you’re truly a brave young man!”
And Spanos and his fellow villagers lived happily ever after, and we live happier still.
THE END
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
The text in English language, was taken from the book:
Tsangaris, H. (2010) Spanos and the forty dragons: A folk tale from Cyprus.
Nicosia: Casoulides Masterprinters/Lithocare.
The permission of the publisher, Mr Hambis Tsangaris, was assured. Many thanks to Mr Tsangaris!
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BIG PETER AND LITTLE PETER
A FAIRY TALE FROM ESTONIA
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A grand and rich lord of a manor had two serfs. One of them was a whacking big fellow and very tall,
called Big Peter. The other was small and skinny, looking more like a boy, and he was called Little Peter.
It so happened that one day both Peters were sent to the forest to fell trees. Both of them were given
a haversack with enough food to last the day. The men chopped away at the trees so furiously that they were
puffing and blowing. Soon, however, they felt the pinch of hunger in their stomachs.
Big Peter said, “Let’s eat everything from your haversack first, then we’ll tackle mine.“
Little Peter did not suspect anything and said, „Why not. Why bother opening both bags at the same
time.“
They sat down to eat and soon finished Little Peter’s food to the last crumb.
After the meal they lay down to have a rest.
Then they went on with their hard work again, chopping away at the logs so that their axes were
flashing. But soon hunger began to pinch their stomachs again, especially Little Peter’s stomach.
„Let’s stop now and have a bite to eat,“ Little Peter kept begging.
Big Peter, however, seemed to be hatching some evil thoughts.
„Look, there’s a mouse’s nest in the bush, “Big Peter said, „Why don’t you eat it? Mouse meat makes
a fine meal in times of famine.“
So Little Peter went into the bushes, found the nest full of baby mice and said to himself, „Well, they’ll
have to do.“
Although they sat down again,
Big Peter wouldn’t even let
Little Peter come near him. He
kept saying, „If you don’t leave
me alone, I’ll hit you!“
Little Peter started to cry and
blubber, „What shall I eat,
then?“
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But the old mouse started begging, „Don’t kill my children, dear man! They wouldn’t really make a
square meal for you, would they now? But if you should ever need help, you can always rely on us.“
Little Peter had to admit, „I’ll neither get my fill nor will I starve to death because of them. Well, as for
me, they can go on sleeping.“
So the litte man had to put up with an empty stomach until they went home in the evening.
The next day both serfs were sent again to the forest to fell trees.
Both had a haversack dangling from the axe handle on their backs. Big Peter strode in front, Little
Peter scurried after him.
In the forest the men kept hacking away at the logs, puffing and blowing. Soon hunger began to pinch
their stomachs.
Big Peter said, „Let’s now eat up everything from your haversack, then we’ll eat what’s in mine.“
Little Peter thought, „He can’t behave in such a scoundrelly way today as he did yesterday,“ and said,
„All right, let’s. Why bother undoing both bags at the same time.“
They sat down and kept eating till Little Peter’s haversack was empty.
They had a litte rest and then started work again, chopping away at the trees so that the axes kept
flashing.
After some time Little Peter felt hungry again.
He asked Big Peter, „Let’s sit down and eat now. Hunger is withering my strength.“
Big Peter sat down, opened his haversack and began eating.
Little Peter also tried to get at the bag, but Big Peter wouldn’t let him come closer. Instead he
threatened to hit him.
„What shall I eat, then?“ the litte man howled in anger and hunger.
„Look, there’s a bee’s nest under the stump! Go and empty it!“
Little Peter thought, „Even that will have to do if I have nothing better.“
He stepped up to the bee’s nest and tried to get at the honeycombs.
The bees started begging, „Don’t rob us, dear man! There’s very little honey and the honeycombs are
full of little bees. You can always rely on us if you need any help.“
Little Peter muttered, „This little drop of honey won’t make a square meal for me. It’s neither here
nor there. As for me, they can fill the whole nest with honey.“
And he left the bee’s nest alone. He worked on an empty stomach till the evening and ate his fill at
home.
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On the third day the two Peters went to the forest again, both carrying a haversack dangling from
the axe handle on their backs. Big Peter strode in front, Little Peter scurried after him.
Again they kept felling trees, puffing and blowing. By lunch-time their stomachs were rumbling with
hunger.
Big Peter said, „Let’s eat up everything in your haversack now and then we’ll tackle mine.“
„What if you’re lying again?“ Little Peter asked.
„I’m not. Why should I lie to you?“ the other one replied.
„All right, then!“ said Little Peter and opened his haversack. They ate up everything there was in it.
After lunch they slept for a while.
Then they set to work again, chopping away so that the chips kept flying.
Little Peter started begging Big Peter again, „I feel hungry. Let’s go and have a meal!“
They stopped working and sat down.
Big Peter, however, wouldn’t let Little Peter come near his haversack again and threatened to hit
him if the little man did not obey.
Little Peter started to cry.
„Look, there’s a hawk’s nest in the tree, see if you find anything in there!“ Big Peter said.
„Even that will do if I have nothing better,“ thought Little Peter and climbed up to the nest.
There were the young hawks in the nest.
Father hawk started begging, „Don’t kill my sons, dear man! They’re still tiny and weak, they won’t
make you a proper meal. But if you ever need any help, you can always rely on me.“
So Little Peter thought, „I can’t really eat my fill from them. As for me, they can stay where they
are.“ He climbed down the tree and worked on an empty stomach till the evening.
The next day they came to the forest to fell trees again. This time Little Peter didn’t give Big Peter
even the tiniest bite from his haversack, he only said, „Eat from your own bag, mate! Why are you craving
for mine!“
Big Peter said threateningly, „Look here, Little Peter, if you don’t give me anything, just you wait
and see what I’ll do to you when we get home!“
But Little Peter replied, „What can you do to me? I’ll tell the lord on you.“
They both ate their fill and felled trees till the evening.
In the evening, after they got home, Big Peter went to the lord of the manor at once and said,
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„My lord, you can profit greatly by Little Peter’s work if you so wish and say you’ll have his head cut
off if he doesn’t fulfil your order.“
„What work is it ?“ the lord inquired.
Big Peter said, „When felling trees in the forest today, Little Peter told me that he could build a church
of wax, make an earthern wall around it and put a twelve-toned bell into its tower, all in three days, if he only
wanted to.“
The lord sent for Little Peter at once and said, „Listen, Little Peter! I’ll give you three days to build me
a church from wax, make an earthern wall around it and put a twelve-toned bell into its tower. If you don’t
manage within given time, I’ll have your head cut off. Go now, eat your fill and start working!“
Little Peter tried to say something, but the lord opened the door and sent the poor man out.
„What shall I do now?“ Little Peter thought.
The little man could enjoy neither his food nor drink. Moreover, Big Peter kept mocking and sneering
at him.
Crying, the poor man walked toward the forest.
On the way the bee happened to meet him. „What’s the matter, Peter?“ it asked.
„Oh, don’t ask, little creature. You couldn’t possibly be of any help to me!“
„Tell me anyway. Perhaps I can help you,“ the bee said.
Peter explained, „The lord threatened to kill me if I don’t build a waxen church with an earthern wall
around it and a twelve-toned bell in the tower in three days.“
The bee replied,“Stop crying, my dear man. Just go to bed and come to have a look in the morning.“
Although Little Peter found it difficult to believe the bee, he went to bed.
Bad dreams woke the poor man before daybreak already. He put on his clothes and went out to take his
mind off his sorrow.
A strange humming and zooming as if several thousand bees were flying in the air resounded in
Peter’s ears as soon as he stepped out of the door. He looked around – lo and behold! The bees were just
finishing sharpening the top of the spire, otherwise everything was ready. The church had beautiful yellow
walls of wax, windowpanes of honey and a roof made of honeycombs.
„Oh you good little creatures!“ Peter exclaimed. „Now, if I could get the wall ready as well, I’d be
saved from death because a twelve-toned bell can’t really be found anywhere on earth – the lord couldn’t
possibly demand it from me!“
Little Peter was wandering about. The mouse happened to meet him and asked,“Why do you look so
glum, my dear friend?“
„I’m a poor unlucky man. You see, I got the waxen church made, but how can I manage to build the
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earthern wall around it? Even a whole regiment of soldiers would have to work on it for a long time.“
The mouse replied,“Don’t worry, go to bed and have a good sleep, and come to have a look in the
morning.“
„All right,“ thought Peter, „perhaps the mouse will be able to help me just as the bee did.“ He went to
bed untroubled.
In the morning he hurried out and again – lo and behold! Several thousand mice were just sharpening
the crest of the wall, and a man-high earthern wall around the church was ready.
„I have managed well enough up to now, but where can I, poor man, get a twelve-toned bell for the
church?“
He walked around wondering what to do, but he couldn’t think of anything.
A big hawk came flying from the forest, alighted upon the wall around the church, adjusted his wings
and asked, „Why are you so sad, my dear friend?“
„I’m a poor unlucky man. Though I got the waxen church ready and also the earthern wall was made
around it, from where can I get a twelve-toned bell for the church? Can anything of the kind be found in the
whole world? If it isn’t here by tomorrow, I’ll be in great trouble,“ Peter answered.
„Difficult as it is to get it,“ replied the hawk, „we can still try! I know the Devil to have a bell of that
kind, but it’s difficult to get at it: he keeps it right above his bedchamber and the bell begins to ring loudly as
soon as anyone touches it, waking the Devil. However, if you’re brave enough, sit on my back and let’s go and
try our luck.“
„It’s all the same to me where I meet my death,“ answered Little Peter.
„Our journey may be a success, and then you’ll be a free man,“ said the hawk.
Peter did not think about the matter much longer, he sat on the hawk’s back and they took wing.
The little man’s heart was all a-flutter when he flew above the forests and mountains and rivers on
the hawk’s back, but he held on to the strong bird’s neck and they floated on.
„Now we are within the boundaries of the Devil’s lands,“ the hawk said and landed. „Pick up that little
twig and hide it in your inner pocket.“
Peter did as he was told and they flew on.
The hawk landed again and said to Peter, „Pick up that grain of sand and hide it in your inner pocket.“
Peter did as told. On they flew again.
The hawk landed once more and said, „Pick up that drop of water and hide it in your inner pocket.“
Peter did as told. On they flew again.
Soon they saw a big farmstead in the distance,. The hawk said, „Keep silence now, that’s the Devil’s
farm over there. When we reach the bell, try to unfasten it deftly from the roof-strut. But be careful not to
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utter a single word while doing it, otherwise you might bring about great misfortune.“
It did not take long before both of them were busy at the bell. Peter tried to undo the knot, but
suddenly the bell rang out in several tones: ding-dong-ding-dong!
„Who’s there at the bell?“ the Devil shouted from his room below.
The hawk answered,
„It’s me, little hawk, ringing the bell.“
The old man fell silent. The hawk couldn’t do anything to the bell!
Peter tried to undo the knot for the second time, but again the bell rang out in several tones: ding-
dong-ding-dong!
The Devil shouted from below,“Who’s the brute there at the bell?“
The hawk replied,
„It’s me, little hawk, ringing the bell.“
The Devil fell silent again.
But Peter had almost unfastened the knot. He sat onto the hawk’s back, gave another pull at the knot,
and the bell was free. The hawk took wing, carrying both of them, the bell ringing more and more loudly:
ding-dong-ding-dong, ding-dong-ding-dong!
Only now did the Devil understand that he had been tricked and he rushed out to catch the thieves.
„Drop the twig and say: let it grow into a forest that no one can cross or go around,“ said the hawk.
Peter dropped the twig, said the words and right away an enormous forest was spreading behind the
fliers.
The Devil shouted,
„Bring axes from home,
Bring axes from home,
Cut a road through!“
Axes were at hand immediately. The Devil cut a road through the forest and rushed after the run-
aways.
„Look back if he’s coming!“ the hawk said to Peter.
„Yes, he is!“
„Drop the grain of sand,“ the hawk told Peter, „and say: let it grow into a big mountain that no one
can cross or go around!“
Peter dropped the grain of sand.
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An enormous mountain rose behind them.
The Devil reached the mountain and shouted homewards,
„Bring spades,
Bring spades,
Dig a road through!“
At once his son appeared with spades.
They both kept digging, dripping with sweat. They dug a road through and the Devil rushed again
after the run-aways like the whirlwind.
The hawk said to Peter, „Look back if he’s coming!“
Peter replied, „Yes, he is!“
„Drop the drop of water and say: let it grow into a big sea that no one can cross or go around!“
Peter let the drop of water fall.
The sea, dark blue and foaming, rose menacingly behind them.
The Devil stood on the shore, scolding and cursing so that the water resounded with his yells.
His son and his mother also reached the shore.
„Let’s drink up the sea!“ shouted the Devil.
The three of them started drinking.
Soon the Devil was so full that he couldn’t drink another drop of water.
„Bring hoops,
Bind me with a hoop, son!“
His son brought some hoops and put them round the Devil’s body.
The Devil drank some more and shouted,
„Widen the hoops with wedges!“
His son put in the wedges and the Devil continued drinking, wheezing.
„Drive in another wedge, sonny!“
The son drove in another wedge, but this was too much pressure. The Devil burst and the water
flowed back into the sea.
Now Peter and the hawk were free. They got home before daybreak and put the bell into the church
tower.
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At breakfast-time Little Peter went to the lord and asked him to come and see his work.
The lord could not praise Peter enough for his skill. He gave him a lot of money and treasures so that
Little Peter had enough to last him for his lifetime.
However, Little Peter wanted to get his own back on Big Peter. He said, „My lord! Big Peter has promised to
work an even greater miracle than I did. If the lord wishes, he will see something quite unbelievable that
nobody has ever seen or done before. Big Peter said he could sleep in a stove where seven cords of wood
had been burnt before!“
„Oh, that I’d like to see!“ said the lord. „Light the fire right away!“
The stove was burning hot when Big Peter was driven into it …
Neither Little Peter nor anyone else could say if he ever got out of it. But who would have brought
him out from there!
THE END
Kunder, J. Suur Peeter ja väike Peeter.
First published in 1885.
Story taken from
Kunder, J. Big Peter and Little Peter. Estonian fairy tale. Tallinn. Perioodika, 1986.
Translation by Ilmar Anvelt
22
A FAIRY TALE FROM ITALY
PINOCCHIO
23
Once upon a time, Geppetto the woodcarver made a special pup-
pet that he named Pinocchio.
"I wish you were a real boy," said Geppetto, sadly.
That night the Blue Fairy came to Geppetto's workshop. "Good
Geppetto," she said, "you have made others so happy, you de-
serve to have your wish come true." Smiling, the Blue Fairy
touched the puppet gently with her wand.
"Little puppet made of pine, wake! The gift of life be thine!" And
in the blink of an eye, she brought Pinocchio to life."Pinocchio, if
you are brave, truthful, and unselfish, you will be a real
boy someday," said the Blue Fairy.
The next day Geppetto proudly sent his little wooden boy off to
school. "Jiminy Cricket will show you the way," said Geppetto. "Be sure
to go right there." Pinocchio headed off, but never found his way to
s c h o o l .
He went to Stromboli, an evil puppeteer called Fire Eater, who prom-
ised to make him famous. That
Then she turned to Jiminy
Cricket. "Jiminy," she said,
"you must help Pinoc-
chio." She told Jiminy that
she was giving him a very
important job. He must be
Pinocchio's conscience --
keeper of the knowledge
of right and wrong.
He has got 5 gold coins.
Pinocchio meets Mr Cat and Mr Fox. They go to a place called the
Field of Wonders.
Mr Cat and Mr Fox are not Pinocchio’s friends. During the night Pi-
nocchio falls asleep and they steal his 5 gold coins, and run away.
The Fire Eater wants to kill
Pinocchio but then listens to
him, and feels sorry. Pinocchio
runs away.
24
On Pleasure Island, Pinocchio and the
other boys ran wild and stuffed
themselves with sweets. But Pinoc-
chio's fun did not last long. All of a
sudden, he began to grow donkey
ears and a tail! Pinocchio was fright-
ened.
The note said he had gone to sea to look for Pinocchio and had been swallowed by a whale.
Pinocchio set off at once to find Monstro the whale and save his father. And indeed, Pinocchio found Gep-
petto in the belly of the great whale. Geppetto was thrilled to see his little puppet.
The day after, Pinocchio is very sad.
He has no coins and no friends. Suddenly, some strange creatures cap-
ture him and take away. Pinocchio cries for help.
Pinocchio wakes up in bed with a bad head. A beautiful lady with blue
hair smiles at him and gives him some medicine. She is a fairy. When Pi-
nocchio tells lies… his nose becomes long.
Pinocchio wishes to become a real boy and he promises the Fairy to be
good and to study. The next day Pinocchio met a man who drove a stage-
coach pulled by a team of sad little donkeys.
"Come with us to Pleasure Island!" said the coachman.
The stagecoach was full of noisy boys. They were laughing and talking all
at once. Pinocchio thought it looked like fun. "Don't go, Pinoke!" cried
Jiminy Cricket, but still Pinocchio climbed aboard, ready for adventure.
He and Jiminy Cricket ran for their lives, away from Pleasure Island.
But when the two returned home, Geppetto was gone. Pinocchio was
very upset. Where could Geppetto be? A dove suddenly appeared
with a note from Geppetto.
25
Geppetto scooped Pinocchio up in his arms and
carried him home. Geppetto laid Pinocchio on
his bed and knelt by his side. "Little Pinocchio,
you risked your life to save me," he sobbed.
Suddenly the Blue Fairy appeared once more.
Waving her magic wand over Pinocchio, she said,
"Now you have proven yourself brave, truthful,
and unselfish. Today you will become a real boy.
Awake, Pinocchio, awake!"
Jiminy Cricket watched as his friend came to life.
Their troubles were over and Jiminy's job was
done.
At last, Geppetto's wish for a real son had come
true.
Italian text English version
Author: Carlo Collodi Text simplified and translated by teachers
Published: 1883 Drawings edited by pupils of 5th class
Stigliano’s Primary school
THE END
But how were they ever going to get out of there?
Pinocchio had an idea. Together, they built a fire and
used the smoke to make Monstro sneeze.
Geppetto and Pincchio were thrown out of the whale
and into the sea. Fighting the waves, Pinocchio
helped get his father to shore safe and sound.
But there was Pinocchio lying face down in the wa-
ter!
26
THE ABDUCTION OF EUROPA
A GREEK MYTH
27
playing with her friends by the seaside. Infatuated by her striking beauty, Zeus came up with a cunning
plan. He metamorphosed in a beautiful white bull and approached her uncommonly gentle for a bull; a bull
that smelled of flowers.
Once upon a time , in ancient period, Zeus , the king of Gods and Goddesses, saw Europa, a Phoenician
maiden, daughter of the King of Phoenician Sidon (now known as Lebanon) and Cadmus’s sister,
His gentleness and sweetness, a characteristic most unusual for such an animal, tricked Europa, who slid on
to his back. The instant she did so, the bull charged off and plunged into the sea with the princess on his
back. So they reached Crete accompanied by Nereids riding dolphins.
28
Europa bore him three sons, Minos, Rhadamanthus and Sarpedon.Later, she married Asterion, the king of
Crete, and convinced him to adopt the three sons she had with Zeus. When her husband died, the oldest
of her kids, Minos, became the king of Crete.
King
Minos
THE END
29
THE LEGEND OF THE WAWEL DRAGON
A FOLK TALE FROM POLAND
30
Long time ago in Poland’s early history, On the River Vistula, in a den at the foot of Wawel Hill, there
lived a terrible dragon. None of the inhabitants of the city Krakow from the poorest beggar to His majesty
King Krak didn't know where it had come from and how it got there.
Everyone always trembled with fear. Always having the scary thought that the knigths guarding the dragon
made their hair stand on end when they heard the monster roar. People said there was no weapon and no
way that they were going to defeat the dragon.
As the days past the dragon made himself feel more at home living there which scared the villains even
more.
One day King Krak told a poem to the people of Krakow:
He who once and for all puts this dragon
Shall recieve my sceptre and my royal crown,
So come and defeat this most horrid beast
And win my daughters hand and a wedding feats.
After that many brave and valient knights made their way from different countries to reach Poland to de-
feat the dragon.
Swords and arrows shattered on its scaly body
as if on a shield. But nobody was able to kill
this dragon or even drive it away. Time passed,
the dragon laid waste to the grounds of Kra-
kow. Fewer knights came every day. More peo-
ple came to desert the town, until one day a
young man, a shoemaker known to anyone,
knocked on the gates of the town. He bore no
arms and wore no amour. Some twine, a nee-
dle,and sharp mind were his only weapons.
The guards wouldn't let him in unless he im-
mediately went to see the king.
King Krak had heard what the boy was saying and decided to put some trust in him so he could have a go.
The boy said that he would need: lambskin, some sulphur and mustard seed. The king nodded his accep-
tance to him.
All night long the shoemaker spent hard working on his plan. Local residents would peer through the win-
dow staring at his work. He took the lambskin, filled it with sulpher, pitch and mustard seed, and skillfully
sewed up the hole of the lambs belly.
Everyone was now wondering what the morning would bring.
At sunrise the shoemaker set off to see the dragon with his bag of his ideal plan. There he laid his bait and
quickly hid in the nearby bushes waiting to see what was going to happen.
The dragon awoke.
31
The dragon knew he was hungry so he walked a bit for
food. Suddenly the dragon saw a dead lamb (as it looked
to him), looked at it and greedily jumped down to eat it
and swallowed it whole with his jaws which made the
dragon start to feel extremely thirsty... It began to drink
water from the Vistula River which made it start to
swell. At some point the dragon’s body could not with-
stand that much water and suddenly went "BANG!" and
exploded. Exactly what the shoemaker had planned.
The villagers went silent. Then the sudden cheer began. All the knights ran to the bottom of the hill. The
dragon was dead!
THE END
32
SALT IN OUR FOOD
A FOLK STORY FROM ROMANIA
33
Once upon a time…
Hey, it was a long, long time ago. At that time the
fly was writing on the wall, and a bigger liar is the
one who doesn’t believe this. Back then, the flies
were as big as dumplings and hunters hunted
them with rifles. There was an emperor who was a
widower and who had three daughters, whom he
loved very much. But the youngest daughter was
his dearest and that’s why her older sisters envied
her. One morning, I do not know what came upon
the emperor, that passing through the garden
where the maidens were sitting, he said unto
them: ““My dearest daughters, my beloved
daughters, the time has come for you to get
married. I'll give you such a dowry as other ladies
never had.”
The daughters: Yes, Your Highness.
The emperor: But before I decide upon your dowry, I would like to know how much you love me. And, as it is
proper, the first to tell us is your eldest sister.
The eldest daughter: Oh, dear father and Your Highness, the most brilliant of the emperors of the world.
The emperor: Yes, I am!
The eldest daughter: I love you so much that it’s very hard for me to answer like this, quite on the spot. But
as long as you want my answer right now. Here it is, I love you, I love you like sweet honey!
The emperor: So! Well thought and beautifully
spoken my daughter. What about you, my middle
daughter?
The middle daughter: My precious father and Your
Highness! Oh, I do not love you less than my elder
sister. I love you as much as sugar!
The Emperor: Well thought and beautifully spo-
ken, you too, my daughter.
The Emperor: Hey, it’s now the turn of our young-
est daughter. Tell us how much you love your fa-
ther.
The youngest daughter: Your Majesty, too great
honor and love you show me, that you ask me,
your youngest daughter. I love you father, I love you so much, I love you like the salt in our food!
34
The emperor: So, so! Hey, how, how, like salt in our
food you say? Foolishly you thought and bad you
spoke, you, ignorant. Hear Ye, Hear Ye, to tell me, the
famous Negură-the emperor of whose terror all the
kingdoms of the world tremble, to tell me such silly
words! I don’t want to see you ever again and go
where you’ll know with your salt and everything!
And the poor girl put on a shabby dress, took a
knapsack with a few things and went into the wide
world. She travelled such a long way until she got out
of her father's kingdom and went into another
country.
Reaching the palace, she
stopped and knocked at the
gate. The guards questioned
her. The girl said that she
would like to become a ser-
vant at the court and then
they promptly took her to the
Housekeeper. She was the
head of all the palace ser-
vants and held all the keys to
the royal chambers.
The Housekeeper liked the girl and asked her:
The Housekeeper: Where do you come from, my maiden?
The youngest daughter: From the wide world. I lost my parents early on and greedy relatives drove me
away from my home.
The Housekeeper: And what have you done so far?
The youngest daughter: I served wherever I could.
The Housekeeper: But have you ever been at a royal court?
The youngest daughter: No, never.
The Housekeeper: Hey, my maiden, I see you are quite thin and frail. This is a place where things are not
easy to accomplish, you know.
The youngest daughter: I know, Mom Housekeeper!
35
The Housekeeper: And what can you do, pray tell?
The youngest daughter: I can sew and make silk embellishments, I can cook, feed the geese or the sheep.
I’ll do any kind of work you may ask.
The Housekeeper: I would need a girl like you to help me, I am overwhelmed with so many chores. But
what wages do you ask per year?
The youngest daughter: I consider, Mom Housekeeper, that it's better for you to see what I can do and
then give me as you see fit.
The Housekeeper: Okay, well, my maid, be it as you say. But above all it's good to know that it’s best to find
favour with the empress. She takes all the decisions around here. She keeps whining all day long and she
can hardly be satisfied. The emperor has no other job than to eat, drink and hunt and he is kind of silly. And
by the time he utters a word, the sun rises high up in the sky.
The youngest daughter: Hey, how so?
The Housekeeper: Hey, you’ll see for yourself! I love to serve their son. I brought him up, but I told you
enough, now let’s get back to our work…
And the foreign girl shortly proved to be diligent and skillful without pair. The Housekeeper was very
pleased with her. She cleaned all the chambers properly. And besides the Housekeeper all servants loved
her because, you see, she was prompt and helped each one the best she could. When, lo, one day, at the
emperor's table, a dish was brought that hasn’t been cooked ever before.
The second emperor: Yummy, yum, hey, hey, goo-good food, emp-empress. Yes, yes, but why…?
The empress: Better eat, my lord, ‘cause until you finish what you have to say, this good food will be
cold.
The second emperor: But why ha-ha-hasn’t the che-che-chef coo-coo-cooked it ever before?
The empress: How do I know! Everything, everything, I alone should I know everything?
36
The second emperor: Do not ge-get mad, Your Highness, hic, don’t you see that I, hic, give me some wine,
hic, to drink, hic, I'm choking – he drinks from the cup. Housekeeper!
The Housekeeper: At your service, Your Highness!
The second emperor: Let me kno- know why ha-ha-hasn’t our che-che-chef coo-coo-cooked su-such won-
wonderful di-dishes ever before?
The Housekeeper: Your Majesty, I'm glad you liked them, as for the cooking, it’s not chef who prepared
them.
The empress: No?
The second emperor: Bu-Bu-but who?
The Housekeeper: A young girl I took for help.
The second emperor: What are you saying?
The empress: What?
The second emperor: What are you saying that she is more skillful than our che-chef?
The Housekeeper: As you can see, Your Highness. But wait and see what wonderful fabrics she creates.
The empress: Why didn’t you say it sooner? Tell her to weave a veil of silk with blue embellishments for
me as soon as possible.
The Housekeeper: I understand, Your Highness!
The second emperor: And te-tell her that-that I, the emp-emperor wa-wants her to-to coo-cook this food
again tomorrow. Did you hear me?
The Housekeeper: I understand, Your Highness!
The empress: Listen, Housekeeper, let the girl do what I say, ‘cause I won’t renounce to the veil for his
Majesty’s di-dishes. Hey, now I begin to stammer just like His Majesty. You may leave!
After a few days, the Housekeeper came to the queen with a
veil of woven blue silk with gold thread embellishments. You
would say it was torn from the sun and no other.
The Housekeeper: Here, here, Your Highness, such wonderful
weaving!
The empress: Yes, not a bad job. But, Housekeeper, I see she
made it differently than I said! Bring the girl to me!
The Housekeeper: Immediately, Your Highness. Here she is,
here she is, Your Highness.
The youngest daughter: I bend to Your Highness!
The empress: Hello, girl! I see you worked the veil differently
than I have commanded you.
The youngest daughter: What do you mean, Your Highness?
37
The empress: What, what? I told you to make the weaving with blue embellishments and I see you used
gold thread for stitching. Why?
The youngest daughter: I thought it's more beautiful like this, Your Highness , and the gold thread fits
better with the blue one and with the yellow color of the silk.
The empress: Yes, right. I really wonder how a young girl like you knows so many, many things. When and
where did you learn to cook the dishes from a few days ago?
The youngest daughter: My father was a skillful chef.
The empress: So! And was he a skillful weaver as well?
The youngest daughter: My mother knew how to weave and her silk needlework was beyond wonder.
The empress: And did you inherit all these wonderful gifts?
The youngest daughter: Without them I would not have seen the wonderful face of my queen.
The empress: I see that you're clever at choosing your words. Housekeeper, henceforth, the girl will remain
in service at the royal chambers. I'm overwhelmed with chores. She’ll be of help.
And behold, one day, the enemies started war against the emperor. When he received the unexpected
news, the poor emperor was deeply distressed and began to tremble with fear.
The second emperor: I-I am o-old and si-sick. I ca-ca-cannot fi-fight any wars. I’ll di-die on the way.
The empress: Yes ... poor you ... so sick… but you eat and drink as much as seven people and drink as ten !
The second emperor: I ca-ca-cannot move!
The empress: You are scared stiff. Look at him, the great emperor shaking like a leaf. Who will lead the
armies? Me, a woman?
The second emperor: Yes, yes ... but if you want ... I won’t say nay… but I am old…
The empress: But you're not too old for hunting! You wouldn’t like your son to go to war, Your Highness?
The second emperor: Yes, Yes, it was him I was thin-thinking. He's young, he's strong.
The empress: Yes! Do you hear, my son, how much your dad loves you? What do you say about that?
The prince : Mother and father, Your Royal Highnesses,
don’t quarrel, because I will go to the battle, one way
or another – who else will defend the country if I
don’t! It’s not like I’m going to stay with the women
and old men at home!
The second emperor: Yes, yes, my son! He is like me, as
courageous as I was when I was young!
The empress: No, I don’t even think of that, my son.
We’ve got somebody to go!
The prince: No, no, mother, I’m not taking my decision
back! I'll lead the soldiers to battle and victory!
38
The soldiers and the emperor’s son fought valiantly
and defeated the enemy. But in the heat of the battle,
the prince was wounded. I cannot tell you, how much
sadness was at the palace. The emperor could find no
more rest, you see, he was full of remorse. And the
empress was wailing all day long, walking around the
palace. The most famous doctors in the kingdom came
to his bedside and the empress asked the girl from her
chambers to take care of the wounded. And behold, one
day, the wounds began to heal.
Soon, the prince was safe and sound as if he has never been sick before. Such great joy was every-
where throughout the kingdom! The Emperor and the Empress rejuvenated, no other. But more fervently
than all of them, rejoiced the girl who took care of him with such great faith.
Only the prince was still thoughtful, sighed and didn’t like anything. You see, something was bothering
him but he would not tell anyone what it was. The king and queen did not know what to believe. They
asked him in all the ways to find the cause of his sadness, but it was not possible. Until, one morning, the
prince, after he sat in a vigil watch all night, gathered all his strength, went to his parents and said:
The prince: Your Royal Highnesses, I decided to get married!
The empress: Oh, that was the story, my son! And I was so worried!
The second emperor: Ve-Ve-very wi-wise de-decision and-and I will make you emperor in my place!
The empress: Do not be so hasty, because I'm here too, Your Highness! I am glad, my dear son. The
daughters of our neighbors are waiting for us to send suitors, as tradition demands!
The prince: You toil in vain, Your Highness! I found myself the bride I want.
The second emperor: He fo-found her!
The empress: Shut up and don’t honk like a goose! How, with-
out me knowing! I don’t like this! And who is that?
The prince: The girl from Your Highness chambers, Mum!
The empress: What did you just say?
The prince: Who took care of me and helped me heal so
quickly!
The second emperor: Who, who, who is the girl you are talk-
ing about?
The empress: Don’t who-who like an owl and shut up as I told
you!
The second emperor: I’ll keep my mouth shut!
The empress: I don’t even think so, my son. She is not a king's
39
daughter, and you know that it is not proper to marry anybody unless she’s a girl of high rank and noble
birth!
The prince: She is or she isn’t an emperor’s daughter, I want to marry her and that’s it! I do not need a
noblewoman by birth but of kindness.
The empress: You don’t know what you’re talking about!
The prince: And, after all, good deeds show the nobility of spirit!
The empress: I will give orders to banish her from the court immediately. You will not see her again! You’ll
get over it!
The prince: Then you won’t see me either, Your Highness, mother! I’ll go after her!
The empress: I will keep you from doing this! Have you ever thought what the emperors who have daughters
ready for marriage will say?
The prince: I have, mother.
The empress: And?
The prince: I don’t care what they say and I care less for their daughters!
The empress: You speak like a fool! But you don’t know what you're saying, you're too young and you’ll do
what I say!
The prince: I consider that it is appropriate to choose my own bride. If you allow me to marry her, well, if not,
I want no other and I say goodbye to you!
Well, well, what do you know, the prince was
fierce, no kidding. The emperor, poor him, would have
been glad to marry his young prince and give him his
royal seat, but the queen wanted a daughter-in-law of
noble birth. She kept her position as hard as she could,
but when she realized she couldn’t get through the boy,
she agreed with him, what else could she do? Let’s not
talk anymore any longer. They started the wedding
preparations. While pondering over whom to invite to
the wedding, the bride asked her in-laws and the prince
to invite Negură-the emperor with her two daughters,
her father and her sisters, without saying a word that
they were her relatives. Perhaps she had a hidden
thought. Well, the days passed, and the wedding day
came. The big table was laid around the palace. And they
offered the best food to the royal guests. It was the bride
herself who had taken charge of the dishes and had in-
structed the cooks how to cook.
And when she sat down at the table she covered her face with her bridal veil, you see, she didn’t want her
father and her sisters to recognize her.
40
And they started a wonderful party. The guests were
eating with so much pleasure that you could say that
they haven’t eaten for three days. Their jaws were
crackling and their teeth were sparkling, no other. And
the emperors, as great as they were, they licked their
fingers with incredible pleasure.
Only Negură-the emperor and his two daughters tasted
the food and then they put it down with disgust.
The eldest daughter: Oh, Dad, it is impossible for me to
eat this food!
The middle daughter: I feel the same, Your Highness!
Oh, they are very disgusting and they have such a bad
taste!
The emperor: You’re right my daughters. I have never eaten such bad food. And so sweet that you feel
faint at heart.
The eldest daughter: What puzzles me is that I see all the other guests eating with incredible pleasure!
The middle daughter: Look at them, Your Highness! They eat as if they have a thousand hungry mouths!
The emperor: That's why I’m wondering, too. Could their food be so good? I’ll ask my neighbor from the
right to allow me to taste his food.
The eldest daughter: Yes, Dad, ask.
The emperor: Your Majesty, excuse me for asking, what do you think of this food?
The third emperor: Oh, lovely, Your Highness, lovely! I have never eaten such wonderful food in my life!
The emperor: As for me, on the contrary, I have never eaten such bad food in my life. Will you allow me to
taste your food, Your Highness?
The third emperor: Here you are, Your Highness!
The emperor: Yummy, indeed, these are wonderful! It's unbelievable! I do not know what to think! ... Hon-
orable emperors and royal hosts, pardon me if I spoil your beautiful party, but I’m unaware of any guilt of
mine or my maidens, to become the laughing stock at this wedding!
The second emperor: But, but, who da-dares!
The empress: Save your breath, Your Highness! Allow me! Who dares to do such things, our great and hon-
orable guest?
The emperor: Did you invite me to the wedding, me, the famous Negură-the emperor, to make fun of my
old age?
The empress: How can you, Your Highness, say such bad words about us? We honor Your Highness as well
as all our guests.
The emperor: No, pardon me. The dishes of the other guests are tasty and good to eat but those you put
before me and my ladies are sweet and disgusting. I could not even touch them. I tried to dress them with
salt from the salt shaker but they became a lot worse.
41
The empress: Allow me to taste your food, Your Highness!!!
The emperor: Here you are!
The empress: Hmmm, But they are bad, really bad! Forgive us, Your Highness! And may these two
honorable ladies forgive us as well, but it's not our fault! Bring the chef here immediately and take his head
off!
The youngest daughter: Wait, do not get angry in vain and don’t hurry! I also have a word to say on this
matter. The cook has no fault, I cooked these dishes with my own hands, and I cooked them on purpose.
You will understand everything when I tell you a story. Once, there was an emperor who had three girls and
one day, I do not know what came upon the emperor, that he asked them how much they loved him. The
eldest daughter replied, greatly flattering him, that she loves him like honey, the middle one told him that
she loves him like sugar, and the youngest one, honest in her mind, said she loves him like salt in our food.
So she reckoned that this is the greatest love. But the emperor in great rage sent her away from home and
said he did not want to see her again. Poor lady, she wandered from one place to another until she reached
another kingdom. She became a servant there and she worked with diligence and skill and she became…
The emperor: Enough, enough, my daughter!
The youngest daughter: That girl, needless to say, it’s me, honorable guests, and the food set before his
Highness, Negură-the emperor, my father, I cooked it myself only with honey and sugar, no salt. And when
Your Highness, wanted to put salt in your dishes, you added only sugar as I had put sugar in the salt shaker
instead of salt. And so, dear father, you can understand that not only honey and sugar are priceless in this
world, but how good and desirable is the salt in our food. Here's how much I love you!
The emperor: My dear child!
And they started, my kids, such a joyful party, as it has never been in that kingdom. The wedding
lasted three days and three nights. And I was also at the party and I heard the story I’ve just told you now,
and at the end I helped the cook to fill a basket with prunes to throw them in those open mouths. And
behold, I took a ride upon a short spoon, long live the one who listens, I took a ride upon a spindle, long live
the one who told the story.
THE END
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
All rights for the text: Radio Romania – Radio play for children
Script by: Grigore Băjenaru Adapted from Petre Ispirescu
42
THE MAGIC LAND
Written and illustrated
by the students
of the partnership schools
OUR COMMON STORY
43
All this beauty was dependent on the water of the
river that was coming from the mountains crossing
the village. The inhabitants of the small village
lived happily there. They were engaged with their
fields and their animals enjoying life peacefully and
loving each other. Every Sunday, after church
service, they used to gather at the village square,
next to the river, they used to chat, dance, sing and
have fun.
Suddenly, one day the people of the village noticed
that the water in the river started running out. It
was less and less until the river dried completely af-
ter a few days. The people, in panic and fear,
started searching the cause of the evil that hap-
pened to them. In vain, however! On Sunday they
gathered in the church and they prayed to God for
help. Afterwards, they went out at the village
square in order to think and decide what to do. The
president of the village said:
“Keep calm, please! If we’ll stay together we’ll find a
solution. Tomorrow, at dawn, I will leave for the
river source, so I could understand what is happen-
ing. Is there someone that would like to leave with
me?”. When the people heard these words, said:
“WE WILL COME WITH YOU, PRESIDENT”.
The day after, all the inhabitants gathered in the
church very early and they preyed to God for help
once again. Then they started their narrow path.
nce upon a time, in a beautiful green valley, there was a small village. The small houses, made of
rock, were built among vines, orchards and flowers. It was like living in the paradise!
44
They followed the river course: they crossed woods, swamps, clearings and after four days they arrived at the
source of the river. The atmosphere was gloomy, there was a thick fog that enveloped the top of the moun-
tain, there was a strong and wheezing wind, there was deafening noise coming from who knows where, that
had turned what, once, was a beautiful landscape.
People were terrified, none of them could no
longer move, they were surrendering to the sad
reality. But, suddenly, a brave young man headed
for the rocks from which flowed the river. He
leaned to one of them and…. unexpectedly a trap
door opened on the ground. It was a gateway to
the land of Goddess of Water. The brave young
man stepped in and found the Goddess sitting in
front of him. She was broken-hearted.
She sobbed and with the tears in her eyes she
said:” I know why you have come here. Just let me
tell you what has happened. One day the Devil
came to me and demanded that he should have a
long and winding river with sparkling water just like
in your village. The beautiful flourishing nature of
the village had made the evils envious. They wanted
to have beautiful flowers, fruitful orchards and fer-
tile fields as the villagers. I promised to help him”.
“But the Devil could not understand that to fill the
new riverbed would take me a lot of time. He de-
manded it should be ready at once. When the sun
set, the Devil and his friends made their way into
my land. They led the water from your river into
their valley and covered the springs with big rocks.
And that’s why your river has ran dry.”
The Goddess and the young man sat at a loss for a
while.
45
“The devil has done wrong peppering the river with stones and depriving us of a source of water but we
should forgive him because he only wanted to experience the beauty and love like we do. He wanted to
enjoy the greenery, flowers and happiness. You can not punish him for this”.
The Goddess looked at the boy with astonishment, amazed by his wisdom and prudence. Great hope
entered into her heart, she didn’t like quarrels and has always tried to solve problems peacefully. She knew
that wars are something very bad and each side bore the responsibility while fighting. The Goddess saw the
brave soul mate in the young man. She looked at the boy with confidence and asked:
Suddenly his face brightened with a smile, the boy jumped with joy and exclaimed:
”EUREKA ....! (I have found!) From the stories my grandma used to tell me when I was a child I remember a
place of unearthly beauty where the Spirit of Water reigns.”
The Goddess said with a new ray of hope in her voice: “Oh, you have the knowledge of another realm. Even I
couldn’t disclose this secret to you. What else did your grandma tell you?”
The young man mused for a long moment and added:
Then suddenly the man looked at the Goddess and said with a smile on his face ...
"Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good."
“How do you want to convince the devil to cooperate?”
“I don’t know yet,“ answered the young man. “We must work together to create a plan for it. The case is
certainly not easy, but if we unite forces it certainly will succeed!
The boy sat down on a rock next to the Goddess of Water and started to think again. On his beautiful and
young face you could see a huge focus and seriousness.
46
“I have to be strong and brave to get there. I feel that I
have this power to travel to the realm of the Spirit of
Water to bring the water, the peace and prosperity back
to my people.”
“But how will you get there?”
The young man felt a stone from the dried riverbed in
his pocket. Squeezing it hard in his hand and doing three
forward flips, he reached the realm of the Spirit of
Water in the blink of an eye. An old man whose beard
and hair were silvered with the snows of age was
standing on a rainbow bridge.
A beautiful waterfall was behind him. The Spirit spoke before the boy could even utter a word:
“I know your plight and I know why you have came to this realm where no man has ever been before. You
must be very wise to know that you had to overcome your own fears to bring harmony to your world. And so,
my dear boy, I will unlock the stream of water if you unlock the meaning of this ancient riddle:
“Its head is on the mountains; its tail is on the coast. What is it?”
It didn’t take long for the boy to find it. The only
thing he did was remember the stories and the
riddles his grandmother used to tell him.
“It’s the river”, he exclaimed!
“Your answer is correct; therefore, I am obliged to
keep my word”, said the Spirit.
He lifted his hands up in the air and as soon as he
said the magic words “AYANE ANEAO
APOATAAMI” , a loud noise was heard!
The Earth began moving and lightning boomed at
the top of the mountain. The boy started crying,
afraid of these.
The Spirit appeased him saying:
“Don’t worry. Because of your wisdom and bravery, your village has been saved. A brand new river with
clean waters flows once again through your village. Leave now and remember: if your heart is pure and
good, you’ll always be a winner.”
47
As for the Devil and his friends, when they saw
what had happened, they were so jealous that
they decided to leave and never come back.
After that, everybody lived happily ever after!
The boy thanked the Spirit and started his way
home. Upon arrival at his village, all the inhabi-
tants were rejoicing next to the river. He narrated
everything he had gone through to them.
THE END
48
In the framework of Comenius Multilateral Partnerships 2012-14, six schools from Cyprus, Es-
tonia, Italy, Greece, Poland and Romania participate in the European project “Having culture
as a kite, we travel European skies”. Students and teachers of these schools collaborate in car-
rying out activities that deal with various aspects of cultural heritage. Main aim of the pro-
gramme is to promote cultural and intercultural awareness and respect between European
schools.
This common book consists of a collection of traditional European stories (myths, legends, tra-
ditions, folk tales) from the partnership countries. It also includes a common story written col-
laboratively from the children of all the participating schools in the form of a patchwork. The
book is considered to be one of the final products of the partnership.
The book and the stories can also be found in electronic form on the project’s website: http://
comeniushavingculture.jimdo.com
COMENIUS MULTILATERAL PARTNERSHIPS 2012-2014
Project
“Having culture as a kite, we travel European skies”
This project has been funded with support from the European Commission. This publication reflects the views only of
the author, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information con-
tained therein.
