Once upon a time, there was a poor woman, who had been in and out of seven countries. This poor woman had a son, but she gave him food and gave him nothing. She would have given her poor head, but when she had what she had, and when she had not. One day the son said to his mother that he would not stay at home any longer, he would go and try his luck.
The poor woman cried that she was running out of her only son, but she could not say: stay still, my sweet beautiful son, I'll bathe you in milk and butter, I'll smear you with wood chips (beating - ed.), because there was no milk or butter, not even wood chips.
The boy's name was Palko, and he was such a handsome lad that he had no equal in seven mere frontiers.
I tell you, the woman wept bitterly, but she did feed Palko with ash-baked scones, and sent him on his way with the news of God.
He walked, he walked through the beautiful Palko hills and valleys, and at nightfall he came to a dense thicket. As he walked through the thicket, far, far away he saw some faint world, but it seemed as small as the world of a candle. He went straight in that direction, and the candle-world grew stronger and larger, and when he was within a stone's throw of it, there was a fire as if a great contignation house had been burning.
"Oh," thinks Palko to himself, "there must be giants living there!"
Well, he hit it, for there indeed was a great giant lying around the fire, and his sons beside him. They were frying bacon.
- "One life, one death," says Palko, and he boldly went to the fire. He took off his hat, and saluted in the proper manner:
- God grant you good evening, my lord!
The giant turns around and growls a loud growl:
- No, you, no, what kind of human thing is going on here?
Palko replied:
- It's me, my lord.
- Who and what are you?
- I'm a poor lad, looking for service, my lord.
- "Well, thank you for calling me 'my lord'," said the giant, "for I would have roasted you in the flames of the fire! Settle down, my sweet son!
Palko sat down next to the giant's sons, who fed him with fried bacon, and then he lay down and slept like a log.
In the morning, when they get up, the old giant asks:
- Well, Palko boy, where are you going to serve?
- I would like to go to the king, my dear father, for I have heard that three days a year are paid there, and that the poor lad's wages are paid honestly.
- Hey, my son, the king lives far away! Your feet will be bruised by the time you get there. But don't be sad, sit on my neck, and get well in my cauldron, and I will take you to the king's city.
Palko sits on the giant's neck, but the giant says to him:
- My son Palko, close your eyes, or you'll get dizzy, and every part of you will be broken to bits!
Palko closed his eyes, and the giant just lifted his foot and stepped from one mountain to the top of the other. On the second step he crossed a sea, on the third step he stepped on a mountain so high that his head hit the sky. Then he stopped, took a long breath, and said to Palko:
- Open your eyes, my Palko boy, what do you see?
- 'I see,' said Palko, 'far, far away, something faintly white. I wonder what it is, my lord?
- That's the stake of the king's citadel, my son Palko. But just close your eyes for now.
When the giant has taken three steps, he says to Palko:
- Open your eyes, my sweet boy, what do you see?
- I see a house when I look at it, my lord.
- That's the king's citadel, my Palko boy. You see it as a little house now, but it will grow, just close your eyes.
Palko closed his eyes, and looked into the giant's cauldron with a Hungarian expression. Well, he was right to do so, for there was such a whirlwind that if he didn't put his hands and feet into it, the nasty wind would have caught him. Down it goes. But the giant could make the wind whir and whir. He just lifted his long, long legs, from mountain to mountain, through forests and fields, and suddenly he says to Palko:
- Open your eyes, Palko boy! Look around, what do you see?
- I see, my dear father, such a beautiful palace as I have never seen in my life. Here we are just outside its gates.
- Well, when we are here, get off me, my son Palko, and go before the king! I commend you to God, and go back to my sons.
Palko climbed down from the giant, thanked the giant for his kindness, paid his respects to the giant boys, and went into the courtyard of the palace. He went straight to the king and told him what he was doing.
- 'Very well, my son Palko,' said the king, 'I have just caught my turkey-keeper, and I will make you turkey-keeper.
Well, time has passed. Palko was well-behaved, and the king took such a fancy to him that he took him as a valet. But not to confuse the two, the king had three beautiful daughters. Especially the youngest was so beautiful that you could look at the sun, but not at her. And the princes and princes' sons went after her, but the little queen, when she saw Palko, would not speak to them. Palko could hardly speak to the little princess, for the queen was always watching him, but he knew what he knew, and that was enough for him. He noticed that Palko and the little princess understood each other, even if they did not speak. So she told the King:
- Hark, I know now why the littlest maiden needs neither prince nor prince. The best-souled daughter loves Palko!
- Is it the same? - says the king. - For I will lose Palko. I know, my God, that he will never look on the queen again.
He called Palko and said to him:
- Do you hear, Palko, I see that you are a clever lad. Now listen to me. Cut down that great forest opposite my palace to-night, and carry it into the courtyard, and in the morning put it in a bundle, or I'll have your head on a spike!
Palko is startled at this speech, and says:
- Sire, my king, impale my head, for I cannot do what you command for a hundred years.
- But, you devilish child, I'll have you in a dungeon now, and yet I'll have your head on a spike if that forest is not in the yard by morning.
He summoned two of his istrages, and ordered Palko to be thrown into a dungeon, and his hands and feet to be beaten with iron.
Palko sat down sadly on the dungeon floor, crying bitterly why he had been able to leave his mother. He would rather have starved and languished till the world and two days more, Than have such a sad end to his young life.
As she weeps and wails to herself, a secret hatch opens in the dungeon wall, and the little princess descends through it. She went to Palko, hugged him, kissed him, caressed him, and comforted him with sweet words.
- "Don't cry, Palko, don't cry," said the little princess, "here, I'll give you a whip with a brass lash, and you can go out on this secret lappet, stop under the forest, and crack three big ones, and let the forest sing to it! By the third lashing, all the devils in the world will be gone, and thou commandest them, and they will bring in the whole forest by morning.
Palko was mad that he was seven times more beautiful than before, and he took the whip and slipped out of the secret dungeon, and the little princess stayed in the dungeon until he got back. She went into the woods, and there she cracked her brass-tacked whip three times. The woods roared and roared, as if the goddess were running through the trees, and the sea of devils came crashing down on her from all sides. The oldest goes to Palko and asks:
- What can I get you, handsome Palko?
- 'I command you,' said Palko, 'to cut down all that wood, and carry it to the king's court, and there put it in a bundle.
- You got it, handsome Palko, go back to sleep!
Palko went back to the dungeon and talked to the little princess until morning.
Hey, what the devils were doing in the meantime, sweet Jesus! They cut the woods back and forth, through and through, the trees toppled and fell, they took them by the thorns, carried them by the thorns, down the hill, into the yard, cut them, sawed them, put them in a bundle, and with that they disappeared as if the earth had swallowed them up.
The king rises early in the morning, goes out on the porch, but he is so overcome with amazement that the water of three drinking cups has been poured over him, and yet he can hardly recover. He calls Palko once, and says to him:
- Well, Palko, you're doing a good job, but just open your ears wide! Now I command you to plough up the woods tonight, sow it with haricot, that haricot (buckwheat: a kind of sorrel, its fruit can be ground into flour - ed.) should spring up, grow, ripen, harvest, thresh, grind, and cook it into pulp in the morning, otherwise I'll have your head on a spike!
Palko is grieved from the bottom of his heart, and says to the king:
- Sire, my king, stake my head, for I can plough the earth, I can sow it with a harpoon, but how can it grow, grow and ripen in a year!
- 'Say no more,' the king hissed angrily, 'back to the dungeon! Tomorrow morning I can have your head on a spike, you devilish brat!
Palko goes back to the dungeon, and his poor head falls into a great sadness. He wept, he wept, he wept, he wept, why he could leave his poor mother. And as he weeps and wails, the secret latch opens, and the little princess descends. She goes to Palko, embraces him, kisses him, caresses him, and says to him:
- Don't cry, Palko, don't cry, it's not so bad! Here, now I'll give you a whip with a gold whip, Hide in the hollow, and where last night, crack three, but crack them hard, So that heaven and earth may be shaken, And all the devil that is in the earth and under the earth May be consumed. Only tell them, and take no other care.
Palko did as the little princess said, and so - Lord Jesus, don't leave me! - at the third ring, so many devils ran before him that the ground was shaken and even the starry sky was blackened.
The oldest devil asks:
- What can I get you, handsome Palko?
Say Palko, we're in big trouble.
- 'Do not be sorry about that,' said the devil, 'go home and sleep!
Palko went back to the dungeon and talked to the little princess until morning.
Meanwhile, the devils have hit the ground, ploughed it up for a mic (minute, moment - ed.), planted it. They hadn't even ploughed it yet, the chickweed had sprouted; it hadn't sprouted, it had grown; it hadn't grown, it had ripened; it hadn't ripened, it had been reaped; it hadn't been reaped, it had been threshed; it hadn't been threshed, it had been threshed, it had been mad - chop-chop! They brought one, a bigger one at the church. They lit the cauldron, put the ladle on the fire; the pulp was boiling, bubbling, already cooked; Plutóné put a pulp mixer the size of a rafter in front of him, stirred it around, stirred it, scooped it with a big wooden spoon; put the ladle on again (ladle: large cauldron, metal cooking pot - ed.) on the fire, the bottom of the firepan sizzles (makes a faint hissing sound - editor), the pulp separates, the firepan is turned over, the pulp falls out on the floor, bigger than the Harghita.
They were ready to crow, they were off, they were going, they were scattering like a rushing wind.
But the king got up early and went out on the porch to see if the devilish fellow had done anything. He looked, he looked at the great big pulisque, and he fainted so much that they poured six cups of water on it, and yet he could hardly get up.
As soon as he was up, he ordered the people of the town to be rounded up and the pulisco cleared from the courtyard. The poor people ran, and those who had as many pulisks as they could carry, ran and ran, and did not stop until they reached home. And when they had cleared away the pulpits so that even the ground was raked up after them, the king called Palko and said to him:
- Well, my lad, you have mocked me, but don't rejoice yet! I know you've not had enough, but all right, now open your ears. Tomorrow morning go out to the stable, there is a black stallion and a black mare, then two mare foals and a grey mare foal. Walk them around until their bodies foam! If not, I'll have your head on a spike.
Hey, Palko was happy, because if you only have to walk horses, it's easy. He didn't even say a word to the king, telling him to put his head on a spike, because he couldn't do it anyway, and ran off to the dungeon. But then the little queen came at once through the secret door of the latch, and said to him:
- I can see you're in a good mood, Palko, and you should only be really sad now. The devils have done everything for you so far, but they can't come to your aid in broad daylight.
Says Palko:
- What do you think, my soul, sweet princess? I can ride a horse without the devils.
- 'Oh, my soul, my Palko, my sweet Palko,' said the little princess, 'do you know that the black mare is my father, the black mare is my mother, the two mare's foals are my two brothers, and the grey one will be myself? When you step on the threshold, we'll kick you so hard your eyes will sparkle. But listen to me! There's an iron bar within the door, and, however they kick it at you, take it up bravely, and don't be afraid to use your hands, and beat the horses till they give way. Only don't hit me, my sweet Palomino, for I won't kick you, I'll only pretend to kick you! Here, I'll give you a brass cantar, and you can pull it over our heads, and the rest is your problem.
With that, the princess said goodbye to Palko, and told him to sleep, so that tomorrow both his eyes would be open.
Palko took the advice, went to bed and slept like a log until dawn. At dusk he got up and went back to the stable. He could hear the horses from far away, whinnying, dancing and drumming. Well, Palko, you'll be warm now, I say. When he opened the door, the five horses kicked at him so hard that he threw up in his eyes. But Palko was not one of those put it away and take it not, he suddenly grabbed the iron bar, and hit the black horse - he wailed! Quickly the brass cantar into his head, He leaps on his back, and with that he bids him, "Get thee down! - The black mule flew like a rushing gale. Then, when the foam was torn from him, he turned back into the stable.
In the same way, he also mated the black mare and the two yellow fillies, but when it came to the grey mare, he no longer beat her, but only hit the bridge and the manger, and gave a big whack. Well, he soon gave in.
- "See," said the black mare now, "did I say that this impious grey colt had betrayed me? It was he who beat me with that rope-lad, but I'll pay for all that suffering!
Palko hears this and whispers it in the grey colt's ear:
- Did you hear what your mother said?
- Hallam, hallam, just sit on my back, and let's go like the wind, for we have no place to stay from this hour!
O Virgin Mary, do not leave me!" the foal flew so fast that his feet did not even touch the ground, he flew faster than a bird, faster than the wind, faster than thought, over hill and dale, through forest and field, over rivers, lakes and seas, and for seven days and seven nights he did not take a break. Then the colt spoke, and said to Palko:
- Look back, Palko, what do you see?!
- I see an osprey, seven feet long (the old measure of length, 1 foot is about 77 cm - editor), the flame bursts out of its mouth and flies straight after us.
- Well, if you see me, know that that's my father, and he'll catch up with me. But now I'm going to hump through my head, and I'm going to be a millet-sower, and you're going to hump through your head, and you're going to be a millet-shepherd. If my father ask thee if thou hast not seen a colt and a young man, tell him, 'But thou didst see them when this millet was sown.
Well, it was just like the colt said. The eagle comes and asks Palko:
- Hey, earthling, have you not seen a colt with a handsome lad on it?
- But I did see it when this stone was thrown here. It must be four weeks old, if not more.
- "So they were not the ones I am looking for," said the eagle, and turning back, he did not stop until he reached home.
Tell your wife at home how you got on.
- 'O thou unhappy one, thou,' said the queen angrily, 'for that millet-thrower was thy daughter, and her shepherd Palko! How could they make me so mad! Go after them at once!
The king did not even breathe, he flew back in the form of an eagle.
Meanwhile the Palkos were also galloping through hill and valley, but the colt was now beginning to slacken, and the eagle was only a shot behind them. Says the colt:
- Look back, Palko, what do you see?!
- I can see an eagle flying after us, with flames bursting from its mouth fourteen feet away.
- Well, if you see, that's my father. Let's play hopscotch, I'll be a lamb and you a shepherd, and if he asks if you've seen a colt with a handsome lad on it, tell him you saw him when this lamb was sired.
The eagle was fooled a second time, and turned back in a great rage, flying straight home. Say he saw nothing but a sheep and his shepherd.
But only now was the Queen really angry.
- Oh, you fool, you, for the lamb was your daughter, and the shepherd was Palko! Turn back at once, and be not fooled again!
The king flew in the form of an eagle, flapping his wings so loudly that the sky was shaken. The colt was also galloping with Palko, but now he was even more languid. He called back to Palko:
- Look back, Palko, what do you see?! As if a flame were burning my fur.
- I can see the eagle flying after us again, but this time the flame is bursting from its mouth so that I can't see the sky for the smoke.
- Well, if you see, our lives are about to end if we don't suddenly dive in over our heads. Now I'll be a chapel, Palko, and you'll be a hermit in the chapel. If my father asks if you have not seen such and such a colt and such and such a lad, say, 'Yes, you did, when this chapel was built.
By the time they had pecked through their heads and turned into a chapel and a hermitage, the eagle had swooped down so that the ground was scorched all around him, and he asked the hermit:
- Come, by Jove, holy man, have you not seen a handsome lad with a grey colt ride by?
- Well, I remember seeing it a year ago, when this chapel was built.
- 'Well, if you saw me then, it's not the one I'm looking for,' said the eagle, and flew back to the royal palace.
The queen was already out on the porch, slapping her palms together in a big, mocking way.
- They're fooling you again, aren't they?! Well, that's not half the harm you'll eat!
The king had protested enough, but so and so the hermit told him that he had seen a grey colt a year ago: the queen was filled with anger and annoyance.
- Oh, you fool, you, for the hermit was Palko, and the chapel is your daughter! Well, now I'll go after them, I know I'll not be fooled!
In a minute he was transformed into a hawk-bird, and flew after Palko's, faster than thought. They went on as fast as they could, but slowly rather than fast, and more backwards than forwards. Suddenly the colt called back:
- Look back, Palko, what do you see?!
- I see a hawk-bird, but then it bursts into flames seventy-seven feet from the mouth.
- Well, if you can see me, know that this is my mother, and let us take good care of our lives, for my mother is not to be trifled with. So now I'll be turned into a lake, and you into a goldfinch, and take care that the hawk-bird doesn't catch you.
For the foal had got it right that the hawk-bird could not be fooled, for as soon as it turned into a pond and a duck, it swooped straight down on the duck. But when he struck, the duck dived into the pond, and it was no use trying to avoid him, for he was always so clever at diving that he could not catch it. So the falconer, changing back into a queen, picked up a big stone from the shore of the lake and pointed it at the duck. But this time the duck suddenly dived into the lake and the stone missed it. Whatever stones were on the shore of the lake, she threw at the duck, but she just couldn't hit it.
And when one stone was not enough, not even that many, he lifted up his two hands and cursed them, but so hard that heaven and earth were darkened. He cried out to them as it came out of his throat:
- You'll get it on me, you godless bastards! I've run out of my two fair daughters, you beat them with an iron rod, you murdering Palko. Now thou wilt twist me out of my third daughter. But I curse you to forget each other as if you had never known each other!
He said no more, but that was just enough. Suddenly, he flapped his wings over his head, turned back into a hawk-bird, and flew home with a terrible flame.
As he flew away, the lake collapsed, and he became a princess, and the duck became a duckling, seven times more beautiful than before. Now they had nothing to fear from anyone or anything, and they set off in silence, going wherever their eyes could see. They walked and walked until they came to the edge of a town. There they sat down and talked for a while about what would happen next. Suddenly they fell asleep and fell asleep.
In the morning, when they wake up, they look at each other, they look at each other, but like two strangers. Palko asks:
- Who are you, fair maiden?
The girl also asks, "Who are you, handsome boy?
He says her name, she says his name, but they don't know each other. They couldn't figure out how they got together. But they went into town together, and there they parted: one went to the right, the other to the left. Palko joined a lord as a footman, and the princess joined another lord as a maid.
Time went by, and Palkó went to the house where the princess lived every day, sometimes with a letter, sometimes with a message, he saw the princess every day, they talked together, but they did not know each other.
When it was just over a year since the queen had cursed them, Palko dreams that the black stallion has died. In the morning he is sent to the house where the Queen lived and told of the wonderful dream he had.
- "Well, that is a wonderful dream," said the girl. - And I saw to-night that the black mare was dead.
They look, they look at each other, they start to think, and suddenly they remember that they knew each other once. Their heads began to swell even more, and, oh, sweet Jesus, not a word, not a word, they just fall into each other's necks, hugging and kissing.
The dream was soon deciphered, that it could not be otherwise: the king and queen were dead. They set off at once, and did not stop until they reached home.
It was indeed as they dreamed. The princess was proclaimed king and left free to choose her own lord. But she chose fair Palko. They made such a feast that from Hencida to Boncida the wine and brandy and all sorts of tree juice flowed. And then the young couple went in a nutshell, and the Olton descended, and they did not stop till they found Palko's mother. The poor woman was seated in the nutshell between them, and they took her with them to the royal palace.
They are still alive today, if they are not dead.
(Elek Benedek: Hungarian tale- and mythology Volume 1)
