Once upon a time, across seven and seven lands, even beyond the glass mountain, where the little pig with the short tail is a prowler, there was a king, and his son John.
The king once says to his son, who was a young boy:
- Go, my son, see the world and the country, and let your feet be shod. Then you'll be a good man.
Not twice did Prince John say this, and he threw a sling around his neck and a staff in his hand, bade farewell to his father and mother, and went against the seventeen countries. As he went, he met on the road a tall, thin man.
He is greeted by the prince, welcomed by the tall man. And then he looked, and looked at the tall man, and his eyes were wide open with great amazement, for he had never seen such a tall man. He asked:
- Who are you, what are you, what is your profession?
The tall, thin man replied:
- My name is Lightning Fast. I run as fast as lightning, and faster than lightning.
- "Well, I'd like to see that," says the prince.
Before you can even say it, a deer jumps out of the bushes. He leaps, follows Lightning Fast, leaps one, leaps two, and catches up with the deer. Says the prince:
- Now I do believe that you can run as fast as lightning. Come with me, and we'll be breadfellows, and thou shalt not regret it.
They shake hands, pledge friendship, the two of them move on.
As they walk, they see a man with a huge broad shoulder lying under a big mountain and lifting it. They come, and the prince greets him, and asks the broad-shouldered man:
- Who are you, and what are you, brother?
The broad-shouldered man replies:
- I am a Mountaineer. No mountain is too big for me not to carry on my shoulders.
He picked up the mountain and carried it on his shoulders as if it were a sack of wheat.
- "Well, my brother," says the prince, "won't you come up and be our bread-buddy?
- "With a good heart," said the Mountaineer.
The three of them shake hands and walk on. They walked, they walked, they walked, and they came to a forest full of woods. And there a great many broad-chested men blow on the trees, and a terrible wind comes up, and the trees fall to the ground with a terrible crash.
The bread-winners stop, their eyes wide open in amazement, they have never seen anything like it in their lives. The prince asks:
- Who are you, and what are you? What is your profession?
Says the broad chested man:
- I am the Blower, and at the blow of my whistle the biggest house will collapse, and I will break the biggest trees into a pozzor.
- 'Well,' says the prince, 'you're just the man for us, come and be our breadwinner.
They shake hands, make a great friendship and go on their way. Now there were four of them. They walked, they walked, and on the way they met a man with an arrow.
The prince greets him and asks:
- Who are you, what are you, what is your profession?
Says the man with the arrow:
- I'm the Prospector, I can shoot a pea out of anyone's palm without harming their palm.
- Let's try it! - says the prince.
The man with the arrow had a grain of peas, and the prince held it out in the palm of his hand, and the man with the arrow shot it so that the arrow did not even touch the prince's palm.
Now, the prince shakes hands with the Goodfinder, and the five of them go on their way. As they walk, they meet a small, stocky man. The prince greets him and asks:
- Where to, Earth? Who and what are you, what is your trade?
The small, stocky man replied:
- My name is Peter, and when I put my head down, I know everything people think and do, no matter how far away I am from them.
The prince was pleased with Peter, they became very friendly, and Peter went with them. Now there were six of them, all of them comrades in bread. And they went on their way against seven and seven countries, and they went on their way until they came to Fairyland.
The king of Fairyland had a beautiful, fair daughter, who was the fairest thing the world had ever seen, and who could run as swift as the wind. Her name was none other than the Princess Séphane.
Once the king will proclaim in his kingdom, even beyond giving his daughter to the man who leaves her in the race; but let any man try his luck, and if he cannot leave his daughter, his head will be on a stake.
For kings, princes, counts, barons and assorted gypsy legends have tried their luck, but some have also had their heads on stakes.
When the breadwinners hear this, they all go up to the king, and there they send Lightning-fast to try their luck.
- "Very well," says the king, "try as you may, ninety-nine men have their heads on a spike, and you shall have the hundredth.
A sea of people gathered in the king's court, to see which could run better, Sélike or the tall, long-legged man?
Szélike runs away, then Lightning-fast, jumps once, escapes twice, and leaves Szélike so that he began to cry bitterly in his great shame.
The king says to Lightning Fast:
- You ran faster, it's true, but there must be something wrong with my daughter. Let's try again.
They run a second time, but again Lightning Fast has left Széliké without Széliké even catching up. Oh, the princess was very ashamed, and ran crying to the palace!
- "Well, my son," says the King to Lightning-fast, "I see that you have run better than my daughter this time, but three is the truth, run a third time.
Meanwhile, Princess Szélike had a thought, and sent Lightning Fast a beautiful diamond ring as a present. Lightning-fast was glad of the gift, for he did not know what kind of ring it was. It was the kind of ring that if you put it on your finger when you wanted to walk, your feet would be rooted to the ground. Well, if Lightning-fast did not know it, Peter did, for he pressed his head to the ground, and found out what the Shetian's mind was thinking. He bade the Finder, when Lightning-fast came out to run, to shoot the head of the ring, for therein was the charm.
Here comes the third day. Sélike and Lightning Fast stand next to each other. Szélike is running, Lightning Fast wants to run, but he can't. He stands still, as if he's been pegged.
Abban a szempillantásban Jóltaláló megcélozza a gyűrű fejét, ellövi, s hát indul Villámgyors, szalad, mint a villámlás, és harmadszor is elhagyta a királykisasszonyt.
Sírt a királykisasszony, majd fölvetette a méreg s a bosszúság. Hogy az a hosszú, vékony ember így csúffá tegye! Most már akár akar, akár nem, hozzá kell mennie feleségül. Pedig úgy láttam, mint ma, a királykisasszonynak János királyfin akadt meg a szeme. Bizony nem bánta volna, ha ez hagyja el a futásban.
Bezzeg megörült, mikor a kenyeres pajtások fölmentek a királyhoz, s azt mondotta Villámgyors, hogy nem kell neki a királykisasszony, csak annyi aranyat és ezüstöt adjon neki, amennyit Hegyhordó elbír vinni.
– Adok én jószívvel – mondotta a király -, nem annyit, de többet, mint amennyit egy ember elbír.
Megtöltetett hat szekeret arannyal-ezüsttel színig.
– Itt van, vigyed, ha elbírod!
Fölkapja Hegyhordó a hat szekér aranyat és ezüstöt, de annyi volt neki, mint másnak hat zacskó arany. Hozatott a király még hat szekér aranyat és ezüstöt: meg se kottyant Hegyhordónak.
No, már ennél több aranya és ezüstje a királynak sem volt. Akkor összeszedték, ami csak drágaság volt a palotában. Aranytálakat, -tányérokat, -késeket, -villákat, -kanalakat s mindent. Mikor mind felszedte Hegyhordó, mondta:
– No, most elég!
Elmentek a kenyeres pajtások, de alig mentek el, a király erősen megbánta, hogy ezeknek a jöttment embereknek azt a rengeteg sok kincset odaadta. Gondolkozott, okoskodott, törte a fejét, hogy tudná valamiként visszaszerezni. Egyet gondol, utánuk szalasztja Szélikét, hadd menjen velük, mintha elrabolták volna, akkor aztán utánuk küld egy regement katonát, s Szélikét meg a tenger kincset is visszahozatja.
Hiszen Szélikének sem kellett egyéb! Bezzeg szaladott örömmel utánuk. Hipp-hopp! – egy szempillantásra utolérte őket, s mindjárt János királyfihoz szegődött, mellőle el sem maradott.
Mennek, mendegélnek, egyszer Péter lehajtja fejét a földre, s azt mondja pajtásainak:
– No, most mindjárt csúf dolgunk lesz. A király egy regement katonát indított utánunk, minket elpusztítanak, s Szélikét meg a kincset visszaviszik.
– Úgy-e – mondja Fúvó -, hát csak jöjjenek! A többit bízzátok rám.
Jött is a regement. Mikor egy puskalövésnyire volt, vissza fordult Fúvó, megfújja magát, kerekedik rettentő nagy forgószél, s elfújta a katonákat lovastul, mindenestül, talán még a világ végén is túl.
Most már mehettek békességben. Szépen hazaértek a János királyfi udvarába. Ott a temérdek kincset öten elosztották egymás között, János királyfinak maradt Szélike királykisasszony.
Mindjárt nagy lakodalmat laktak, üstre főztek, teknőre tálaltak. Csak lé volt kilencféle. Én is ott voltam ebédre. Ettem-ittam, jól mulattam, s aztán szépen elkullogtam.
This is the end, run away from it!
(Ágnes Kovács: Folk tales for kindergarten children)
