Polish legends: Bartek Oak

Author: Mariusz Strzelecki

 This happened in the earlydays of the Polishstate. Just after the famous Baptism of Poland, our country receiveditsguardianangel from heaven. It was intended to protect the Polishnationagainstallthreats. The angel went to the thenruler, Prince Mieszko, to introducehimself. But howcanyou go to anaudiencewithoutanygift? He decided to takesomethingunusual with him.

When he stoodbefore the prince, he explainedwho he was and whattask he hadreceived from God. Mieszko was happy thathispeoplehadgainedso much favor from the Creator. However, the gift from the guardianangelsurprisedhimvery much - it was a small, greenacorn.

The celestialvisitorquicklyexplainedthatit was no ordinaryacorn. Onceplanted, itwouldgrowinto a largetree. He alsosaidthat the Polishnationwillexist as long as thisoakis with it. Allgood and badevents in the lives of Poleswill be reflected in it.

The prince was very happy with the heavenlygift and quicklyplanted the seed he received. At the same time, the angel'swordsworriedhimgreatly. Oaktreeslived for a verylongtime, but likeeverytreetheyhad to growold and dieatsome point. He wondered for a longtimehow to ensure the longestpossible life of the tree and the existence of hisnation.

He calledmessengers and sentthem to allcorners of his country - theirtask was to spreadBartek's story, becausethat was the name of the unusualoak. In thisway, Prince Mieszko plantedanangelictree in the hearts and thoughts of hissubjects, and the Polishnationwill not perish as long as Bartek's story ispassed on to subsequentgenerations.

The oak was givenspecialcare. He was visited by many of Poland'srulers and witnessed the most importantevents in the history of ournation. According to the angel'sprophecy, in the times of ourcountry'sglory, Bartek was growingwonderfully. However, everytime the homeland was in danger, variousmisfortunesfell on the tree and thuswarnedusabout the threat.

Anna Śliwka -Zespół Przedszkolny nr 2 , Gdańsk, Poland

9th Kindergarten School of Tripoli, Greece (Eleni Katsiavou)

The Oldest Olive Tree in the World – Vouves, Crete

The Monumental Olive Tree of Vouves, as it is called, is considered one of the seven olive trees in the Mediterranean region that surpass the age of 3,000 years. For this reason, it has been designated as a "preservable monument of nature" due to its unique aesthetic, ecological, and historical significance. The age of the olive tree is estimated to be between 3,000 and 5,000 years. It has been recognized as a global monument of nature and is located in the village of Kato Vouves in the Chania region of Crete. According to mythology, it is said that Hercules himself transplanted the first olive tree from Vouves to Ancient Olympia for the Olympic Games. The winner of the first marathon of the Olympic Games in 2004 in Athens and in 2008 in Beijing was crowned with a wreath made from the olive tree of Vouves.                                     

 Chrisavgi's Kindergarten-Greece (Thessalia)

PP nr 17 im. M. Jeżowskiej (Kasia)

KARYA(walnuts)

The story of the transformation of Karya and her brothers 

Carya was the daughter of the Laconian king Dion and Amphithea and the sister of Orpheus and Lykos. Apollo, when he passed through Laconia, gave the divination ability to the three sisters in return for the hospitality offered to him by their parents, on the condition that they would never betray the gods and ask to know what did not concern them.The royal couple later hosted the god Dionysus as he passed through Sparta on his journey to earth. There, the god fell in love with Karya, who returned his love. Completing his journey on earth, Dionysus passed through Sparta again, to meet his beloved Karya once more. 

Her sisters, breaking their oath to Apollo, spied on the couple wanting to know the god's, which they continued to do despite warnings from both Apollo and Dionysus. So, they transformed them into stones in the Taygetos, but Dionysus transformed his beloved into something fruitful, into a walnut.

1st Kindergarten of Korinos

Publiczne Przedszkole nr 15 w Jastrzębiu-Zdroju, Poland

The Greek Myth of Almond Tree

Once upon a time in Thrace lived a beautiful princess, Phyllis, daughter of King Sithon.

Demophontas, son of Theseus and Phaedra, returning from Troy, ran his ship aground in Thrace. There, he met the beautiful princess. The two young people fell in love at first sight and got married.

After a while, Demophontas became homesick for his homeland and asked his beloved to let him go to Athens, with the promise that he would return very soon.

But the years passed, Demophontas was forgotten and Phyllis, unfairly, waited for his return. The gods took pity on her and in order to save her from great distress, they decided to transform her into a tree, an almond tree.

However, as it was winter, the tree stood bare, without leaves or flowers. When, years later, Demophontas returned to Thrace, he saw the tree and immediately understood what had happened. In desperation, he hugged its trunk and then something magical happened: the tree was filled with beautiful, white-pink flowers and tender leaves in the middle of winter. Since then, the almond tree has become a symbol of hope, proving the power of love.

                           9st Kindergarten School of Tripoli, Greece (Eleni Katsiavou)

Zespół Przedszkolny nr 2 

w Gdańsku, Polska

The tree up to the sky - hungarian fairy tale

Gergely Erika-Magdolna / Gradinita cu P. P.  "Parfum de Tei", Cluj-Napoca/Romania

The emperor asks a traveler, "who plays so beautifully from the whistle?". The traveler tells him that he is Avram Iancu. Hearing this, the emperor immediately sends one of his men to call him to a meeting with His Majesty."   

   Gabriela Daniel / Gradinita cu P.P. "Parfum de Tei", Romania

Publiczne Przedszkole nr 17 im. M. Jeżowskiej, Jastrzębie-Zdrój, Poland

How the birch gave away its leaves

The autumn walked around the world and painted leaves on trees. It painted maple leaves red, oak leaves brown, and birch leaves golden.

A Birch rustled and rustled with golden leaves in the breeze. Whoever was passing by and looked at the yellow-gold dress,  admired its beauty.

- Oh, I wish I had a blanket as warm as the sun - said an ant, looking at the yellow leaves.

- Here, take it – the Birch replied and dropped one leaf. The ant was happy, grabbed the leaf and carried it to the ant nest, where the birch trees grew.

- Ah! It would be nice to have a golden feather in my hat - sighed a bolete growing under the Birch tree.

- Here, take a golden leaf.  It will be like a feather in your brown hat – the Birch rustled and dropped another leaf. The boletus attached it to the velvet hat and stood there happily.

A hedgehog was coming from a deep forest. 

- Please, give me a few leaves for winter cover - asked the hedgehog. The Birch moved the twigs, and a few leaves fell to the ground. The hedgehog lay down on them, pricked the leaves into thorns and marched home with the golden cover.

There was a small Christmas tree growing next to the Birch tree. She sighed in a whisper:

- Ooo! If you scattered your golden leaves on my green dress, there would be no trees in the world more beautiful than me.

- Take the leaves, neighbour. I'm not sorry for them - said the Birch and threw all her leaves onto the Christmas tree.

Sadly, she looked around and realized she was without a single leaf. She gave them all away until the last one…

- Where is my golden beauty? What will I look like now? Suddenly, a wind came and roared:

- Don't be sad, the Birch, you will sleep in winter, the snow will cover you. You don't need a dress. When the spring comes, I will give you a new green dress, and you will like it, I'm sure. Don't be sad, don't be sad...

Moving the twigs, the Birch listened to the calm words of the wind. She listened and listened…. until she fell asleep. She was sleeping all the winter. 

Since then, this has happened every year when autumn comes around the world. As soon as the birch drops all its leaves, it falls asleep immediately for winter and waits for spring and a new dress. 

There are all the other trees whose leaves turn brown, red and golden every autumn.

Ewa Skalska, Przedszkole nr 52, Warszawa

Chrisavgi's Kindergarten-Greece (Machi)

The plane tree of Theofilos

In Karini of Lesvos, a green area with many trees and a river with a small bridge and ducks, there is a huge plane tree that seems to have come out of a fairy tale. There, in the arms of this century-old plane tree, it is said that the Greek folk painter Theophilos found refuge.Theofilos, self-taught painter, born on the island of Lesvos (1870), once wandering in the countryside, always dressed in traditional costume of tsolias, wanted to rest near an old cafe.He asked the cafe owner to let him sleep at night, but the owner was afraid of him and told him to sleep in the plane tree hollows that was outside in his yard.So the poor and despised painter lived for a while in the plane tree, painting with his improvised horsehair brushes and the colors he made from the plants of the area.

Chrisavgi΄s Kindergarten (Andromachi)

                Przedszkole nr 52 Warszawa, Poland

Legenda - Lipa a včely

Kedysi dávno na okraji veľmi, veľmi starého lesa rástli lipy. A medzi nimi – maličká, mladá lipka, ktorá ešte nepochopila, ako vyzerá svet stromov. Lipy sa medzi sebou rozprávali, ale veľa toho nenahovorili. Ich dialógy boli ako pomalá, melodická pieseň, ktorou sa spájali s okolitým svetom. Hučali „jar, jar...“ a prišla jar. Hučali „leto, leto“ a slniečko naozaj ukázalo, čo dokáže. Hučali „jeseň, jeseň...“, pričom melódie prerušovali šuchotom padajúceho lístia za chladných večerov. Ale lipy v zime nespievali. A to bola doba, ktorej sa malý, mladý Lipka najviac bál. Nevedela, čo je zima a čo ju čaká. Počula však, že stratí svoje krásne mladé listy. Kto ním potom bude? Čo sa stane? Chcela sa tomu dať, ale staršie lipy si len povzdychli. Vedeli, že takto sa veci majú.

 Krátko po tom, ako cez sneh začali vykúkať prvé známky zelene, sa pod kôrou líp prebudila životodarná miazga. Myšlienky plné energie krúžili po stromoch silnejšie a smelšie, až kým povzbudení slnkom a dažďom nevystrelili na konáre v podobe mladých lístkov. Po jari prišlo leto a lipy ho oslávili záplavou voňavých kvetov. Drobná, mladá Lipa si naplno užívala a užívala si, že bude každým dňom vyššia. Nemohla však uniknúť myšlienke, čo bude ďalej. A možno by sa až do zimy bála, keby jej kvety nenavštívili pracovité, múdre včely z neďalekého roja. Včely sú skutočne čarovný hmyz – nielenže vedia, kde nájsť najlepší peľ, tiež cítia, ako sa cíti rastlina, ktorá ho dokáže. Preto, len čo došli na kraj lesa, obkolesili mladú lipu svojim bzučaním, aby sa pýtali, prečo sa bojí. „Bojím sa, že v zime stratím listy, včely! neviem, čo to znamená. Neviem, čo sa stane so stromami v zime. Kiežby to nikdy neprišlo." – povedal veľmi mladý Lipa. 

Včely hučali a upokojujúco krúžili. „Lipa! Nie je dôvod na strach. Ako sa my točíme okolo vašich kvetov, tak robte všetko. Pohybujú sa oblaky a denná doba, pohybujú sa vtáky a ročné obdobia. V zime si oddýchneš v chlade, na jar naberie silu.“ Malý  

Prišla zima a Linden zistil, že včely mali pravdu.Bolo to ťažké obdobie, ale prešlo, pretože všetko prechádzalo.A keď sa nasledujúcu jar vetvy stromov zazelenali čerstvými listami, o niečo staršia Linden si myslela, že tento rok sa už nevie dočkať stretnutia so včelami. Nesmie sa im vážim – naučili ju cenné niečo. Že aj tie výzvy môžu sprevádzať nádej.

Materská škola Važecká 18, Prešov, Slovensko