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Tuesday, May 6, 2014

Water of Life, Polish Legend


In the southern Poland, at the foothills of Sudetes mountain range, there is a mountain called Sleza. At the top of Sleza there is a tourist Mountain hut, Church Mary, observation tower, even an ancient cult sculpture of a bear. But besides all the visible things, the top of Mount Sleza also holds a secret.

Many many years ago, there was a young man whose mother became gravely ill. One day he heard about the Water of Life, hidden at the top of Mount Sleza, which had the ability to restore one’s health. Yet its source was protected by evil spirits; whoever looked behind, would turn into stone. The young man’s mother refused to let him go on such a perilous journey, but she soon passed away.

The young man was determined to get the Water of Life. After a long journey he succeeded in reaching the top of the mountain, where an enchanted tree told him to break a twig from its branches, fill a jug with the water from the stream, place the twig into the jug and on his way back, sprinkle the water onto every rock he saw. The boy did just that, and every rock he sprinkled became human again. After he got back home, he sprinkled a few drops of water onto his dead mother’s head; when she came back to life, he made her drink the rest of the water and they lived happily ever after.

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