Barburka is celebrated in Poland on December 4th. It honors miners, who supply us with basic daily necessities. Poland's mines include: Salt in Wieliczka, silver and lead in Olkusz, coal in Silesia, dolomite in Kujawa, copper in Lublin and sulfur in Tarnobrzeg. Enjoy the below-told coal mine story.
It happened a long time ago deep in the underground. Carol just started working as a coal miner. He was given a cart and a pick-axe and was sent to the part of a shaft with the smallest concentration of coal. After working the whole morning, Carol gathered only a small bucket of coal. Discouraged, he took a break. He was about to take a bite of his sandwich when he heard “Please give me some bread.” Poor miner thought that after working only half a day at the mine, he was already hearing voices. He took the first bite and heard it again “Please give me some bread.” Startled, he asked “Is anybody here?” All of a sudden a small mouse appeared in front of him. The mouse stretched out a hand waiting for a piece of bread. Carol tossed some crumbs and laughed “Oh, for a second I thought I heard you talking.” The mouse crunched on the crumbs greedily and then stretched out her hand again. “Sorry, I don’t have any more bread, but I’ll get you more tomorrow” – said Carol. Then in a blink of an eye, the mouse changed into an elf. Carol had heard stories of elves living underground and protecting its treasures. They were known for bringing good and bad luck. But usually it was the bad luck and that’s why the miners tried avoiding any nooks where elves could be hiding. Carol never thought he would see one. The little elf was dressed as a coal miner in black clothes with a protective helmet on his head and a pick-axe in his hands ready to work. “You shared your sandwich with me, so I’ll help you dig for some coal” – said elf and got busy with the pick-axe. A pile of pure coal was stocking up with every blow. Carol collected the last load of coal into the cart and turned to the elf saying “Thank you.” But in that moment the elf turned into a mouse and rushed away. That day Carol brought the full cart of coal.
The next day Carol was again sent to the worst part of the shaft collecting only a small bucket of coal. At the lunch break when he was about to have the first bite of his sandwich he heard “Please give me some bread” and saw a mouse in front of him with a stretched hand. Carol chuckled and again threw some crumbs. The mouse ate them all and then changed into an elf. With the pick-axe in hands ready to work the elf said “I will make you an offer. I will be your partner from now on, but I want half of your profits, not the crumbs.” “Deal” – answered Carol without thinking much. Again the day with the elf turned very successful and Carol collected the whole cart of pure coal.
The work week had ended and Carol received a large amount of money. As agreed, he went to share it with the elf. “Here you are” – said elf “I’m glad to see you.” Carol situated himself comfortably and started putting coins into two piles - “One for you, one for me.” He got to the last coin and said “The extra coin is for you.” He smiled and added “You’re, worth it. I wouldn’t have done it without you.” The elf started jumping up and down and clapping his hands out of joy “I waited for this for such a long time.” Surprised Carol said “What do you mean.” “You didn’t keep the last coin and so many before you took it for themselves or worse took it all. You know what happened to them?” – asked elf. “No” – answered Carol. “They ended up at the bottom of a hole and perished forever” the mouse continued “And you will be rewarded for keeping your word. You will always be protected from accidents and you will always collect carts full of coal.” In a flash the elf changed into a mouse and was gone forever. When Carol got home, another surprise was waiting for him, elf’s pile of coins.
Every year Carol leaves some bread in the same spot where he met the mouse. And this is how celebration of Barburka has started.
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