A long time ago, when there were still rounds on our Silesian soil, and people did not know computers or cell phones, three friends met at the crossroads: Zabomir, Gliwor and Bytomir. The boys wanted to go out into the world to experience great adventures and become famous.
The young men had their dreams, Zabomir wanted to become a great explorer, Gliwor loved plants and dreamed of having a large farmland, and Bytomir wanted to become a carpenter. They decided that together they would find their happiness in the wide world. They wandered six days and six nights, and on the seventh day they reached the edge of a great clearing. They were surrounded by a great forest full of wild animals and mysterious creatures. Friends decided that this is where they would take a long break. They ate the remnants of the food they had taken on the trip and lay down to sleep. However, they did not manage to fall asleep properly when suddenly the forest began to rustle terribly and the trees swayed as if they were about to fall.
The boys jumped to their feet and quickly hid in the nearby bushes. They watched with astonishment as a huge stream of water gush out from under the ground in the middle of the clearing. Three small creatures, which looked like humans, jumped from the nearby bushes, but they had hooves instead of legs and horns grew out of their heads. They were fauns, former forest dwellers who liked to mischief. The “Devils” started a crazy dance around the gushing water. The young men were terrified and they wanted to run away, but the fauns noticed that someone else, besides them, was in the clearing. In the blink of an eye they caught up with the boys and began to pinch, nudge and tug at their hair. Gliwor started screaming and begging them to stop, and in return their friends would grant their three wishes. The pranksters liked this offer very much and agreed to it.
For a brief moment, the creatures consulted, then one of them said that they were very cold at night in the forest, trees and shrubs could not be broken to light a fire, because they were guarding them, so they needed something else to keep warm. Zabomir, who had a lot of knowledge about the land, came up with a great idea. Where they came from, people knew the black stones they threw into the fire. They called them “black gold” or coal, and they made the houses warm quickly. He also knew that he would find these stones underground. All you have to do is get out of the forest and dig a little bit in the ground. Indeed, it didn’t take long for the young men to return with their bundles of coal. They lit a fire and threw stones into it. The fauna was surprised because it suddenly felt warm and cozy.
Now is the time for the second wish. Forest creatures already knew what they wanted, if they already had warmth, it would be useful to drink a good drink – fauns liked wine very much. They made it a condition that it must be a drink they don’t know yet. Here Gliwor came to the rescue, who, due to his interests, knew very well what to do. Hops were grown in Silesia, which was later used to make a refreshing drink called beer. Gliwor knew perfectly well how to prepare it. It didn’t take long for him, with the help of his friends, to prepare a beer, adding some honey from wild beehives to it. The creatures were delighted with the taste and golden color of the drink. They couldn’t resist him, and they drank and drank until they died. With the new day, the time has come for a new task.
This time the fauns found that since they had warmth and had a delicious drink, they only needed a comfortable bed to rest in it. Bytomir was very happy with this wish. After all, his passion was wood and making various things out of it. The boys found a suitable tree and Bytomir made it the most comfortable bed in the world. The devils tried it out and were delighted with its comfort and spaciousness. They unanimously announced that the friends did a great job of completing three tasks and in return they would make their dreams come true. Thus, each of them received a piece of land and tools. Zabomir, thanks to his diligence and knowledge, started to extract coal, opened mines, and over time a city was built around it, which was named after him Zabrze. Gliwor built a brewery where he brewed the best beer in Silesia. Over the years, a city was founded here, which was called Gliwice. Bytomir built his castle himself and was called Bytom. To this day, the inhabitants of these cities live friendly and support each other. And in the place where friends met the fauns, a fountain was built on which three dancing tricks were immortalized.
Good post.