|
|
Balatonlelle
It started with rain and wind
It started with two waves.
And a lot of homeless people
With shelters wailed and departed.
Earth-shaking winter dawn
Came with howling wind
Carts were rolling on their creaky wheels
And came from Ethelköz to the Carpathians.
The cold spring pictures
Burnt pain into the people
And there is no calming down
There is nothing but fight.
This is a painful fight
How painful this ransom is,
There is no help from the heavens,
When necessary we fight and live,
We prayed to the heavens in vain,
And went back to the cart,
We were walking forward
To the Carpathian Basin.
A glorious summer dawn came
And brought warm sunshine
And we finally found our home
In the Carpathian Basin.
by Dániel BALLA
Class 8.a
Hello! I am Lehel’s horn. I know you are
surprised now because generally the objects cannot speak but I am a very special
horn. I can see, hear and feel everything. I should like to present now the
story of my life. Please hear it.
I cannot remember well how and when I got into
the property of the great Hungarian leader but I am sure that was the best place
for a horn like me. I went to battles with my owner. We were in front always and
gained glory after glory. When we won in the battle Lehel took me, blew me and I
blared proudly the victory all over the world. After retreat I spent the night
in the tent of my owner on a big bearskin. I was happy and satisfied.
We had a lot of adventures together and were
inseparable friends. I believed that would be forever. But unfortunately it
happened differently.
That gloomy day I was not able to blare because
we lost the battle. My owner was captured but without me – that was what I
felt the worst.
After a few days two crosspatch
people came to me and said regretting but sarcastically: “If his last
willing is to blow this horn we do not mind and take it to him.” The two
soldiers picked up me and took in a long corridor.
When we entered a big room I saw my owner and
was happy. But I was suddenly frightened when he took me roughly instead of
great tenderness that was typical for him. Suddenly he lifted me up and stroke
the enemy emperor down that immediately died. He was crying with triumphant
fearful voice: Your king will be my servant beyond the grave.
Everybody became numb with fear but after one
moment busy bustle started. I was thrown away. After that I never saw the leader.
I never took part in triumphant battles. I stayed in a room, became dusty and I
believed nobody could find me.
But after many years I was found, dust was
removed from me and I felt as if they were happy because they found me.
Now I am in the middle of a nice room, there are
a lot of objectives surrounding here that seem to be familiar to me. A lot of
people come and see me and tell various stories. I am proud of it that I am the
part of the history. But I always look for a face among the visitors. I hope
once my owner comes and picks up me, as I have been Lehel’s horn.
by Vivien JOÓ
Class 4 c
I have written my remembrance about my leader in
order to understand how great hero was my leader.
I went with him to the battles. We were together
in bad and good conditions. He was a strong and respectful man. His favourite
pastime was treating and playing his horn. This horn was made of white bone and
he took it with him into the battles. He blew it when he was either happy or sad.
The hearts were shaking, the eyes filled with tears when it was sounded. This
music provided consolation for the soldiers in the severe time of the wars. That
time Hungarian army was considered invincible. It was almost hopeless to accept
the battle against the Hungarian arrows. Our army won battle after battle but
one day we were defeated by the emperor’s army. Nearly everybody died or was
captured. My dear owner got into captivity of the emperor. He felt ashamed of it,
he preferred death in the battle to captivity. The emperor’s soldiers treated
the captives barbarously for days. My leader suffered a lot of affronts till the
day of the execution. In his last plea he asked for his horn to blow instead of
clemency.
When the horn was brought he touched and blew
it. Its voice was so heart-gripping that all soldiers lowered their heads and
listened to the sad song. At the end of the song Lehel turned the horn and
stroke the emperor’s head so that he died immediately.
-
Now you can execute me – said Lehel.
-
Good-bye my dear servant – turned to me.
-
I have somebody serving me in beyond the grave.
Because the emperor will be my servant forever beyond the grave.
He
was my heroic leader.
by
Dávid ANDERMANN
Class
5 b
The
beams of rising sun warmed the cows and sheep resting in the pasture. The
early-awaking cowboys watched the prairie.
Everybody
in Nyék’s tribe felt this day that something new started. I knew our life
changed. We were migrating with the neighbouring nations for many hundred years
but we were not able to hide from the pursuing Petchenegs. There was not enough
food for the animals. Our plundering soldiers returned from their tours and
brought information from the big country over the high mountains, having rivers,
forests and pastures. The leaders of the seven tribes decided to combine their
forces, to elect their leader and to move to this land that was less populated
area and to defend it to the last ditch. Árpád became their leader. We started
to pack our things. I disassembled the tents with my mother. First we broke up
the open-air fireside in the middle of the tent and removed the skin flaps of
the tent from the wood shell. The clothes and dishes were put on the carts.
Before the long trip my father and brothers went for a hunting. None of games
meeting them could escape their arrows. Well-experienced cowboys guarded
hundreds of cows our most important properties. I envied my brothers because
they could drink fermented milk that made them cheerful. The Petcheneg groups
attacked our cowboys perfidiously. Reigning leader Árpád organised the
defence. Hundreds of the men were patrolling and guarding the properties and
lives. I can see as the leaders in their well-decorated clothes with full
armament depart for their new homeland on the back of decorated horses. They
were followed by a lot of carts. I should like to see the new land rich in games
and fish.
by
Bernadett KISS
Class
5 a
“Branchy
antlers like a crown were dropped on its back. It glittered in the sunshine”
– is written in the book about the mythical stag of Hungarian legendary
prehistory. It was a magnificent animal. Hunor and Magyar caught sight of him.
They started to chase. Although the most interesting part comes here in the book
sleep overcame me.
Suddenly
I found myself in a troop of men on horseback. One voice said:
-
Hunor, stop here please – asked an embittered
gallant. But another one interrupted.
-
You do not say so! Magyar, we must not miss this beautiful game. Hunor, you can
agree, cannot you?
-
When I looked forward I saw the magnificent stag.
I immediately understood this is the mythical stag. (I did not have time to be
amazed to see it, I had to ride, because did not want to stay away. And I
answered:
-
Of course, we go further, let us go before him.
We
were chasing the stag for three days. Then we arrived at a dreary prairie.
Suddenly
we became very sleepy. We were suffering from the hot sunshine. We had nothing
to eat and drink. In the evening wolves attacked us. My conscience made me
fight. Whole night I was fighting with the wolves. The God of the troops
rewarded me for it and gave rain. As a result of this rain the prairie became a
nice garden and the hot decreased.
We
found food we could eat and have rest. But I was always thinking of the mythical
stag. I was not able to forget him; therefore I started to look for it. I could
not find him but found a lot of nice things in the forest. There were beautiful
girls dancing on a glade. I danced with a girl; her name was Vadrózsa (Wild
Rose). Magyar danced with her sister, her name was Harmatgyöngy (Dew-Pearl).
Both were nice, kind and charm.
Beep-beep-beep
– said my alarm clock and I woke up. I was drowsy as I looked around. After
some minutes I understood that I had dreamed further the historical story that I
had read.
Réka
Gregorics
Class
6 b
When we hear the word “Conquest” it reminds
us of the seven leaders, Prince Árpád and the Carpathian Basin. But there is
another tale about conquest in the Hungarian prehistory. It belongs to the
legends of Hunnish – Hungarian prehistory.
It is legend of the mythical deer. It is
generally well known in Hungary from the Kézai Simon’s chronicle despite of
it that Hunnish-Hungarian relations are not well established by the historical
data. But a great number of novelists and poets went to this source during the
centuries and this legend made them to write. One of the greatest Hungarian
poets was János Arany; he also used this legend in his work.
There were two stalwart princes Hunor and
Magyar, sons of King Minrót. They went for hunting. They expected much game-bag.
They were proud and keen warriors on the backs of their horses and with bright
weapons. They were champions, brave soldiers as it is proper to be for princes.
They still were living in their father’s court.
One sunny morning they were hunting far from
their home. They were chasing the game in marsh of Meotis when a wonderful hind
came from the dense forest.
The famous poet János Arany writes about it as
follows:
“Breeze comes in the cold dawn,
The skyline is purple.
The hind is jumping bravely
There over the stream.
Come, young men quickly,
Try to catch the hind up
And intentionally and willy-nilly
They are cashing continuously.
The brave young men were chasing the hind but
nobody was able to catch her. Suddenly she disappeared in the forest, not
leaving any traces.
The young men were looking for her for long
time; they were going round the marsh. And they liked marsh more and more.
There was good land here, rich in fish and games,
there were valleys good to settle, good pastures for the animals. It could be
the good place for a new homeland.
They went home, showed the game-bag to their
father and told him the story of the mythical animal that led them to this nice
place. They asked their father to settle there and to create a new home. A new
home on the place that was assigned by the mythical deer for them.
Their father was sad because he knew he lost his
beloved sons. But he allowed them to leave. They could take all cattle with
them. They found they could protect the new land easily because it had good
position. There were not rivers there but it was rich in games, fish, birds and
pastures.
After the settlement the new conquerors lived
here for five years, but they missed the family, wives, children, cheerful noise
of the children and the hearth. In the sixth year they left for hunting and they
found daughters of Belár a Bulgarian Prince in the puszta. The girls were
dancing and preparing for a celebration.
János Arany says:
Fairy girls live at home,
Are dancing and rejoicing.
Their tent is woven from mist
They enjoy themselves in the tent.
None of men are near here,
But beautiful daughters of
Princes Belár and Dúl
They are here and learn the magic.
The most beautiful girls are here
Two of King Dúl
But twelve of the old Belár
Altogether hundred and two.
They start to become fairy.
The soldiers abducted the girls and got married
with them. Hunor and Magyar got married with the most beautiful girls, daughters
of Prince Belár. The Hungarian and Hunnish nations come from these women.
This is the story how the two stalwart princes
found homeland and family and became fathers of two famous and great nations –
Huns and Hungarians. To get a homeland is possible not only by war and long
migration, as the Hungarian conquerors did in the ninth-tenth centuries but in
peaceful way, too.
References:
Lengyel Dénes: Régi Magyar mondák
Komjáthy István: Mondák könyve
Arany János: Rege a csodaszarvasról
by Edina Papp
Class 7 c
I like the historical stories. My favourite tale
is Legend of Mythical stag written by Ferenc Móra. I like this tale because it
refers to the origin of the Hungarians.
Once upon there was a Prince Nimród. He was
very rich. He had hundred cowboys, thousand horse herds and lot of cattle. But
he was proud most of his two sons. They were Hunor and Magyar. Once the young
men went for hunting. Fifty soldiers went with both of them. They killed a lot
of birds and games. They started to go home when suddenly a beautiful stag
appeared. It had white hair, bright eyes like the diamond and very big antlers.
The young men started to chase. They were chasing from morning till night on the
backs of horses. They were very close to catch it but it jumped up and
disappeared. As they were looking around they found themselves on a nice place
with good pasture and beautiful landscape. There were a lot of deer in the
forest, the river was rich in fish. They heard cheerful music from far. Two
daughters of Prince Dul a neighbour king were playing and dancing both with
fifty girl friends. Hunor, Magyar and their soldiers exchanged their glance, dug
their spurs into their horses and run to the girls. Each soldier caught a girl
and lifted up into the saddle and said. “I will be your husband and you will
be my wife. Only death can part us.” Hunor and Magyar chose the two princesses.
After their marriage they halved the land. Western part belonged to Hunor,
Magyar received the Eastern part. Posterity of the latter one was called
Hungarians and the land was called Scythian land.
This nice legend circulated from mouth to mouth
in the centuries till Ferenc Móra a famous novelist noted it down. Fortunately
our nation was always very proud of its Hungarian identity and took care of the
old traditions, the old stories from prehistory including this legend. I should
like if my generation, too looked back upon the past proudly.
by Károly Szabó
Class 4 c
Grandmother
and grandchildren are sitting round the fire. It is nice warm, the dinner is
under preparation, and everybody is in good spirits.
The naughty boys and girls plague the
grandmother with questions how she met the grandfather. The tall, still
beautiful woman with brown hair is unwilling to say but finally she starts:
It happened long time ago. My sister your aunt, and I were very young. We
liked to walk at the bank of the river. Once
when we were talking, picking flowers, watching the animals suddenly everything
calmed down. Birds stopped singing. We were surprised because of this sudden
change. A beautiful stag with nice body and huge antlers was running by us,
followed by riders. The animal disappeared but the soldiers stopped facing us.
We got frightened, suddenly there was silence. The soldiers were angry and
cursing because they missed the game what they chased for many hours. They were
very tired and their horses too. Two of the soldiers who seemed to be the
leaders gave the order to stop here and to have a rest. They came to us. One of
them was your grandfather the other was your uncle. We were talking and my
sister invited them to our father’s place. After the dinner we understood that
I would get married with Hunor and your aunt would get married with Magyar.
Since that time we have called this beautiful animal as mythical stag. He led
Hunor and Magyar to us. We owe to him that you are now to me.
Grandmother is thinking dreamily and looking
toward the bank of the river with the trees. She is looking toward the place
where it happened.
by Judit Fehér
Class 5 b
A long time ago there was a prince. He was Nimród
our father. He was very rich.
He had lot of cowboys, horse herds and cattle. But he was not proud of them. He
was proud of his two sons, Magyar and my brother Hunor.
One sunny day we were hunting near to the border
of our father’s country, we shot lot of birds with bows. We were just about to
leave for home when a stag were running in front of us. His hair was as white as
the snow; eyes were as bright as the diamond; antlers were like a crown.
Hunor and me got on the horseback and went after
the stag. We were chasing him with our soldiers over hedge and ditch, uphill and
downhill, from dense forest to glade, from sunrise to sunset. Stag jumped up and
disappeared in one moment. We came to a sudden stop, looked around and did not
know where we were. There was a wonderful view in front of us. There was
silk-like green grass, matured fruits were on the trees, lot of fish cavorted in
the rivers. Merry music was heard from far. Beautiful daughters of the neighbour
Prince Dual were dancing and playing hide-and-seek with their girl friends.
Hunor, the soldiers and me exchanged our glance. We immediately understood what
to do. Each of us caught a girl and lifted up into the saddle. Hunor and me
chose the two princesses. We asked them to get married with us. After the
marriage we halved the land. Western part belonged to Hunor and his descendants
were the Huns. I received the Eastern part. My posterity was the Hungarians.
I believe lot of people will know this nice
legend.
by Flóra Kolovics
Class 5 b
Dear young reader, who live at the beginning of
the twenty-first century and heat your home with gas and have electricity in
your house and lot of technical inventions are at your disposal. You who make
your lesson with computer and get the last information through the internet. You
who can take very long distances within few hours by flight. You can hardly
imagine how our children were living before the conquest.
Please come with me. Let us go into the past at
the end of eight and beginning of ninth century. Let us flight.
First of all let me introduce myself. I am Edina
wife of chief Álmos. I am living here with a big family. There are old and
young, brothers and sisters and other relatives in my family.
What I tell you I have heard from my grandmother
and she had heard from her grand-grandmother. Our fathers collected the foods,
hunted and fished. They used very primitive equipment for land cultivation like
digging stick and sickle. We cultivate the land now consciously. The family
lived in a big tent. There was a fireplace in the middle of the tent and the
fire was burning whole day. The head of the family had his place face to the
door, behind the fireplace. The men were sitting in a circle, on the right-hand
side of the head of the family. The left-hand side was for the women. Next to
the head of the family, on the right-hand side was the place of honour. In the
tent equipment like arrows, bows, brakes, belts, saddles, lash, etc. were hung
on the men’s side. Equipment used by the women was placed on the women’s
side in the tent like saddles for women, kitchen equipment, dishes, cans, wooden
cups, grinding stones, leather bottles for storing the kumis and cradles for the
babies. To set up the tent was always task of the women. It is well known the
women could ride well. They had the same type of the saddles as the men had.
Well, we live and work here. As my husband and brothers are always on the way,
either to war or to find new pasture and homeland, I was always afraid of it
something wrong happened to my loved ones. As Hungarian nation is an equestrian
people, the men spend half of the life on horseback; they can ride without
saddle, too. They are brave soldiers and where they occur they cause panic. They
are called little devils. They use the arrows well, they attack very quickly and
with noisy cry they keep their enemy in fear. They are able to eat and sleep on
horseback. Hungarians were in the land of the present Hungary many times before
the conquest. Their coming was accompanied with black cloud because the horses
made much dust-cloud and nothing could have been seen. When they were fighting
they never run away. If they had some troubles they encouraged each other:
-
To subjugate your neck is as same as to die.
-
To die in a brave battle is not death but life.
They
left this reputation and heritage to their inheritors as they inherited from
their ancestors. Their enemy prayed “God, Save us from the Hungarian arrows”.
At the end of the winter when the water in the rivers is chilly, the men start
to shoe the horses and to repair the saddles and tools. When the nature wakes -
grows the grass, rise the rivers, the trees are in bud, sing the skylarks – we
know this is the time to say good-bye. The older men call for the dogs, pen
opens and everybody works. The animals are driven to the pasture. We start to
cultivate the land surrounding the tent. Everybody works,
children and old together. For women the most important task is bringing
up the children and keeping the family together. We are so busy that do not
notice the summer is over. In autumn we harvest the crops. The leaves fall down;
the migrating birds are ready to leave. The grass is not green anymore. The
mornings are frosty, both men and animals feel cold. We drive the animals into
the pen. The men come home and the winter evenings come. These evenings are very
long because it gets dark very early. We sit around the fire in the tent and the
old men and women tell us tales and stories. And we know what it means when we
live in a big family. Everybody pays attention to everybody. Even our dog Bodri
lies on its stomach, by the fire. Everybody is satisfied. We prepare small toys
to our children. We prepare balls from clothes; the boys can play football on
the puszta. We make toys baby from cornhusk to the girls. Our children did not
have other toys. They climbed the trees, rode already in their childhood, used
the arrows very well and played hide-and-seek. This was a big family; we were
twenty-five – thirty living together. How did we spend the winter? The old men
and women told tales and stories to the children. The women weaved, spun yarn,
sewed, weaved baskets and prepared earthen pots. The men hunted in the forests
or cut a hole in the ice and fished. After a successful hunting we had a big
feast, we were talking and dancing, we enjoyed ourselves. That was how we spent
the time in winter. Winter gets to be over. We wait for the spring. The food of
both the people and animals is nearly finished. The skylark starts to sing
followed by nightingale. The head of the family is the chief, he parcels the
work and he decides in debates. Then the pen opens and the animals in decreased
number go the pasture again. Bodri also knows his task.
He never leaves his owner. The men say good-bye and go for work. We start
to cultivate the land again, sow that we can harvest at the end of the summer.
The good pasture promotes reproduction of the animals. When the leaves fall
again there are more animals and more people. But the pasture is few and the
tent is small. Therefore we have to find new place to live and new pasture.
We
harvested the crops, the men returned. We take down the tents, put the children
and old people to the cart, and drive the animals and leave to look for new
homeland and pasture. In migration
we live together with Bulgarians and other Turkish people. The relatives set up
their rents close to each other. The houses were built on piles driven in the
soil. They started to cultivate the lands consciously; they produced fruits,
grapes, wheat and barley. The winter quarters were built near to the rivers to
insure the possibilities for fishing in winter. Now there were already craftsmen
living among them. The relatives and the people living close to each other
formed a big family – a clan – and later a tribe. The chief was elected from
the clans’ leaders. There were seven tribes. They were migrating. They called
the place west to river Don Levédia. When Hungarian tribes were separated from
Cossacks, they went to Etelköz because the Petchenegs invaded them. In Etelköz
Petchenegs and Bulgarians blockaded them. Both nations were very warlike. To
defend themselves the seven Hungarian tribes made a compact sealed with blood.
They elected Árpád son of Álmos to be the leader of the Hungarian tribes.
The Petchenegs invaded the Hungarians therefore Hungarians left for west
to the Carpathian Basin. They crossed the Verecke pass and through Transylvania
they entered Upper-Tisza region. The people in Carpathian Basin went first to
east to Danube, then to Upper Hungary and Transdanubia. Finally the whole
Carpathian Basin was in Hungarian hands. It was the conquest. A new age started
for our nation. Our fathers settled here, this land became their homeland and
our homeland, Hungary. Here the time travel is over. I hope you enjoyed it. Now
I take you back into the twenty-first century. I am proud of it that I am
Hungarian. Bon voyage! Have great success in your studies.
by Vanda Peti
Class 6 c
