The  Ghost  of  the  Mountains

 This mask was made by a student in the arts workshop on friday!

The legend is connected with the Karkonosze mountains, beautiful forests and amazing waterfalls. Some people believe that there lives The Ghost of the Mountains who wanders and guards his kingdom.

The Ghost of the Mountains is sometimes called Liczyrzepa ( Turnipscounter). He’s hundreds years old and usually he stays in his underground kingdom with seventy-seven dwarves- his servants. His servants don’t look for gold or precious stones because Liczyrzepa doesn’t need them as he is able to conjure as much riches as he wishes because he is a mighty magician. So the  dwarves entertain him with the music and dance, they also water the plants and feed the moles.

 The Ghost visits the outside world when he gets bored and then he becomes huge or tiny, visible or invisible, or anything he wants to become.

Three hundred years ago when he visited the world he got the name Turnipscounter and this is the story how it happened.

One sunny day he decided to come up to the world and so he became invisible and jumped out of a molehill near a wonderful waterfall. There were three beautiful girls dancing under it and the fourth one- the most beautiful- was sitting on a rock. The Mountain Ghost was amazed by her beauty and decided that she would become his wife. Suddenly there came a huge carriage with the Prince of Silesia coat of arms on it. The dancing girls ran to the carriage and the one sitting on a rock said she would come in a minute. The Ghost couldn’t let her go, so he made the earth under her split and the girl fainted and disappeared in the abyss.

The carriage rushed terrified to the palace, where prince and Princess of Silesia were waiting for their daughter Emma. When they found out what happened to their daughter they fell into despair and the whole court with them. Nobody knew that Emma was kidnapped by the Ghost of the Mountains; they thought she perished in the abyss. But Emma’s fiancé count Wacław didn’t believe she was dead and decided to find his beloved princess.

Meantime Emma woke up in the most beautiful place she had ever seen; she was in a huge shining underground chamber with mirrors all around. Suddenly there appeared a handsome young man and said:

 ‘I’m the Ghost of the Mountains and I wish to marry you. You’ll be my wife and the queen of my kingdom and my riches”

 ‘Never’- Emma shouted-‘I’m count Wacław”s fiancé and I won’t marry you. I don’t care about your riches. I miss my friends and I want to be with them”

The Ghost smiled and passed Emma a basket full of turnips and a magic wand. He said that she could touch a turnip with the wand and it would convert into any person she wished to see apart from Wacław and her parents. The Ghost left Emma alone and  she touched one of the turnips and thought about his friend Wanda. Suddenly the turnip turned into Wanda  dancing and talking to Emma. So princess conjured up other friends, servants and pets. They all looked like real except the fact that they had tiny green leaves on the heads. But they had fun together and danced until Emma became tired and wanted to go to sleep. Everybody disappeared and didn’t turn up till the next morning. But to Emma’s astonishment they looked different: older with grey hair and wrinkles.

 ‘What happened to you”- Emma asked.

They pointed to the tiny leaves on the heads and Emma noticed that they were withered. At that moment the Ghost appeared and chased everybody away.

‘My dear will you marry me now?’- he asked.

‘What did you do to my friends?’- she shouted.

‘It’s just a turnip and it withers in a month’- he replied. –“In my underground kingdom one day is like a month in your world. But you and me are only one day older’.

The princess was terrified and depressed and she cried until she fell asleep. Next morning Emma saw her friends even older and uglier than before. They were almost bald, shrunk and all in wrinkles. The leaves on their heads were brown and lifeless. Emma cried and wished to get out of this place and the Ghost seeing her sobbing said he would bring her new turnips. Unfortunately he came back with empty hands as there was winter and all turnips were picked up already. But he bought two sacks of turnip seeds and told hi servants to plant them and warm the soil so that could grow even in winter. He promised Emma that they would grow up in five earthly months, so here she would have them in only five days. But Emma was still crying and wanted to be free. The Ghost got angry and shouted to her that he would be back here in three days and then she would have to fix their wedding day. Emma decided that she had to get away and after some thinking, a good idea came to her mind. Also when on the third day the Mountains Ghost came she said that she would marry him the day he would bring the fresh turnips. The Ghost cheered up and promised her a wonderful wedding party. The Emma asked him how the turnips were growing and the Ghost took her to the fields to see the plants. The turnips were big and strong thanks to the dwarves heating up the soil. Emma praised the plants and secretly picked up one turnip and hid it in her sleeve. When she was alone again in the underground chamber she touched the turnip with a magic stick and turned it into a magpie. She told the bird to fly to count Wacław and tell him that she was alive and in two months she would wait for him in Lily Valley. The magpie found Wacław in a deep forest looking for Emma and gave him the message. He was happy and said he would wait for his princess.

On the third morning in the underground kingdom Emma welcomed the Mountains Ghost wearing brilliant wedding dress inset with precious stones. The Ghost was amazed and astonished . Emma asked if the turnips were ready as she wanted to change turnips into wedding guests and she asked the Ghost if she could see it. He again took her to the fields and showed her plenty of turnips. She pretended to be delighted and asked for one more favour. She wanted the Ghost to count the turnips and give her exact number. He couldn’t refuse her request and started to count plants. Immediately, Emma behind him had picked up one turnip and changed it into a huge horse and rushed to Lily valley. Wacław was already waiting for her and so they hugged and kissed.

In the meantime the Ghost counted the turnips but he decided to do it again just to be sure he hadn’t made a mistake. He did it three more times and only then he rushed back to Emma but obviously she wasn’t there. He was furious but he couldn’t do anything as Emma and Wacław were already outside his kingdom.

When came back to her parents’ palace there was great happiness. Emma and Wacław had a great wedding and lived happily ever after .

Emma told her friends, parents and all people how she foxed the Ghost of the Mountains and her best friend Wanda invented a name Turnipscounter which has been used from now on.