Adapted and read by Anna Piwowarska
Directed and produced by Amy Drozdowska
A long, long time ago in a place called Karpacz in Poland, there lived two brothers. And as is common in these kinds of stories one of them was very, very rich and the other was extremely poor.
The rich brother was a chemist who made many different kinds of medicines. He made these using various plants collected by local women from nearby forests. However, he was a stingy man who regularly cheated not only the women who worked for him, but also the customers who bought his medicines.
The other poorer brother was a woodcutter who led a very different sort of life. From springtime through to winter, from morning until night he cut down trees with his axe, and made houses for people. It was a good, honest living however he had a large family and a sick wife, so sadly poverty and hunger were regular visitors at his home. This happened particularly at the beginning of springtime, when the winter rations had long ran out. Then, the family was lucky if there was a piece of dry, mouldy bread to share between them.
The chemist did not feel sorry for his less fortunate brother as he didn’t really know what poverty and hunger was. He never lent him any money, and he never offered any of the herbal medicines that he made to his brother’s sickly wife. The woodcutter didn’t ask his rich brother for anything as he was very proud. However one day, when his youngest child was so hungry that it wouldn’t stop crying, he decided to swallow his pride and ask his brother for a little flour.
The chemist was about to hand over a cup of flour to his brother, when suddenly he thought:
“Why should I? I’ve worked hard for everything that I’ve got, including this flour. Nothing in life is for free – he should pay for it.”
Now, the chemist knew very well that his brother had no money so there was no use in asking for that. So, instead he asked the woodcutter to give him something that he knew he did have. In fact, it was something that everyone has. In return for the cup of flour, he asked his brother for his eyes. Now, this may sound silly but people do very strange things when they’re poor and desperate, especially when they’ve got a bunch of starving children crying at home. So, in his desperation, the poor woodcutter agreed to give his pair of eyes, in return for a small amount of flour.
It was only when he returned home, did the woodcutter realize that although he had saved his family from starvation, he was now blind. This meant that he had no way of working in the forest anymore and no way of making money. He knew he had to find another way of earning a living.
So, he asked one of his children to lead him to a particular spot – on the bank of the Niedźwiada River. He sat there all day long and whenever he heard anyone passing, he would beg for a little food or a couple of pennies. After a while, some smugglers saw that he was there regularly and employed him to help them smuggle tobacco and rum through the Karkonosze mountains. They paid him to sit by the path for the whole night and light a fire as a signal if he heard any royal customs officers coming. He spent many a night like this, sleeping in the long grass, by the little path, listening to the murmur of the Niedźwiada stream. The customs officers often passed him but they took little notice of a poor, blind man. They merely thought that perhaps his wife had forgotten to take him home after a hard day’s begging .
One night, the blind woodcutter couldn’t fall asleep. He tossed and turned until finally he sat up and listened to the sounds of the night. Around midnight, he heard a group of birds pass loudly above his head and settle on some nearby rocks. Then, the woodcutter heard a strange human voice coming from amongst them:
“Quieten down, dear sister owls” said the voice from behind the rocks, “ Tonight, as every year on the Night of the Owl’s, we fly in from all around the Karkonosze mountains and gather here to tell each other the most interesting things that we’ve witnessed or heard from our homes in the trees. As I’m from this region, I will go first. I have heard from an elder living here that tonight, on the Night of the Owls, this stream is said to have healing powers. If a blind man puts his hand in the water three times, then washes his eyes three times, then says the words “ Rock, owl, water, night – please Niedźwiada give back my sight.”, then he will regain his sight.
The birds were impressed and talked amongst themselves for a bit until, another owl started to speak, also in a human voice.
“Ladies, I am from the town of Biały Jar and I am here to tell you a secret that I recently overheard. By the side of the Golden Stream, exactly thirteen steps west from the place where is turns into the river Łomnica there is a small pile of stones. Under these stone there lies a skeleton of a woman that was murdered. Under this skeleton, there lies a treasure. The person to take the bones of this poor woman and bury them in a holy place will discover this treasure and get to keep it. “
The owls gossiped about this for a bit, when another owl stepped forward and spoke.
“ Sisters, I am an owl from Łomniczki and I will tell you another, even better secret. In the water near where I have my nest, not far from the waterfall, there is a large, flat boulder and under it lies a lump of precious stone. It is possible to take this stone but only at midnight, one hundred days after the Night of the Owls, using the light of a torch. However this torch must be made from the nightshirt of a child born on New Year’s Day, covered with drips of wax from holy candles…
After her, a great number of other owls spoke, all trying to outdo each other about who knew the best secret but the woodcutter was no longer interested. He was already crawling to the nearby bank of the river Niedźwiada. When he finally got there, he dipped his hand in the water three times, then washed his eyes three times saying the words “Rock, owl, water, night – please Niedźwiada give back my sight.”
And lo and behold, he got his sight back! However, he didn’t waste any time celebrating, but immediately made his way to Biały Jar. Following the instructions of the second owl, he found the heap of stones and under it the skeleton of a woman. Then, he took the bones to the village and buried it in the local cemetery. After this, he found the local priest and asked him to bless the grave with holy water.
The next day, he went back to the site by the Golden stream and just as the owl had predicted, he found the treasure that had been buried under the skeleton. Somehow it had come to the surface overnight. It was a small, rusty metal chest and inside there was more than two hundred pounds, some jewellary and a golden chalice. He gave the chalice to the priest to thank him for his blessing of the body and asked for a little wax from the church’s candles. Then, the woodcutter made his way to Jelenia Góra, where he sold the jewellary that he had found. With the money he bought himself some new clothes as well as food for his family.
Once he had made sure that his family happy, he made his way around the region asking about a child that had been born on New Year’s Eve. At first he had no luck but eventually, he found such a child in the village of Ściegnach and managed to buy the boy’s night shirt from his rather surprised parents. Then, he wrapped it around a stick and dipped it in the melted wax from the church candles. Finally he had his magical torch. Now all he had to do was to wait patiently, and count the days that passed from the Night of the Owls.
On the hundredth night exactly, the woodcutter made his way to Łomniczki. By the waterfall, he found a flat stone just as the owl from that area had predicted. By the light of the specially made torch, he gathered all his strength and attempted to slowly move the heavy stone. But however hard he tried, it was no good – the stone wouldn’t budge. Only after midnight, did the stone finally slide away and under it he saw an enormous lump of alexandrite which shone beautifully with a magical, navy gleam.
After the discovery of this treasure, laughter and happiness replaced hunger and poverty at the woodcutter’s home. From the money that he got from selling the stone, he built a beautiful, new house for his family.
The chemist couldn’t believe that his brother had suddenly got his sight back and that he’d become nearly as rich as him. He was desperate to find out how he’d done it. As the woodcutter was a simple and honest man, he didn’t hide anything from his brother, even though he’d been blinded by him. He told the chemist of his adventures on the Night of the Owls and how he‘d overheard the birds speaking in human voices.
The chemist was intrigued. He wondered if it wouldn’t be worth going to the bank of the Niedźwiada River himself and waiting for the next Night of the Owls. He wanted to hear of treasures that were even greater than those discovered by his brother. He became so obsessed with the idea that every night he dreamt of what he would do with the riches when he found them.
Soon, he started to spend every night at the bank of the Niedźwiada River, hoping that he too would meet the talking owls with secrets to share. He waited patiently, through, the cold, the rain and even the snow. For months and months he waited, the excitement of finding the buried treasures, giving him strength and determination when others might have long ago given up.
Then, finally one night, he heard the flapping of wings passing over his head. Excitedly, he strained his ears and listened in on a husky, bird voice that spoke in the human language.
“Hear me, brother Crows! Tonight is the Night of the Crows and so we have flown here from all around the mountains of Lower Silesia to tell each other the most interesting stories that we’ve overheard from people in our region. I, a crow from this area, will go first. I have heard of a certain local rich chemist who is so greedy and stingy that he regularly cheats the poor women who gather herbs and roots for him, as well as the clients who buy his medicines. And worst of all, instead of helping his poor, hungry brother and his family in their hour of need, this man blinded him.
The chemist, who sat quietly in the grass, listening in on the crows, froze.
He knew that they were talking about him. Suddenly another Crow started to speak:
“ I was about to tell the same story” said the second Crow, “ I am from the Kaczawski mountains and in the villages in my area people speak of an evil Karpacz resident who despite his own life of luxury, took his own brothers eyes as a payment for a little flour.”
Then other crows started to speak – one from the Izerski Mountains, another from the Rudaw Janowickich, some others from the Sokolich and the Orlickich mountains. They all recounted the same story.
Finally, the chemist could no longer take it. He couldn’t bear to hear what he’s done to his own flesh and blood. He scrambled up and started to run, falling over hedges, tree stumps and rocks as he tried make his escape. And as he ran, he heard the husky voices of the Crows talking amongst themselves excitedly:
“Someone’s running!”
“It’s him! He’s here!”
“Let’s catch him!”
“Let’s kill him!”
And as he heard this, he felt cold sweat trickling down his back. He ran faster and faster but it was dark, so he kept falling over and over again. In no time at all, the Crows got to him. With their sharp beaks and strong claws, they ripped him apart into tiny little pieces, throwing his clothing all over the surrounding fields and forests.
And it is since then, that the rocks next to the Niedźwiada River have been called the Crows Rocks and the valley there, the Valley of the Owls. And it is these simple, seemingly innocent names that pay testament to the true story that happened in that area. The story of two very different brothers from Karpacz, who like most people in life, got what they deserved.