Salt Mountain by Jan

(A Polish-like Fairy tale by Jan V.) http://www.behindthename.com/names/usage/polish

http://www.behindthename.com/namesakes/list/polish-rulers/alpha https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_rivers_of_Poland

Once upon a time, between the rivers Nistula and Nisloka, under the Salty Mountain, lay a small kingdom, known among

folk as the Salt Kingdom, although officially called Jan´s Kingdom. The rivers brought the people of the kingdom plenty of good drinking water and fish. The king allowed salt mines to be built nearby. The salt from these mines was frequently exported on boats to other kingdoms to enrich their market,

earning the kingdom its nickname.

Although the kingdom’s salt resources might be mistaken for signs of wealth, most of the population consisted of poor people and beggars, for whom feeding their children wasn’t

always a simple task. The cause for this was king Jan’s disregard for the people - he was crowned king at a very young

age and he was not yet ready to rule a kingdom on his own. He raised the taxes and spent all of the profit from the salt mines on tournaments and feasts.

Maciej was an elderly shoemaker and rope maker who lived in

the Salt Kingdom. Not even through his hard work was he able to supply his whole family of twelve children with enough food.

Ola, who was the oldest of the 12, helped their mum growing corn in their little field and vegetables in their little garden

together with her younger siblings. In spite of the difficult life her family lead, Ola was a very cheerful and kind person.

One time, while Ola was working in her family’s little garden, the young king passed by. He stopped in front of her and

disgracefully commanded her to bring him something to drink.

Ola, knowing who she was dealing with, obediently brought an old mug, filled it with fresh water from their well and handed it to the king. “How dare you treat your king with plain water!

You should have had your wine glasses filled at first sight of me!� The king climbed back on his horse without awaiting an answer and left enraged.

One time, while on a hunt, the king with his horse separated from the rest of the cohort to hunt down a beautiful huge bald eagle he had seen.

The eagle eventually escaped its hunters, but the king found himself lost in the middle of the woods. He decided he would

wait for the rest of the expedition to come for him, climbed down off his horse, took his leather bag with wine and started to drink. Then, out of nowhere, an old short man appeared and asked the young king for a taste of his wine. “How does a

beggar like yourself dare ask his king for his wine?” What the king didn’t know was that the man was no beggar – he was in fact a wizard. The king’s approach towards him enraged him,

and so he took out his wand and cast a spell. After regaining consciousness, the king found himself on top of the Salty Mountain, that was now entirely covered with salt.

The king had no chance of getting down from the mountain – it was very tall, steep and extremely slippery. On the mountain,

all the king was left with was nothing but a half-dry tree and a small old shabby hut with a simple bed and a table with a mug of plain water, a slice of bread and a pair of binoculars on top.

Each day the king spent on the mountain, the huge bald eagle

would come and refill the water supply as well as bring fresh bread.

The young king spent his time on the mountain by reflecting on his past life, and eventually watching the difficult lives of the

poor people that lived underneath the mountain. He was amazed by their kindness and helpfulness towards each other.

One might think the peasants didn’t miss their unholy ruler they would be very mistaken. Because of the king’s absence the salt mines were closed and the kingdom became prone towards raids of the neighbouring kingdoms that the king had

antagonised during his rule. The people of the Salt Kingdom were scared. And so was Ola’s family. Ola knew of a rumour saying the king was held atop the Salty Mountain and tried to

link it to the eagle she saw flying over her every morning. She once tried taming it with fish and talking to it about helping the king and the people. She didn’t succeed immediately. Day after day the eagle was getting more used to her and it looked like it

understood her. One day she picked up all her courage and

bound a very long cannabis ladder, that she made from her father’s ropes, to the eagle’s claw with her handkerchief.

The eagle continued his everyday route to the top of the Salty

Mountain. The king, after overcoming the surprise of seeing a ladder brought to him, attached the ladder to the tree which stood in front of the hut. After that was done, he without much

thinking took to climbing down the ladder. It was not an easy task and took the ruler hours. The eagle watched him through the whole procedure but did not attack him once. Once the king’s feet touched the soil beneath the mountain, all of the

salty surface disappeared at once.

After that, the eagle lead the way to Ola’s cottage and the king obediently followed. He was after all incredibly curious who made

the ladder. When faced with the cottage, he knocked on the door and asked who was the rope maker. Maciej told his king that although he was the rope maker, his daughter Ola was the one who made the ladder for him. The king’s gratefulness and growing

interest in the girl made him propose to her right then and there.

Ola saw a changed man before her and couldn’t resist saying yes.

The king’s return with his new queen marked the reopening of the salt mines as well as many military and social reforms. The whole

kingdom’s wellbeing grew drastically and everyone lived happily ever after.