STORY 1

Once upon a time in a village there lived Mongolians but God decided that the fairies would settle there and the Mongolians nation moved to another region. The fairies loved animals, there were such animals as sheep, goats, unicorns, monkeys and many more.  One of the traditions of the fairies preserved by the ancestors was that every year on March 21st in the village the fairies organized the Iron Festival. There the most popular ironers were invited to that event, they presented their skills, had fun and played games with all the people gathered there.  Unfortunately, this time at the festival there happened a tragedy. 

The Turkish people invaded the nation of fairies because they found out that fairies lived in the village and not the Mongolians. The commander of the fairies was very angry so she announced a war. She ordered her nation to climb the Iron Mountain where the fairies would be safe and the rest who did not go there, she ordered to fight. The tactic of the Turkish warriors was to enslave the fairies. The commander of the fairies drowned while fighting. Many fairies died because they loved freedom and couldn’t imagine life as slaves. When the snow at the mountain melted and sunrays warmed the ground, the saved fairies saw how destroyed their homeland was. They swore revenge on the Turkish warriors. But first, they climbed down and rebuilt the village with the help of all the neighbours who did not agree with Turkish rule in the area, and together they chased away the invaders.

Story by Sara, Poland

STORY 1

Once upon a time, in Ankara, there was a girl who loved the town and the people who lived there. However, it wasn’t her homeland, she was from Mongolia. Mongolians expelled her family from the land of her ancestors for some unknown reasons. It was two years earlier when she was little, so it wasn’t so painful for the girl. She found a best friend in the new place, her name was Zumra. 

“Hello there!” she said at their first meeting .

"My name is Zumra, and your ?” 

“…Miray” she answered. 

“Nice to meet you…”. 

It was the beginning of their friendship. Turkish people really liked them as ,,kind and gentle girls”. They walked in the mountains, talked so long that their ice-cream managed to melt. Once they even made a race of sheep, but alas, one sheep escaped to freedom, and the shepherd was angry. The girls even swore to God that they would always be friends. 

One day, when the girls came to Zumra’s home, her mum was working on an ironer.

“Hi, honey!” she said.

“Do you want some cookies?"

“No, mum, but thank you” she answered. 

Miray was surprised and she asked Zumra’s mum what she was doing.

“I’m ironing this shirt, it’s terribly wrinkled!”

Miray thought ,,Hmm… I associate the word with iron…”.

“Yes, it sounds the same” said Zumra’s mum. 

,,And iron means a war for me…” said Miray

“I understand” said Zumra’s mum. 

“Our ancestors fought and took revenge”

"Yeah” said Miray, “But after all we found peace”.

 Zumra’s mum smiled ,"Have fun girls, we are talking too much”. 

Zumra and Miray left Zumra’s house and sat on a bench next to a beautiful fountain. Zumra asked if her friend had ever heard about the Tulip Festival. 

“Tulip Festival?” Miray was surprised ”I have never heard about it.”. 

“This festival is organised every five years on the 21st of March. This is the biggest event of the year!” Zumra explained 

“21st of March?” asked Miray, ,,"It's tomorrow!”

“Yeah, so let's choose dresses which we will wear at the Tulip Festival!” said Zumra. 

The festival was very successful and the friendship between the girls got even stronger.

Story written by Zofia K., Poland

STORY 2

A long, long time ago there were two sisters. They lived in a city called Ağrı. They lived happily together in a small house made out of wood. But suddenly one of them got cursed, the curse changed the girl into a monster. The monster was so tall that it was touching the clouds. The girl turned into the monster started spreading terror in the city. Stone ruins were lying everywhere on the ground. 

The first sister went to an old villager whose name was Alan. He knew what she would have to do. The old legend said that the monster that can destroy the whole country will be born from one of the sisters and the only way of stopping it would be killing the monster by the other sister with a sharp stone. The sister must be humble and wear a plain skirt and a white blouse. The girl was very sad because she understood she should kill her sister. 

The next day she went up on a mountain with a sharp stone in her hand and she shouted „I’m here, monster, come to get me”. The girl waited a bit and then she heard the monster roaring. When she saw it coming up the mountain, she started running towards the meadow nearby. There the monster and the girl were looking at each other when the girl started crying. She didn't want to kill her „sister”. She decided to get closer and hug the monster. Then the monster started to shrink and change its shape and after a while it completely turned into the human form of the first sister. They were sitting there for some time. Sisterhood has won.

Story written by Eliasz, Poland

STORY 3

A long time ago, beyond six swamps and seven forests, stood a great palace in the land of the lost Mount Kaf. It was ruled by an old Sultan who carried a strong promise in his heart.

One day, he sent his son on a journey to find his lost younger brother. The Sultan had promised his father long ago that he would bring him back, and now it was time to keep that promise.

The prince travelled for many days. At last, he found a gold road that shone like fire in the sun. The road led him to a distant mosque.

After a few hours, he heard a beautiful song. A nightingale appeared and sat on a tree nearby close to the spring.

“Be careful,” said the nightingale. “A giant fairy guards the entrance to the mosque. She is very powerful and can fire flames at anyone who tries to enter.”

The prince was afraid, but he did not stop.

“I must continue,” he said. “I want to help my family.”

Soon, he reached the mosque. In front of it there stood the giant fairy. Her eyes were bright, and fire surrounded her hands.

“Why are you here?” she asked.

“I am looking for my uncle,” the prince answered bravely. “I made a promise to my dad, and I want to keep it.”

The fairy raised her hand, ready to fire flames, but then she stopped. She looked at the prince and saw that he was honest.

“You may enter,” she said.

Inside the mosque, the prince found his uncle, who had been trapped for many years. With courage and hope, the prince broke the spell and freed him.

They returned to the palace together. The Sultan was very happy and proud of his son.

From that day on, people told the story of the brave prince, the wise nightingale, and the powerful fairy who could fire flames, but chose kindness instead.

Story by Bartek, Poland

STORY 4

There was a village with many people. One day a child lost his shoe, he called his friends to look for it because he had only one pair. The children went to the forest. When they were looking everywhere, one group of kids found a road that was splitting into two ways. Half of them went to the right side along with the child who lost the shoe, the rest of children - to the left side. Children who went to the right side found a really big and unusual tree. They decided to play and joke there. It made the hodja appear. 

The left side group after some time of walking heard loud crying and screams. They recognized their friends' voices. They were thinking what decision they should take - help and save friends or run back home. They decided to help. When they got to the place where the noise was the loudest, they saw that their friends were safe. One child stumbled when the hodja suddenly appeared, he scared the other kids and it made them cry. The Hodja gave that shoeless child a completely new pair of shoes and a big bag. Then he suddenly disappeared. Children were really happy and shocked at the amount of goodness they experienced. Inside the bag there were sweet apples and a kite big enough to be carried by all the kids back to their homes.

Story written by Emilia Z., Poland

STORY 4

A long time ago there was a village. The people of this village were very happy. Children that lived there loved joking around and making kites with their hodja. One day the children found a bag next to the forest road. 

In the bag there was a beautiful shoe. They gave it as a gift to their hodja, later it started raining heavily. The town folks are worried that a flood is coming. Children surrounded their teacher and asked him about the flood. The teacher told them an old myth he came across. 

The myth was about a goddess of goodness that loved to dance, but one day she stumbled on a rock and her shoe fell down from the sky. She cried so much that the other gods were scared that the whole word would be covered with her tears. They looked for her shoe and found it. Then the goddess stopped crying. 

The hodja told them that he was afraid that this could happen again and that they had the special shoe. He asked the children if they wanted to help him try returning the shoe. The kids made a decision they wanted to help the goddess of goodness. The hodja told them to make a big kit and attached the bag with the shoe they had found. Then the kids went to the tallest tree and climbed to the top. They released the kite. Later that day the rain stopped and the village was saved.

Story written by Dominika B, Poland