Tatra Fairies – The Great Cold Valley

A FOLKTALE ABOUT A FAIRY

Once upon a time, a young shepherd lived in a chalet under the Tatras. He was mostly alone. And when he was sad, he took out his fujara (traditional Slovak musical instrument) and played such melodies on it that were unheard of in those parts of land. One evening, it was full moon, he saw fairies dancing at the start of the Great Cold Valley. The shepherd remembered his empty life and the empty chalet, he did not delay, jumped and grabbed the most beautiful fairy by the hand and did not let her go.

“Be my wife!” he told her kindly. The fairy looked into his blue eyes and immediately succumbed.

“I like you more and more, I wouldn’t be able to live without you.”

“So I’ll be your wife, but you must never remind me that I was a fairy.”

And she turned into a woman of flesh. A year has passed. They lived together in a chalet until the shepherd needed help to push a wagon out of a ditch.

“I’ll help you,” the woman said, moving the wagon without shortness of breath.

“You, my good fairy, what would I do without you.”

“Oh,” the young woman sighed, slowly dissolving. The shepherd didn’t even have time to catch her hand and she disappeared completely. He called, begged, to no end. He wandered the Great Cold Valley, but could not find her. He soon disappeared, too. It is said that in the Great Cold Valley, the fairy is sometimes seen dancing to the sound of fujara. Anyone who goes looking for her can enjoy a beautiful but challenging winter hike from Starý Smokovec to Zbojnícka chata.

HIKING TIP

Follow in the footsteps of the fairy of the Great Cold Valley on a challenging winter hike from Starý Smokovec to Zbojnícka chata. However, it is necessary to set off in full force and with complete winter equipment.