Once upon a time, there was a dark mine near the town of Banská Bystrica. According to a legend, strange creatures were living there. They were called knockers but no one had ever seen them. A poor boy with his sick mother lived in the town. They often had nothing to eat and no money for a doctor. Once, the boy decided to go to the mine and tried to dig up some copper he could sell and help his sick mother. As he was approaching the mine, he had no idea what he would witness. In front of the mine, he saw a tiny man from the legend wearing a red cap. He was short and had a grey beard dragging the ground. He was holding a lantern in one hand and a small hammer in the other. The knocker suddenly said: ‘What are you doing here?’ The boy barely managed to speak. He finally said, ‘I have to dig up some copper to help my sick mother.’ The knocker looked at him strangely, murmured and said: ‘I believe you. Follow me and I‘ll show you where to find what you‘re looking for.’ The boy followed him into the mine where they met three other knockers. They were knocking and digging until they found a copper lode. The boy was delighted with the idea that he could help his beloved mother and would not be poor anymore. While they were digging, the boy heard their stomachs growling. He was sorry for his new friends so he said: ‘Come here. I don‘t have much to eat, but I will share the little I have with you.’ ‘Thank you, we haven‘t eaten anything as delicious as this for a long time,’ they replied while eating a slice of bread and grease. The boy just waved and continued digging. As it was getting dark, he started to worry about his sick mother. He decided to go home, but suddenly, he heard a faint noise. ‘What was that?’ asked the boy. They all went to see what had just happened and found out that the rocks had slid down and buried the entrance to the mine. The rocks were falling as if someone were throwing them. A few hit the boy, and he fainted. He was buried under the rocks. The knockers were calling his name, but they could not find him anywhere. They were shouting, but there was no answer. It was only after a while that they saw the boy’s hand sticking out from the heap of rocks. They could not rescue him for a long time, but eventually, they were successful. They laid him in their bed and were waiting for what was going to happen. When the boy woke up the next day, he was scared and thought it was just a nightmare. He could not remember anything. ‘Where am I? What happened?’ he thought. ‘Was it a dream?’ The knockers told him what had happened and then they led him out of the mine with copper he had dug out of mine. In return, the boy promised to bring them some food. The following day, the boy came to the mine with porridge and milk. He said, ‘You helped me and I have a small gift in return.’ The knockers were pleased that the boy kept his promise and had not forgotten about them. ‘I know you are rather old, and I see your shoes are ragged, that’s why I’ve brought you new ones. I hope they will serve you for a long time,’ said the boy and left. The knockers looked at each other in disbelief and watched the boy going away. He did not hear anything about them again. He told his story to the townspeople, but no one believed him. The voices of the mine say that the knockers really dwelt in the mine, but only good-hearted people like this boy could have seen them. Since then, the boy and his mother were never needy and always had enough to eat.
Story from the book What Is Whispered About the Copper City, Primary School Moskovská 2, Banská Bystrica.
Author of the story: Linda Filadelfi, Primary School Spojová 14, Banská Bystrica.
