The sun was beaming outside and it looked like it was going to be a nice day. And it would have been a nice spring day - if it hadn't suddenly started raining. Maxík and Majka were sitting by the window, gazing outside.
“What are we going to do?“ Majka muttered quietly.
“What could we do?“ Max shrugged.
“Well, what else...“ Majka sighed.
“Probably nothing,“ Max said, staring at the falling raindrops.
“What do you mean, nothing?!“ Majka almost got angry.
“What do you want to do in this weather?“ Max sighed even more.
“We could play a game,“ suggested Majka, and she began to imagine what games they had at home and which ones they hadn't played in a long time.
“We could... we could. But we're missing two pieces in chess,“ Maxík thought aloud, but he didn't move from the window.
“Oh, right - a queen and a pawn.“
“The queen and her escort,“ Max tried to joke.
“Exactly,“ Majka continued thinking.
“We're also missing a few cards from our deck...“
“And...“
“Don't even go there,“ said Max, and they both fell silent.
Suddenly, miracles began to happen before their eyes - pictures and letters began to appear on the window, and... the window turned into a piece of paper on which someone invisible was writing:
why
are
you
just sitting here
"What's going on?" asked Maxík when they finished reading the text on the window.
"Magic..." said Majka quietly and slid down to the floor.
"But we only know one magician."
"Norbert?"
"Who?" Maxík searched his mind for someone named Norbert.
"The Norbert who was at our school and pulled out those rings and scarves and almost killed a rabbit!"
“No.”
"Then who else do we know?" Majka didn't understand.
"Kaškoooo!" Maxík looked towards the window.
Kaško really appeared outside the window and waved at them. His friends immediately opened the window.
"What are you doing here, Kaško?" his friends asked happily.
"I came to tell you that I won't be here for a few days... and..."
"Why?!" Maxík and Majka wailed sadly at the thought of losing their friend in this weather.
"I'm going to the Playful Ghost Days," Kaško explained.
"To what?" Majka didn't understand.
"To Ghost Play Days," Kaško repeated slowly. "And what is that, please?" Maxík searched his mind for something that at least resembled Ghost Play Days.
"Those are days when ghosts from the land of Haravara meet and play various games."
"Can we attend?" Maxík and Majka asked with their most pleading looks.
"Probably not..."
"Why?" they asked their ghost friend disappointedly.
"Because you don't know any of the games," Kaško told them the cruel truth.
"You have your own games that we don't know?" they became even more interested in the ghost games.
"Of course!" Kaško didn't understand their surprise.
"Then take us there! Because we're terribly bored and all the games we've already played are boring too!" Max and Majka begged literally and to the letter.
Kaško's head began to spin as he thought hard about how he could get his friends to the Playful Ghost Days.
"Well, okay... but what will you do there if you don't know how to play any games?" he wondered aloud.
"You could teach us some," Majka suggested discreetly.
Kaško thought very hard - really hard - and then he said:
"Let's go!"
"Where?"
"To the tram, then we will take a bus, and we'll get off at Jahodná (strawberry site)."
"Are we going strawberry picking?" Majka's eyes lit up with joy.
"Awesome!" shouted Maxík, his mouth watering.
"You've never been to Jahodná?" asked Kaško, who couldn't believe it, but had to.
"No," admitted his friends.
"It's a place where people from the Haravara region, especially from Košice, go skiing and..." Kaško didn't finish because Majka interrupted him.
"But it's not winter yet!"
“Not yet, but in summer and spring, people come to Jahodná to play various games.“
“But you said that you play different games than we do,“ Maxík perked up and began to pack his things discreetly.
"You bet we do! But sometimes a ghost forgets and plays our game with human friends.“
"What?"
„It happened to my cousin Adalbert. He was playing a game on the playground in Jahodná when suddenly two people who looked like you came along..." Kaško began.
“And they saw him,“ added Majka, who was packing.
"Exactly," Kaško confirmed.
“And what was it about Adalbert?“ asked Maxík, packing three hats into his backpack because he didn't know if it was going to rain or be windy.
“He had to pretend that it was a new game, and since then it's been played at Jahodná,“ revealed Kaško.
“And the game that's played at Jahodná is also played at your games?“ asked Majka.
“That's right,“ smiled Kaško mysteriously.
“Let's go to the Ghost Game!“ Maxík and Majka got ready. Of course, they packed a compass and musical instruments in their backpacks, because with Kaško, you never know what you're going to experience. And they set off.
They arrived at Jahodná.
“I didn't expect this,“ said Maxík, looking around in disbelief.
“What did you expect?“ asked Kaško.
“Some kind of strawberry field where we could play a small game.“
Maxík and Majka just looked around. In one place there were playgrounds with various toys, in another they could rent bicycles and ride around, elsewhere they were tempted by a swimming pool, hiking and...
“Look out!“ shouted Kaško, but it was too late.
Maxík was hit on the head by a Frisbee.
“Are you okay?“ asked Majka, concerned.
“No, don't worry, it was just a Frisbee,“ said Maxík, looking at the plastic flying disc.
“But it was flying fast!“ Majka checked Maxík's head to see if he had a bump.
“No, I'm fine,“ said Maxík, scratching his head.
“But when you stand in front of the hole, don't be surprised,“ Kaško said.
“What hole?“ the siblings looked around, but there was no sign of a hole.
“This is our game, you have to learn it,“ Kaško pointed to the children playing and throwing.
“Frisbee?“ the siblings said at once.
“No, not frisbee...“
“What is it then?“ Majka and Maxík pointed to the flying disc.
“Disc golf,“ Kaško said seriously.
“I know, I know!“ Majka shouted. She winked at Maxík, who started beatboxing, picked up some sticks to keep the rhythm, and Majka began to dance.
“What are you doing?“ Kaško didn't understand.
“We're dancing disco and waiting for golf clubs,“ sang Majka and Maxík to the beat, spinning around like tops.
“But disc golf isn't golf to disco music.“
“What is it then?“ Majka didn't stop spinning and dancing.
“It's a game where you throw a frisbee into...“
“Watch out!“ Maxík pulled Majka down. They both looked back and saw a strange ball basket behind them, made of fine chains, hanging on a pole, with a frisbee swinging inside it. And a guy was already rushing towards them.
“Sorry, I didn't see you,“ he apologised.
“What are you doing?“ asked Majka, looking around to see if anything was flying towards her head.
“I'm playing disc golf,“ replied the boy.
“Oh,“ said Maxík and Majka, looking at each other.
“Want to play?“ Benji, as the boy was called, invited them.
“Sure!“ Majka said enthusiastically, and Maxík joined in.
They spent three hours trying to throw the frisbee into various baskets, which were sort of golf holes, and when their arms started to hurt, they rode around on rented bikes or just enjoyed the beautiful nature around them.
“You're good at it,“ whispered Kaško in their ears when they were resting again.
“Thanks.“
“We should go now,“ Kaško muttered mysteriously.
“We completely forgot about the Playful Ghost Games,“ Majka and Maxík remembered why they were there.
“So, are we going to play with the ghosts?“ they shouted excitedly and started packing up.
“Not yet.“
"Why?"
“Because we have to see our most cherished playground.“
“Another one?“ Maxík and Majka's eyes lit up.
“Uh-huh,“ Kaško blinked.
“Well, then,“ they didn't understand where these playgrounds for ghosts were.
“Let's go!“ Kaško urged impatiently.
They said goodbye to Benji, threw the disc golf frisbee one last time, and headed down the hill. They walked for about two hours through the beautiful countryside and along the path, when suddenly a terrible fog appeared above the trees, along with smoke and a strange sound.
“Dragon!“ cried Majka.
“No, the dragons in the land of Haravara have to sleep for another 650 years.“
"What?"
“We have several dragons in the land of Haravara.“
“Yes, we do,“ Majka and Maxík almost fainted.
“Where are they?“ their friends looked around.
“They're sleeping and will sleep for another 650 years.“
"Why?"
“Because dragons have a thousand-year winter sleep.“
“Can't we go see them?“ the little Haravarans tried to sneak closer to the dragons.
“No way,“ Kaško refused emphatically.
“Then what's that terrible noise and smoke?“
“That's Katka.“
“Is that your friend?“
“That's our playground.“
“It must be Katka the giant,“ Maxík whispered in Majka's ear, “and she's been blowing like that all day.“
“Or she's cooking giant soup.“
When they emerged from the forest, they stood at a beautiful little station full of children and parents, and in front of them stood a beautiful old train.
“So, this will take us to the playground?“ they asked.
“That train is called Katka, and that's our playground,“ Kaško explained to the surprised children.
“Train? The kids didn't understand.“
“It's been here since 1955.“
“That's a long time,“ added Kaško.
And just then, my friend Fifo did something amazing.
“What's that?“
“He discovered this train that they were building for the children.“
“For the children?“
“This is a children's railway – the only one in the land of Haravara, but also the only one far and wide.“
“Uh-huh,“ the children murmured in appreciation, noticing that everything was indeed prepared for children.
“And when they were building it, my friend Fifo fell in love with this Katka,“ continued Kaško.
“With the train?“
“He started flying in it, hiding in it, and he especially liked the fact that it was a steam train.“
“So, it blows steam,“ they understood the dragon's snorting from behind the trees.
“And we ghosts know one thing.“
“What is it?“
“Look!“ Kaško flew over the locomotive, sat on the chimney, and when Katka blew again, Kaška was thrown high up and floated on a cloud of smoke that Katka left behind.
“Kaškooooooo!“ the excited children shouted.
“Well, did you like it?“
“Yeah, but we're not going to do that, are we?“ Majka asked, a little scared.
“No, you'll just ride the train and see the whole area.“
“Why?“ the children didn't understand.
“Because Fifo used to haunt the people who built Katka here, and since people are afraid of ghosts, and I don't know why, they didn't put windows in the train.“
“So, you could fly here.“
“Exactly! And playing on a train with open windows like these carriages have, is something else.“
“Sure,“ they could immediately imagine several ghosts flying around and playing tag, or rather, flying tag.
A little conductor stood in front of the train, because on the children's railway, the conductors, ticket inspectors, and ticket collectors are all children. He blew his whistle and raised his hand with a green “paddle,“ and the train started moving. It was a wonderful 20 minutes among the trees, and sometimes they even managed to see some animals and imagined how they would play here with their ghost friends. The train stopped at the next playground.
“Listen, Kaško...“
“Yes?“ asked Kaško, drawing where each ghost would fly.
“Is this the valley of playgrounds?“
“This is Alpinka.“
“Did we fall asleep?“
“Why would you fall asleep?“
“We're in the Alps.“
“Not the Alps, but Alpinka.“
"And what is that?"
“It's a place where people from Košice have been going on trips for many years and built an Alpine-style cottage.“
“Oh, that's why it's called Alpinka,“ Maxík and Majka understood.
“Exactly,“ confirmed Kaško, checking the sand in the sandboxes and the slipperiness of the slides.
“And here's another train, but without steam.“
“That's not a train, it's a railway cart,“ explained Kaško, and immediately went to check that it was working properly.
“A railway cart?“
“Sit down.“
Majka and Maxík sat down on the strange little train. “Now, pedal,“ instructed Kaško.
“Like a bike?“
“Well, almost.“
They pedalled, and the railway cart really moved and travelled like a train on rails.
“This is so much fun,“ the children shouted, and suddenly they stopped.
“What was that?“
“Indian drums.“
“Indians?“
“People from the land of Haravara come to Alpinka to relax, but also to play in teepees like the Indians used to have, which are located where you can play real Indians.“
“Awesome! Let's go.“
“Wait, you'll go there later, now we have to go there.“
The children looked a little behind the teepee and saw a large playground full of slides and climbing frames with ropes above them in the forest.
“What's that?“ the children didn't understand.
„Tarzania.“
"What?"
“Climbing on ropes,“ Kaško pointed to a couple of boys who were climbing on ropes amid the trees.
“Is that your game too?“
“Here you can just try it out to see if you're afraid of heights.“
“Why?“
“Because we, ghosts, usually play by flying. Come on.“
The children went over to the hill with the ropes, but of course they stopped at the jungle gym, the sandbox, the ice cream stand, and the tea house, and then they swung on the ropes that went from tree to tree for about an hour.
"Don't be afraid, there are nets below you and nothing will happen to you. Just try it, if you're not afraid of heights anymore.“
Majka and Maxík climbed like real Tarzans.
“We're ready, Kaško!“
“Come on! We're going to Košice by bus.“
“Is that where the games take place?“
“No, those are at Alpinka and Jahodná, of course."
“Then why are we going to Košice?“
“So that you can fly!“
Maxík and Majka just looked at each other, not understanding what Kaško wanted, but they knew it would be another adventure.
After a while, they came to the city in front of a gate behind which stood large greenhouses.
“What's this?“Majka didn't understand.
“That's a botanic garden, if you please.“
“I can smell the flowers from here.“
“This isn't just any botanic garden.“
“Because it's unusual?“
“Yes, it's unusual,“ Kaško continued explaining, “because it belongs to scientists and students...“
“And they'll let us in?“ Majka interjected.
“It belongs to scientists and students from the university, but they host lots of events for children and families here.“
“Like what?“
“Concerts and exhibitions, and when the big colourful butterflies hatch, you can come here and admire them.“
“I can't believe we didn't know about this place,“ Majka marvelled, and when they went inside, her eyes and mouth opened wide. She had no idea where she was. A lake, animals, benches, flowers everywhere, and well-maintained paths, palm trees, banana trees, lemon trees, and all kinds of cacti in greenhouses...
“I think we'll stay here,“ said Majka, settling down by the beautiful lake with fish.
“Let's go to the herbarium first,“ said Kaško.
"Where?"
“Besides these flowers and greenhouses and the pond, there's a library where you can find books about nature and a herbarium.“
“So, do they press plants here?“
“They have an old herbarium where we're looking for a specific plant.“
“Wouldn't we find it here in the botanic garden?“
“They have about 1,500 species of plants here. Want to go look?“ Kaško showed Majka the plants, flowers, and all the beauty around them.
“Probably not,“Majka admitted.
“Besides, that plant can't grow here.“
"Why?"
“Because people fly on it, and if it grew here, the scientists would discover it and people would fly however they wanted.“
“Awesome!“the children cheered.
“It's not awesome,“Kaško said, horrified.
"Why?"
“I don't know, but it would disrupt the order of the world.“
“You're probably right.“
Kaško flew into a room, followed by Maxík and Majka, and they leafed through an old herbarium.
“Here it is!“ Kaško shook the plant and powder flew out of it, because this plant, the most ordinary of elevating plants, produces that magical powder even after being picked. The children put a little powder in water, as if they were making fizzy water, and they could fly.
Then they waited in the beautiful botanic garden, admiring the animals and plants until evening, reading books and drawing. In the evening, Kaško took them to Playful Ghost Day. If Majka and Maxík hadn't fallen asleep, they would have seen the craziest games, how they fly and chase each other through the windows of a children's train, how they compete in flying to Jahodná and back, how... But since they fell asleep, the ghosts took them home.
And when they woke up in the morning, they had medals around their necks for the most peaceful sleep at Ghost Play Day.
Maxík even won a prize for the quietest snoring.
