Majka and Maxík were sitting at home, and if only they had just been sitting—they sat for a while, then walked around, then just stood by the window, and then lay down again for a bit. If anyone had seen them, they would have thought something serious was going on, and indeed it was.
“I don’t know what to do about it,” Maxík said, staring blankly out the window.
“I don’t know either,” Majka chimed in, idly scribbling on a piece of paper.
“But we have to come up with something!” Maxík scolded himself for his helplessness.
“But what? That’s the question,” Majka mused.
“I don’t know, and I don’t know because I’ve never made or bought a gift for any ghost on their birthday!” Maxík cried out desperately from the window into the distance.
“Well, okay, but we have to come up with something—he’s our best friend,” Majka said, and they both leaned against the window.
Kaško, their ghost friend, actually had his birthday today, and they’d made him all sorts of things—they’d drawn him pictures, made him a T-shirt with a message and a stamp on it, bought him a new magnifying glass so he wouldn’t ruin his eyesight, and picked flowers for him and… and it still didn’t seem like enough.
“Maybe, maybe we won’t think of anything else,” Maxík sat down on the couch in despair.
“Maybe you’re right,” Majka sat down next to him and placed all those gifts—which were supposed to be ‘not enough’—in front of her, and just then the papers flew up and began swirling around the room because someone had opened the window.
“Didn’t you close the window?” Majka shouted, standing up and catching the papers.
“Oh no, I… Kaškooooo!” Maxík exclaimed joyfully.
Kaško burst cheerfully into the room.
“But what a mess you have here—papers are flying around, there are some clay figurines and flowers on the floor, and…”
“But Kaško, this isn’t a mess,” Maxík said sadly as he sat down on the couch.
“Then what is it?” Kaško looked around in confusion.
“These are gifts for you,” Majka said, pointing to all the things on the floor, on the bed, on the window, and floating in the air.
“Wow, you can’t be serious?!” Kaško was moved.
“But we are,” both siblings said at once.
“In our world, gifts are highly valued,” Kaško looked kindly at his friends.
“In which of your worlds?” Majka asked.
“Well, in this one, our ghostly world,” Kaško added, looking through the pictures.
“But I guess it’s our world too, since we can see you all, right?” Majka rolled her eyes.
“I guess so,” Kaško gave her that mischievous smile of his.
“Kaško, you’re up to something!” Majka looked at Kaško with a knowing smile.
“I’ve got an idea,” Kaško’s eyes lit up.
“That sounds like a call to adventure,” Maxík smiled.
“Guys, this is going to be the greatest adventure of your lives,” Kaško whispered quietly and suggestively.
“We’re going to the Land of Nowhere and the Land of Ouch!” Majka exclaimed.
“Oh no,” Kaško shook his head like Hedwig the owl.
“Then to the Neverland,” Maxík tried his luck.
“We’ll stay in Haravara,” Kaško announced.
“Oh, and the experience?” the friends frowned a little, because they couldn’t imagine a new experience in Haravara.
“Come on, friends!” Kaško pointed toward the door.
“But where?” Maxík and Majka wanted to know.
“I’ll show you what every ghost has to do on their birthday, but I need a little time to prepare,” Kaško winked at them.
“How long?” Majka started asking.
“Get on the train and get off at Spišská Nová Ves; I’ll come to collect you there.”
Majka and Maxík grabbed their backpacks, which had been packed long ago, added hiking boots, and, on Kaško’s advice, swimsuits, a winter jacket, gloves, a scarf, and a cap—well, basically as if they were moving and not just going on a trip. It surprised them a little, but they were used to unexpected surprises with Kaško.
“I wonder where we’ll end up today,” Majka’s eyes lit up.
“Me too,” Maxík finished his packing and rushed toward the door.
Maxík and Majka boarded the train and got off in Spišská Nová Ves. This is the little town that comes alive once a year with living statues and thrives on great theatre all year round. Kaško was already waiting for them at the station.
“Hello, friends!” Kaško greeted them and checked to see if they had all the things they were supposed to bring.
“So where are we going?” Maxík asked curiously.
“First we’ll stop in Suchá Belá,” Kaško told them in a disinterested way.
“And what’s there?” Majka teased a little.
“There’s a place there… well, you’ll see,” Kaško teased them.
Kaško and his friends got into the car, which was driven by Kaško’s ghost friend Gregor. In the car, they learned that Gregor had once driven the first car to appear in Spiš and that he was one of the best drivers in the world—it was a shame that no one could see his driving skills. That’s why he was looking forward to showing off to Majka and Maxík. After a short drive along a beautiful road through stunning nature and villages, they arrived at a strange place.
“Hey, Kaško, is this a campground?!” Maxík asked in surprise.
“This is the Podlesok campground.”
“You mean, every ghost has to go camping on their birthday?” Majka asked, a little surprised.
“No, that’s our starting point,” Kaško pointed somewhere above the campground.
“What starting point?” the friends didn’t understand their ghost friend.
“We, the ghosts,” Kaško continued, “we don’t celebrate birthdays every year.”
“But only once every 20 years,” Gregor explained.
“Oh, so you’re having your 20th birthday,” Maxík laughed.
“Well, something like that. We celebrate our birthday every twenty years, and before the party starts, we have to do one thing that no mortal has ever seen!” said Kaško, and the children’s eyes lit up. Gregor just gave them a slay smile.
“One person did see it,” Kaško added, addressing Gregor.
“Yeah, one has, and then he went and blabbed it to your storyteller Dobšinský, and he conjured up a fairy tale about the Twelve Little Months from it,” Kaško recalled, a bit annoyed.
“Are you saying,” Majka asked, her voice trembling with tension, “that the Twelve Little Months do exist?”
“Of course they do,” added Gregor.
“No way,” Maxík sat back on his heels.
“And are they here in Haravara?” Majka asked timidly, looking at Gregor and Kaško.
“Of course,” Gregor leaned toward Majka and winked.
“And they’re right there,” Kaško pointed his finger at something strange that was not far from where they were. They stepped closer, and it looked like a portal to an unknown world.
“Is that the unknown portal?” Majka asked, her eyes wide.
“That’s a well-known portal in Suchá Belá,” Kaško examined the portal and seemed to be getting ready to do something.
“Oh, and what is it known for?” Maxík began to ask.
“It shows you, mortals, how many people are in the Slovak Paradise, where we are right now, whether it’s already full, and it also shows places you could go. But mainly, this portal in Suchá Belá is the entrance to the Slovak Paradise Gorge,” explained Gregor.
“And every ghost who has a birthday has to go hiking in the Slovak Paradise,” Majka figured out and started changing her shoes.
“No, every ghost has to walk through it as if one year in a single day,” Gregor tried to explain clearly.
“Is that even possible?” Maxík opened his little eyes so wide that ten flies could have flown right in.
“It is, if you know how,” Kaško winked at his friends again in a way only he knows how.
“Oh, and you probably know how,” Majka asked teasingly.
“Of course, I do” said Gregor, “follow us.”
Gregor and Kaško dashed toward the portal. Once all the tourists had passed through it and looked at all the information, Kaško glanced at the ground beneath the portal, and Gregor began drumming on the ground with his ghostly hands, creating a rhythm that made your heart race and made you want to dance right away.
“What are you doing?” Majka asked, confused.
“You don’t know this, but where the portal to Suchá Bela stands now, our ghost portal used to stand,” Kaško explained like a professor.
“And they blocked it for you,” Majka said sadly.
“Not at all—we told them to put it here,” Gregor laughed.
“But why?” Maxík was completely confused.
“Because some ghosts couldn’t find it, and this way we can find it right away,” Kaško added. “Look, it’s appearing.”
And indeed. A ghost portal was appearing, but it didn’t stand like the human portal in Suchá Bela; instead, it lay on the ground, with a fire burning in its centre and ten people—five women and five men—standing around it.
“And who are you?” Majka gasped.
“These are the Ten Little Months,” Gregor whispered in her ear, “two of them are currently handing over power, so they’re not here right now.”
“But there are women and girls there too?” Majka pointed toward the fairy-tale creatures.
“Of course, the spring and winter months belong to the girls and women,” Kaško said, not understanding why Majka was surprised.
“The summer and autumn months are for men,” Gregor added calmly.
“And why?”
“Because girls are the ones who give life to the earth, and that’s why they’re the spring months,” Kaško explained to a completely bewildered Majka.
“And the worst thing in the world is when your mom or grandma or aunt is angry at you, or… well, just girls like that… like Rapunzel or Anna… or whoever she was… they can freeze the world with a glance, so that’s why the winter months,” Gregor finished, adding to Majka’s surprise.
Suddenly, Kaško stepped into the circle. The Little Months raised their hands, and everything around them turned into summer. The Little Months held their hands up, and Kaško shouted:
“And here comes summeeeeer!”
Gregor, Majka, and Maxík ran down into the valley of the Slovak Paradise, doing somersaults, sunbathing, and making super-cool ice cream drinks. They were simply having fun the way you can have fun in the Slovak Paradise in the summer. Suddenly, Gregor winked at Kaško, who took the children, and they flew back to the Little Months. There, he stepped into the circle again.
The moons folded their hands and raised them again; now they rose too, and not only the landscape but also the weather changed around them. It was cold everywhere, and the winter blizzard swept them away somewhere... to some place they didn’t recognize.
Kaško looked at the children and shouted loudly, “Quick, put on the warm clothes you took with you!”
“Kaško, where are we?” asked Majka as she put on her thermal clothes.
“This is, friends,” he gestured around him, “Snow Park Ľadová.”
“Are we still in Haravara?” Maxík didn’t understand.
Gregor checked their winter gear and said, “We’re in Haravara, in the Haravara Paradise, and this is what every ghost must do on their BD.”
“To get frozen,” Maxík blew on his hands, because he’d forgotten to take his gloves.
“They have to take a run on this awesome cross-country trail. You’ll only find one like this, with such beautiful views, right here.” Gregor was clearly looking forward to the cross-country skiing, too.
Everyone got skis and poles from Gregor and set off after Kaško on cross-country skis. I don’t know if you’ve ever seen a ghost cross-country skiing—probably not. Just imagine a ghost with a sort of tail so it can fly, and that tail is on one ski, with poles in its hands, cross-country skiing. It looks more like someone with training wheels on a surfboard, but the kids had a blast. Maxík had fun, but his hands were freezing without gloves.
Luckily, there was a shelter along the way where Maxík could warm up a bit, and Gregor flew off somewhere to get Maxík’s gloves.
“I have a feeling what’s coming next,” Majka whispered.
When they wanted to move on, they suddenly rose up as if they were about to fly, and in a while they were back by the Little Months. The portal had pulled them back.
Just then, three girls stood up, raised their hands, and in them held the most beautiful flowers you’ve ever seen. Their scent filled Majka and Maxík’s noses with its beauty. Suddenly, a rainbow formed around them, and they found themselves somewhere…
“Ooooooh,” gasped Kaško and Gregor.
“Where are we? This, this looks familiar,” Maxík looked around.
“Poráč Park, a beautiful place for spring walks,” Kaško soared high into the air and looked as if he were flying for the first time.
“Right,” Majka remembered, “we played mini-golf with Dad somewhere around here, and we even went swimming here.”
“Everything you’re saying is here, and even more,” Gregor whispered.
“You should take off those winter clothes now,” Kaško whispered into their other ear.
Only then did Majka and Maxík realize that they were still wearing their winter clothes and that what they were splashing around in wasn’t a swimming pool, but their own sweat, so they undressed, put on their swimsuits, and wanted to jump into the water. But it was spring, so it wasn’t swimming season. Luckily, Poráč Park has a pool where the friends splashed around, and off they went to soak up the sun!
“Spring is the most beautiful time of year!” shouted the ghosts and the children, and for several hours they just went wild in the water and, of course, played mini-golf.
When they got tired, they sat down on a little hill and looked out at the amazing spring scenery.
“I’d love to have those ten Little Months at home,” Majka daydreamed.
“And why?” asked Kaško lazily, who was resting on the nearest tree after all the fun, hanging from a branch like a bat.
“Because if I wanted to take a walk in spring nature, the girls would get up and it would happen. If I wanted to go for a roll or a skate...”
“Then the other Months would get up too, and we’d have whatever season we wanted,” added Maxík, “we could do whatever we wanted.”
“But the world isn’t here for us to do whatever we want, but for us to do everything we’re supposed to do—and all so that we can live well here—everyone,” Kaško said seriously.
Majka and Maxík thought about it, and once again a rainbow appeared around them, and they found themselves by the Little Months.
“And now autumn,” Maxík whispered, and he and Majka closed their eyes, waiting to be surprised when they opened them.
“I wonder where we’ll end up,” Majka couldn’t wait.
Two bearded little men stood up, raised their hands, and leaves and three little birds flew out of their hair. A huge fog formed around them, and when it cleared, they were standing in front of a hole in the ground with “Rochus” written above it.
“Well, we’re done for,” Majka said quietly, fear in her eyes.
“What’s going on, Maji?” asked Kaško.
“This is probably the cave of the dragon Rochus,” Majka crouched down a bit.
“Oh no,” the ghosts laughed, “this is the mining museum and the mining trail in Rudňany.”
“But it says ‘Rochus’ here,” Maxík defended his sister a little.
“Rochus is the name of the adit,” Gregor explained.
“What?” Majka didn’t understand.
“An adit is where miners went down underground to dig,” Kaško pointed to the large, beautiful gate leading into the adit.
“Oh, so they went underground through the adits,” Majka understood.
“Exactly. And most of them usually had their own names,” Gregor explained, as always.
“Enough with the questions, we don’t have much time left, and now let’s enjoy the autumn!” Kaško shouted, and they were already going wild.
First, they climbed into the locomotive that was parked there, which children can still see today when they come here. But since Majka and Maxík were there with the little ghosts and one of them was even celebrating a birthday, they pulled out their best magic tricks, and steam began to rise from the locomotive. Gregor made sounds like a locomotive in a tunnel. They also explored the log cabin built here, where Maxík and Majka learned how the miners lived and what they did.
“Kaškooooo!” Majka suddenly shouted.
“What happened?” the little ghosts and her breathless brother rushed over.
“There should be gold and silver somewhere around here. It says so here,” Majka pointed out to a surprised Maxík and the little ghosts, who were looking puzzled, “It’s right here on this board. Gold and silver were mined in the tunnels you can visit here.”
“Do you think there’s still some left here?” asked Maxík.
“Maybe,” added Kaško, “but we probably won’t find out.”
“Whyyyyy?” the friends didn’t understand, but they caught on right away. A rainbow and smoke appeared around them, and they returned to the portal. Before they vanished, they said goodbye to Gregor.
Once they were home, Majka lay on her bed looking kind of sad.
“Maja,” Kaško said to her, “are you sad about the gold?”
“Mhmmm,” Maja nodded.
“Look around you when you go out tomorrow—how many people are wearing a gold necklace, ring, pendant, or anything else,” Kaško stroked her head.
“Even our parents have gold rings—wedding bands,” Maxík recalled.
“But how many of them have experienced a whole year’s worth of experiences in a single day, like you? And how many have parents who’ll take them on a trip to explore Haravara?” Kaško looked into her sad eyes.
“That’s true,” Majka stopped sniffling.
“No amount of gold can give you experiences with your loved ones, beautiful memories, and no amount of gold can give you new friends either. But a trip to Haravara definitely will. Because you don’t just come across so many experiences and so many great friends like that,” Kaško added, thinking to himself that this had been his best birthday yet and already looking forward to the next one in 20 years.
