Siljan Shtrkot

The story takes place in the Prilep village of Malo Konjari, where the peasant Bozin lived, who had a son, Siljan. Siljan was spoiled, lazy and disobedient, and his father constantly advised him and begged him to improve, because otherwise he would be cursed, as happened to the chickens Sive and Chule. However, Siljan ran away from home and met a priest with whom he begged in the villages. Then, he went on a pilgrimage, but suffered a shipwreck. As the only survivor of the ship, Siljan found himself in an unknown land inhabited by stork people. From their leader, Adzi Kljak, Siljan learned that the people there turned into storks who then went to Malo Konjari. At the same time, Adzi Kljak told Siljan that the inhabitants of that land were cursed, because in the past they had beaten a good old man. Two springs appeared on the grave of the old man: the water from one spring turned people into storks, and the water from the other spring turned storks into people. The people there had to turn into storks, fly to Malo Konjari to have children and only then return back. All summer Siljan worked on the estate of Adzi Kljak, and in the fall he turned into a stork and flew home, carrying water with him to turn into a man. However, the water spilled out and he was condemned to live on the roof of his home, but in the form of a stork. Thus, he longed for his family to recognize him, but instead, his son Velko hit him on the head with a stick, and his father broke his leg. Driven by longing for his loved ones, one day Siljan stole his wife Neda's ball and left it in the nest. Then, he returned to the land of the storks, where he proved himself a hardworking man, and the following year he returned to Malo Konjari, washed himself with the miraculous water, and thus became human again. When he told his family about his experiences, they did not believe him, but he convinced them by showing them the ball he had stolen from Neda.