The Legend of St. Anne's Lake
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A good and noble king lay dying. Calling his two sons to his side, he told them, "My kingdom shall be divided evenly between you." To the son on his right, he said, "You shall be Lord of Budos." To the son on his left, he said, "You shall be Lord of Balvanyos." The king then closed his eyes and urged his two sons to join him in a prayer for peace and prosperity in the kingdom. But no sooner had the king begun his prayers, than the two sons began to bicker.
"Father loves me best," said the new Lord of Budos. "He has given me the most fertile land."
"It is not true," countered his brother, the new Lord of Balvanyos. "Father has given me the most loyal subjects."
The two sons continued to squabble as their ailing father prayed. Finally, their petty fighting tested the king's patience too far, and he sat up in his bed and screamed, "Stop!" But the outburst proved to be too much for him. Clutching his heart, the old man fell back on his pillow and died.
The people of the kingdom deeply mourned the passing of the old king. The future of the kingdom, they knew, was bleak. The king's sons were not concerned about the welfare of the people. They had, instead, only two interests—competing with one another and amassing riches.
One day, not long after their father had died, the Lord of Budos rode his horse through the kingdom, shouting for all to hear, "I have more gold than my brother can count!"
Upon hearing his brother's shouts, the Lord of Balvanyos came out of his castle, declaring as loudly as he could, "Ah, but look at my brother's pathetic horse! Such a homely horse that suits such a homely master!"
"I will teach you!" yelled the Lord of Budos. He rode back to his castle, determined to prove to his brother that he, the Lord of Budos, was superior. The Lord of Budos's chance came shortly thereafter. A wealthy merchant visited his castle, arriving in a magnificent red coach drawn by six very beautiful and powerful horses. As soon as the Lord of Budos saw the horses he thought to himself, "These horses will shame my brother. I must have them!"
The Lord of Budos offered six bags of gold for the horses. But the merchant refused to sell them.
"They were a gift from my departed wife," the merchant explained, "and are my only true treasure."
But the spoiled Lord of Budos never took "no" for an answer. Slyly, he invited the merchant to a game of cards.
"I do not know much about this game," the Lord of Budos told the merchant. "But why don't we play for gold? I trust you won't take advantage of a young and foolish Lord."
The merchant naively agreed. Before the evening was over, the Lord of Budos had won all of the merchant's gold, property, and—much to the merchant's great sorrow—his beloved horses and coach.
Although it was very late, the Lord of Budos ordered the horse and coach to be hitched and he rode to his brother's castle, shouting, "Brother, brother, awake! Come and see who now has the most beautiful horses in the land."
From his window, the Lord of Balvanyos called down to his brother, "Brother, do not think for a moment that you can outdo me. Before the sun sets tomorrow, I will have 12 horses more beautiful and a more magnificent coach."
As soon as his brother left, the Lord of Balvanyos woke up his soldiers. He ordered them to capture the most beautiful maidens in the land and bring them to his castle.
"My brother thinks he is better than me. Well, this shall prove him wrong!" said the Lord of Balvanyos.
Reluctantly, the soldiers did as they were told. Before the sun had risen, they knocked on the doors of all the houses in the land, rousing the villagers from their sleep and stealing away their daughters
By noon, the Lord of Balvanyos had picked the 12 most beautiful of the maidens and ordered them to be harnessed to the coach. Then he donned his best clothes and rode to his brother's castle, with the maidens pulling the coach.
He had been riding for a short time when the skies turned cloudy and dark. The Lord of Balvanyos began to worry that it would soon rain, and his brother, the Lord of Budos, would not be able to properly appreciate his splendid horses and coach. Therefore he whipped the maidens, yelling, "Faster, faster!"
The maidens were exhausted, however, and couldn't go any faster. The most beautiful maiden, Anna, turned her head and looked the Lord of Balvanyos in the eye. She cried bitterly, "I wish the ground would open up and you would fall into it!" And, lo and behold, God heard Anna's cries!
Just as the Lord of Balvanyos was about to unleash his most powerful strike upon Anna, the Earth opened, and he fell into its womb along with the 12 maidens. Then, suddenly, the skies opened. A thunderous storm filled the hole with rain. Within moments, a lake had formed.
But that was not the last of God's vengeance.
As they struggled to swim to the water's surface, the Lord of Balvanyos turned into a dragon, and the 12 maidens became swans.
Lord Balvanyos, now a dragon, was filled with rage. He tried to catch the swans to punish them for Anna's curse. But the maiden-swans swam quickly to shore. When they touched the soft earth, they turned back into maidens and ran away as fast as they could.
Just as the dragon approached the shore, a powerful whirlpool pulled him back, sucking him down deep below the Earth's surface. As he descended, the dragon let out a horrific shriek that echoed throughout the land like a hellish curse.
Upon hearing his brother's screams, the Lord of Budos fell on his knees and, trembling, began to pray. He resolved that, from that day forth, he would rule the land as nobly as did his father, the king.
^ Back to TopAbout the Author:
"The Legend of St. Anne's Lake" is told by Anna Mago (Peace Corps Volunteer, Romania, 1996–1998). "My student, Imola, told me the legend of St. Anne's Lake while we were camping there on a very rainy weekend," said Anna. "We were stuck in an orange tent, trying to find things to do, when Imola asked me, 'Have you ever heard the legend?'"
Anna taught fifth- through eleventh-grade English classes in Transylvania.