The Blacksmith

Automatic translation. This text has not been verified by a person.

Translation details

Model: mistral-large-2512.

Translated text

A game described by Gołębiowski (under the name żydka), still common today among urban children (most often called Klas); in the Tarnobrzeg and Nisko counties (Lesser Poland), rural youth also play it. Suitable for primary schools and lower secondary school grades. Here is Gołębiowski’s description: “This was a game of higher perfection, demonstrating the skill of the players and convincing spectators of what they could achieve with themselves and the equipment of this pastime. The aforementioned game consisted of various feats; the first six were, in a way, a necessity and an entry into the further ones. Whoever did not perform them with complete precision had to start from the beginning; whoever passed them successfully, even if they made a mistake later, only repeated from the unfinished feat and proceeded further in this scope until they reached the highest level of perfection.

A test of skill was to throw the ball against the floor so that it bounced off the wall and only then catch it. 2) The same under the leg. 3) The player leans their hand against the wall and throws the ball under it against the wall and catches it. 4) The S a d ł o (lard) is let go: to do this, the youth leans back slightly, resting their head against the wall, throws the ball above themselves, and catches it before it falls to the ground. 5) The P i e c z ą t k a (seal) is placed on a cupped hand, that is, on the thumb and the next finger joined in a circle; the ball strikes it, then the hand moves away, and the bounced ball is caught. However, each of these feats must not be performed just once, but thrice, similarly to the following ones, except where a smaller number is specified by the rules; for hitting once could be a matter of chance, but repeating thrice without error is proof of skill. Whoever failed yielded their turn to another and was last among the players to make new attempts. Whoever completed the entry feats rested until others succeeded, then everyone took turns with the further feats. 7) A new challenge: throwing the ball as if into a k a s z a (bowl) and catching it from above. 8) Catching from below. 9) The B o c h e n e k c h l e b a (loaf of bread): the ball is struck on the fist and caught. 10) The P ó ł m i s e k (plate), on an open palm. However, these two feats must also be repeated in reverse, that is, holding the fist and palm on top and turning them to the other side. 11) The W a z a (vase), on fingers raised in the shape of a vase. 12) The N ó ż (knife), on one finger. 13) The W i d e l e c (fork), double, triple, quadruple on as many spread fingers. 14) L i c z e n i e p a l c ó w (counting fingers) of one hand, that is, placing the ball on each. 15) P u s z c z a n i e k r w i (letting blood): on a bent elbow, the ball is squeezed from the bent palm and caught from above, or 16) bounced off the ground from below.
The ball is struck against the wall with the palm from above, and from below 24 times. 18) The ball is tossed straight up and struck once with the palm, then a second time turning the hand 48 times. 19) The player dresses, washes, puts on shoes, trousers, a vest, a frock coat, combs their hair, that is, before the ball bounces off the ground, they must pretend to do all this and catch the ball, repeating the same thrice. 30) S p u s z c z a n i e w o d y (letting water) single, double, up to sixfold; for this, the ball is thrown against the wall, bounces off the ground, and is caught. 21) K l a s k a n k a (clapping): the ball is thrown upwards, three claps are made—front, back, and front again. 22) O b r ó t k a (turn) upper and lower: throw against the wall, turn around, and catch from above or below. 23) R a c z k a (crawling): turning away from the wall and bending, the ball is thrown between the legs against the wall, bounces off the ground, and is caught from above and below. 24) The ball is thrown against the wall so that it falls on the head and is then caught—whoever accomplished all this was proclaimed king, and a privilege was sealed for them, that is, they were burned in the palm in turn by the others; if someone missed, the king struck them thrice with their royal hand. It was rare for someone to become king, for what skill it required, and even the most dexterous found it difficult to perform each of these feats.”

Source of scan: Kujawsko-Pomorska Digital Library, marked “Public Domain”. See PDF — page 190.

Metadata

Type: game
Traits: Not stated in the source
Source: Eugeniusz Piasecki, Zabawy i gry ruchowe dzieci i młodzieży (1922)
Printed pages: 185–187 / PDF 190–192
Digital edition: Digital edition · Source record
Open the edition at the relevant page: p. 185
Read the source text: zgr-112