Week 15 Reading Notes: Silly Jura, Part B

Illustration from "Silly Jura"

Link to story.

Title: Silly Jura

Publication: Czech Folk Tales, 1917 (English: The Key of Gold, 1922)

Author: Beneš Metod Kulda

Translator: Josef Baudiš

Notes: Beneš Metod Kulda (1820-1903) was a Czech priest, ethnographer and writer who retold many Czech folk tales, including Silly Jura. Josef Baudiš (1883-1933) was a Czech Celticist who translated various Czech stories into English, including the works of Kulda.

Characters:
Two brothers
Jura (pronounced “yoo-ra”)
Burgomaster (mayor)
The cat
The lady

Places:
Czech Republic

Events:
Two brothers go out to steal items for a feast
The brothers bully their youngest brother before leaving
Jura goes to pick nuts at the burgomaster's place
Jura cracks the nuts in the charnel-house (grave vault)
The burgomaster and his servant go to investigate the cracking sound
Jura accidentally scares off the two of them, indirectly curing the burgomaster’s illness
The burgomaster rewards Jura the next day for curing him, despite stealing
Jura promises to not steal anymore and returns home with the money
The brothers borrow money from Jura and leave to go find wives
They proclaim Jura will never find a wife
Jura leaves as well and wanders into a castle ruin
Jura meets a talking cat who invites him to live with her
After a year the two become good friends
One day, the cat requests that Jura should throw her into the fire, for good fortune
Reluctantly, Jura throws the cat into the fire, falling asleep after
Jura wakes up to find himself in the castle surrounded by servants
A fine lady greets him, admitting that she was the cat placed under a spell by witches
The two of them leave to see how Jura’s brothers are doing while disguised as beggars
The brothers scorn Jura and the lady, despite their own poor status
Jura and the lady leave and return to his brothers in fine clothes and a fine carriage
The brothers are shocked and don’t recognize Jura
The lady scolds them and tells them to better themselves as people
The lady leaves them some money before she and Jura return to the castle

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