International Tales : Czech Republic
Participation from Czech Republic, by Vanessa Hawigerová
Vanessa, 22 years old, lives in Valašské Meziříčí, in the east of the country, and studies Marketing Communication. Follow her on instagram : @v_hawigerova
Spejbl a Hurvínek – the Czech Republic
First, let me introduce my self and my country. My name is Vanessa. I am from the small town Valašské Meziříčí situated in the Czech Republic, also I was born and raised there. Traveling is my passion since my childhood, so I have visited many countries mostly from Europe. Also, we used to travel a lot with my parents.
Let’s introduce the five main characters of the tale I want to share with you: Hurvínek (the little boy), Mánička (the little girl, classmate of Hurvínek), Spejbl (the dad of Hurvínek), Kateřina (the grandmother of Mánička) and Žeryk (the dog from Hurvínek and Spejbl). In 1919 Josef Skupa made the first puppet Spejbl, later he added others. Although originally all the characters were made for puppet theater, nowadays, we have also short fairy tales.
My life is connected to the story of Spejbl and Hurvínek. First, I come from the Czech Republic and so does this fairytale. The number and genders of the characters represent my close family. All of them talk to each other about problems, everyday life and dreams. This is one of the most important things during my whole life, to be close to my family. I am grateful that I can talk to my mother, father and brother honestly about every topic.
If you click on that image, you will find the Youtube video of the puppet show ! Unfortunately, there is no subtitles, but you can watch to see the environment and maybe hear for the first my language!
The story plot is about Spejbl who is confused in life and trying to disguise it by being authoritarian. His son Hurvínek is a clever boy who has a lot of fun every day. He has many funny stories, also he makes some “pranks”. Mánička is a clever girl with the best marks, and she follows rules all the time. Kateřina is a dominant woman who helps others in hard times with difficulties. She is also talkative and very close to Mánička. The dog Žeryk spends time eating and sleeping.
All the characters live everyday lives with all the joys and problems. They are close to each other so we can think that they are family. I have chosen the tale called The Small Tent. The whole story takes places in August at the end of summer holidays. The dad came with the idea of spending time together on vacation. Mánička and Kateřina are in, but Hurvínek is not happy at all. He prefers to stay at home. During the packing the grandmother is preparing things for every situation (extra blanket, extra candles). Mánička in not happy about it and thinks that they are unnecessary. The little boy wants to take his favourite things with him. But the father is arguing that they need just useful equipment. On the other hand, Spejbl takes a TV with him because it’s important for him.
In the camp the first night, Mánička is grateful for extra blanket otherwise she will be cold. And she thanks Kateřina for it. Hurvínek and Spejbl are freezing – they didn’t pack useful things. In the morning Kateřina and Mánička are ready for a new day and exercising outside while Spejbl and Hurvínek are lying in the tent. Later the grandmother divides tasks for all members. After coming back to the camp Kateřina asks how it was. Hurvínek, Spejbl and Mánička didn’t pass the tasks because they had a bad luck. The grandmother says that it doesn’t matter. At the end all of them are happy that they went camping together and support each other.
The significant point from the Spejbl and Hurvínek is that all the characters stand by themselves in every situation. In my view this can help us in the life a lot. When we are trying to achieve a goal, the support is a key point, this is the dogma of my family. Because I am an extrovert, talking to others is important part of my life. Luckily my family and friends know it about me and are ready for it all the time.
As you know Hurvínek and Mánička are close friends and thanks to my life I have also a very close friend. She shared with me all the joy and problems to being in the world. Both of us are ready to help all the time. We’ve stood side by side to each other since we were 15 and met at our high school. Seeing the situations in the best way brings to the life more happiness. Being positive doesn’t cost any money and makes every moment at least a little bit better. I agree that it depends on the situation but mostly it’s possible. That’s why I am connected to Kateřina’s character.

Although the little girl is focused on her studies, she has also free time and plays games with Hurvínek. They enjoy time together.
This reminds me of my childhood. I can say that I was lucky that my
parents let me play games with other kids during my childhood. I think this is the important part of our lives. It can help us developing skills and getting to know ourselves a lot. Also, I know that this is not possible for every child, and I am so sorry for it. Travelling is very important in my life (that’s why I chose this fairy tale).
It makes me happy all the time. Getting to know new cultures, people and food is my passion. I like to exchange our opinions or just talk with each other. The strong feeling that we are all humans with connections between us on the planet !
Each travelling abroad affects my mind and personality in some way. In my view when there is a chance for any travel we should follow it. It can help us somehow in our lives a lot. Of course, I know that some life situations are hard and it’s not possible to travel.
My last words will be: if you have a chance to travel, take it! Everything on the way has a solution. Travelling alone can teach you and develop yourself a lot.
OpenEdition vous propose de citer ce billet de la manière suivante :
noaderycke (11 décembre 2023). International Tales : Czech Republic. Festival Transversales. Consulté le 20 mars 2025 à l’adresse https://doi.org/10.58079/uub0