Vlasta Palisová

“The Czech Fairy Tale. In an old castle on the Danube stood three gates of iron. For three hundred years the Czech princess sat imprisoned there. Chains bind her hands to the walls of her cell. Brutish guards tortured her, slapped her daily in the fact. The castle’s master was a black bird, a big eagle with two heads. Terrible eyes it had, and each talon on its feet was bloodied, as it fed on Slavic blood. It carried off Czech children to its castle. It ripped their tongues out, as it ate those with special delight. When the princess heard in her prison the children’s lament, she leant out of her window and called for help. For three hundred years she called, agonised in heart and angered in soul. But none awoke, until the Czech lion arose. Until one stormy night a voice broke through the prison’s depth: ‘Princess, my dove, I will free you!’ At that a night passed by the castle, and in the lightning’s strike the eagle saw someone beating with hammer at the castle gate. Who is that beating on my gate? Who disturbs me in these walls? From the gate there came the call: ‘A Czech blacksmith, knight, a Czech!’ The ancient Danube castle rang with terror, cries, and screams. The Czech knight Masaryk enters the castle with his legions. With his first blow he slew the eagle, the second broke the prison clear, the third cut the shackles clear, and thus he spoke to the princess: ‘For three hundred years separated from the motherland, come join us in our new Czech land.’ The end.”

“We are boys and girls from Zlín, where working hard won’t make you lean. We want to learn a lot, but know all well that only hard work will really tell. To help ourselves, to help the school is our aim. With all our strength to achieve the same. To show the world we’re Zlín pupils, we’re love to have fun and have hard-working scruples. Those who see our school will see what all we to do keep healthy. We exercise, go camping, love the sunny day. Cleanliness and tidiness make us happy, gay. When all our duties are complete, sing we joyful and sweet. Our youth will have a long heyday! Sing glory to our school, work ho, hurray – work ho – hurray!”