There once was Karpat. A powerful ruler who had four sons, Tater, Pienio, Beskid and Sud. After the death of their father, the sons divided the state between themselves so that the land lying to the west was given to Beskid.

Beskid had a wife, Borana, who took care of the forest, woods and the animals in them. When Beskid died, Borana settled on the highest mountain and raised her two wonderfully beautiful daughters, Czarnocha and Białka, and son Lan. Soon afterwards, she entrusted her daughters with the care of the waters and fish, and her son with the meadows and fields.

Once she felt death approaching, she clasped her children to her breast and, saying her goodbyes, gave her daughters instructions to spread water over the land and her son to plant meadows and fields; all for the benefit of the people. As the mother had already closed her eyes forever, the children buried her on this mountain where they had so happily lived out their young days so far.

Obeying their mother’s instructions, the siblings split up, each in a different direction.

Lan fertilised all the places his mother had not covered with forest, creating meadows with lush grass and fields with fertile grain. Meanwhile, the daughters spread the water. Black-eyed and black-haired, Czarnocha cried for a while after saying goodbye to her sister before she set off on her journey. She chose the gentle slope of the mountain heading south and, full of sorrow, slowly descended into the valley. Białka, on the other hand, with her fair hair and blue eyes, soon forgot her worries, and strode vividly northwards. Playful, heedless of the rocks and precipices, she kept jumping down singing merrily to herself.

Białka soon found herself in the valley and, to her delight, saw Czarnocha in front of her. The sisters greeted each other warmly and decided never to separate again. Thus, between the high mountains, they merrily descended lower and lower through the valleys, where their brother Lan had already planted meadows and fields.

But they haven’t gone far. Czantor, a stone knight, saw them, loved them and did not want to let them go any further. He also urged his brothers to block their way by closing the valley with mountains. And so the sisters remained in the mountains, and because they ruled the waters, the waters stopped with them and flooded the whole area.

They both felt very happy here and had no intention of leaving Czantor, who surrounded them with the most loving care, shielding them from the cold winds and hot rays of the sun. In return, the sisters repaid him by fertilising the mountain slopes so that they were soon covered with the most beautiful forests, grasses and flowers. Every evening and morning, they smoothed the surface of the water so that the mountains could look at themselves as if in a mirror. But their happiness did not last long.

Mother Earth commanded the mountains to part and let the waters out. Czantor had to obey, though he did not want to let the girls wander off into the unknown. Thus, he sent just a single wave to scout and find a route.

The sisters picked flowers from the shores, wove a wreath and, having decorated this sent wave, bid it a warm farewell.

The first wave sent out, known as the Vistula, having left her beloved mountains, soon found itself on the plain and was already longing to return to the sisters when she saw mountains from afar and, although they were smaller, she headed towards them. These were Krakus’ mountains, which welcomed the wave and passed it on to the sisters.

The wave sent out was welcomed everywhere, as it was followed by Lan, who sowed grass and grain. The wave ran through vast countries, always keeping close to the mountains, and having left the town of Krakus, it went on to other lands: Sandomierz, Puławy, Warsaw, Modlin, Płock, Włocławek, Toruń, and, having passed Chełmno, ran to the sea.

After this wave sent out, that is, the Vistula, other waves have been and are still being sent out by the sisters, and they all follow the same path marked out by the first one. And this happened when the sun rose high and the flowers bloomed most exuberantly.

To commemorate this event, girls along the entire course of the Vistula River have since celebrated Wianki, or Wreaths Day, on the eve of St John’s Day, letting wreaths of flowers float on the water. The valleys in Beskid’s former state were fertilised by Lan with meadows and fields, and Mother Earth gave them to highlanders.

Since then, the water flowing in this valley has been called the Vistula, the stream by which the Czarnocha descended – the Czarna Wisełka river, and Białka’s stream – the Biała Wisełka river. The mountain where Borana stayed is called Barania Góra, while Czantor’s former home is called Czantoria. The people living between these mountains are called highlanders, and the people in the further lands are called Lanowie or Lachy….