Maxík and Majka are the best siblings in the world. 

Maxík is ten years old. He is elder than Majka, so he also is braver. He is up for any adventure. He always has his backpack ready - he can pack in three minutes. He loves trains and music, and he even plays lots of musical instruments. In some of them he's good, in others he's just trying to play. But he enjoys it, and that's the main thing. And because Maxík loves adventures and trips, he likes wearing a hoodie with pockets in which he can hide anything that won't fit in his backpack.

Majka has just started attending school. She is six years old. She likes dancing in pink skirts. But since her elder brother is always making up an agenda, she often dances in leggings or sweatpants on the way to a trip. What she can't wear on her feet, she can wear in her hair. Majka would prepare a different bow, hairpin, bobby pin, and I don't know what else, for her hair daily. She has a special handbag in which she keeps about 10 combs. Majka likes combing herself and her dolls very much.

But now they both are sitting in their little room, feeling sad. There are lots of boxes, bags, and sacks of various things all around them. A car will arrive in ten minutes. Maxík and Majka will start living in another city this evening, together with their parents. And if only were in another city, but also in another country.

The whole surrounding world is divided into many different countries and little countries. For us, the most famous countries include Ledabolo, Dajsamisvete, Skaderukaskadenoha, Trmavrma, and Haravara.

Max and Majka used to live in the country of Ledabolo. And in a few hours, they will become inhabitants of the country of Haravara.

The door opened and the grandpa from Ledabolo walked into the room.

"What's the matter with you? You are not running, you are not playing, you even left the chocolate untouched on the table," grandpa shook his head.

"We don't want to leave," replied the sad children.

"Why? Is there anything you're being afraid of?" Grandfather didn't leave them alone and sat down with them among the boxes and bags.

"We don't know what's in store for us!" Max cried in despair.

"And we don't know what kind of country that Haravara is," Majka added.

Grandfather snuggled down, put pillows under his ass and head, and made a passing remark:

"I was there once."

"Were you?!" blurted out the surprised children.

"Do you think I'm lying to you?" Grandfather raised his eyebrows and his glasses nearly fell off his nose.

"No, no! Don't get angry, but you never told us about Haravara."

"Do you want to know anything about it?" Grandfather from Ledabolo asked mysteriously.

"Speak up, but we only have 5 minutes!"

"Haravara is neither big nor small. It is just right. You can cover it in two days by bicycle, in a day by car cross-cross-country, by bus, by train and even in one part you can take a ride on a steam children's train. When you're older, you can even walk it through."

"Okay, okay, but what's that country like?"

Grandpa winked at Maxík, who handed him a small ukulele. Grandpa winked a second time and Maxík took out a small whistle from his packed backpack.

"Where life is just like that, that everyone believes in miracles. Where everyone thinks it ends, there only begins a magical land.

Where everyone does what they like. Where everyone is friends with everyone. Where everyone thinks it ends, there only begins a magical land.

Neither big nor small, neither young nor old, it is a miracle named Haravara.

Neither big nor small, neither young nor old, it is a miracle named Haravara.

Majka thought: "Okay, okay, but I still don't know what's waiting for us there."

"Adventure, Majka," Grandpa sang in high cis, strumming his ukulele.

"Adventure?"

"Look, Haravara is called Haravara because once upon a time they wanted to call it the Country of Play. For it is a country where you will find everything as in any proper play – a lot of suspense, and mystery, and beautiful things, but also dangerous things. But to call it the Land of Play … you know, nobody liked that. And then someone remembered a wonderful little word which children often heard in the earliest fairy tales. In the fairy tales, when people couldn't name something, when something was mysterious and beautiful, when there was so much of it, when it was always moving, they called it haravara," grandpa explained.

"Okay, okay, but is it like that today, too?" the children teased.

They were beginning to like Haravara quite a bit.

"Today, Haravara is a country where ordinary people like us live. It is a country full of colourful houses, sky-blue rivers, green forests with dirt paths leading through them. There are small and big houses, long streets, squares with candy shops and fountains, and most of all lots of children. In Haravara, everyone is very curious. The Haravarians are always travelling somewhere because they want to know everything that their ancestors had discovered, built, invented," continued the grandfather from Ledabolo.

"Listen, grandpa, it sounds like you're telling us a fairy tale," whispered Majka.

"Yes, that's exactly what the country is like," grandpa thought for a moment, "it's fabulous!"

"Maxík, Majka, let's go!" a voice came from the kitchen.

"Thanks, grandpa," Maxík hugged his grandpa.

"We have to go," said Majka a little more cheerfully and hugged her grandpa as well.

"Don't worry, everything will be fine. Just make good friends. They don't have to be many of them. Even one is enough, but a true one. One that's fun and fun to be with and that you can learn something from each other."

"Good. We'll do our best," the children promised, taking their backpacks and bags.

Mom, dad, and the three movers walked into the room. The room was empty in five minutes. As if no one had ever lived here.

"Bye!" shouted the children to their grandfather.

Maxík and Majka sat in the car with mom and dad. Behind them a big moving truck full of stuff from their house was already starting.

The car moved. After about two hours, they suddenly noticed a sign on the side of the road:

HARAVARA COUNTRY - WELCOME AND HAVE FUN – VITAJTE A BAVTE SA

When they crossed the border of Haravara country, the children immediately stuck to the car window and were watching everything around them. By the time they reached Košice, the capital of Haravara, they had passed at least three castles, about ten manor houses, beautiful forests, beautiful meadows, several caves, at least four lakes, and colourful and fragrant gardens. 

Suddenly, their moving out ceased bothering them. They knew that if they wanted to see something nice, if they felt like going for a trip, they would have somewhere to go. If only mom and dad found enough time for making trips.

They began to like Haravara.

Maxík leaned over to Majka and whispered softly, so that their parents wouldn't hear:

"Tomorrow we're going on our first trip. Not far, don't worry."

"And we'll start looking for that friend grandpa was talking about," Majka whispered.

The car's stopped. In front of them, there was a long street full of colourful, beautiful houses. One three-storey, old but beautiful house stuck out between them. It was the tallest one on the whole street. You wouldn't believe it, but that street was called Long.

"Come on, kids!" the children heard their mother's voice. 

They came up to their mom to that big house. As they were approaching it, they noticed beautiful huge windows and a tall chimney.

"This house is beautiful," whispered Majka.

"Did you notice the picture on the door? It's kind of weird."

When they came closer, they took a good look at the coat of arms with the green cat on it. A small boy with a cap and a backpack was sitting by the cat. He stared dreamily, yet determinedly into the distance across all the rooftops of Long Street.

"Who could he be?" Majka mused as she was walking inside.

The children have moved into their new room. Mom and dad told them that they wouldn't have much time for them in the next few days - because of the moving, because of work, because … that's life. – lebo sťahovanie, lebo práca, lebo taký je život.

And so Maxík and Majka went for a walk around Košice the first thing in the morning. They crossed the long street appropriately called long - Dlhá, then wandered down Hrnčiarska Street, where they bought a cup of tea, promised themselves on the main Hlavná Street that they would go to the beautiful theatre as soon as possible, also to the Technical Museum and to the East Slovak Museum to see the treasure. 

After wandering around, they slowly made their way back home.

And that's when it happened. As they entered the house and walked down the big hallway, suddenly a boy came out of the wall wearing a crazy orange hat.

Majka screamed and Maxík cried out:

"What is this? Who are you?"

The boy paused, "Can you see me?"

"Why would you think you're invisible?"

"Well, I thought so until today," replied the boy still surprised.

"How did you get through the wall? Or didn't you pass it? Is there a movie being filmed or what's going on here?" Maxík and Majka were speaking over each other.

"Hush, listen to me," the boy said mysteriously. He took the two of them to his side and whispered gently in their ears: " I've been waiting for someone like you for eight thousand five hundred years. For someone to be able to see and hear me."

"But who are you in fact?" Max asked.

"You're the boy from the coat of arms on our door, the one with the backpack!" Majka exclaimed in disbelief.

"Yes. I am the ghost of Košice. My name is Kaško," the boy smiled. 

The kids almost passed out. 

"If you want, we can be friends. I don't have many friends. Actually, I don't have any friends right now."

"How is this possible?" asked the surprised children.

"My ghost friends are mostly lying around now, resting, or just messing around on the Internet. I don't enjoy it. I'd rather be out in Haravara, going on trips, having some adventures."

"But so do we!" exclaimed the excited children.

"So, we're going to be friends then?" Kaško asked, offering them his ghostly hand.

The children looked at each other and remembered their busy parents and all the beauty they had seen on the way to Košice, and especially their grandpa and his advice about making friends.

"I'm Maxík," he clapped Kaško on the hand.

"And I'm Majka," and she clapped him too.

"Great, so if you don't have any other agenda for tomorrow, we'll meet in the morning at this place and go on our first trip," exclaimed Kaško excitedly.

"The whole world can envy us such a friend," whispered Maxík to Majka.

When they went to bed in the evening, they couldn't fall asleep sof impatient they were. Tomorrow they will go on a trip with a real ghost! They still couldn't believe it. 

"We'll see what happens in the morning," Maxík whispered, stroking his sister's hair, and they both fell asleep.

"You want to know who the three are,
cheerful ghost Kaško, Max, and Maja?
So quickly shout at home, "daddy, mommy"
take your sister and come along with us! 

We have so much beauty in our HARAVARA,
who has seen it, wants to see it again.
There are miracles here in winter and in summer.
Believe me, you won't find anything more beautiful in the world. 

Neither big nor small,
neither young nor old,
this is the miracle called HARAVARA.