Într-o zi mă aflam cu nepoțica mea si cu prietenii ei in gradina publica, la plimbare.

Când au
obosit de alergătura si joaca, s-au asezat pe banca pe care stam eu si citeam Oana m-a intrebat:
-Bunicule, cine a facut...Dacia?
-Pai...poporul dacilor. Adica strabunii strabunilor nostri.
-Si pe daci, cine i-a invatat sa faca...tara?
-Conducatorii lor. Adica dacii cei intelepti si viteji. Cel mai intelept si viteaz dintre conducatorii
strabunilor nostrii daci a fost regele Burebista. –
Burebista! a strigat Dorina, foarte bucuroasa ca aude un nume asa de vechi si sunator, ca o bataie
intr-o toba de arama.
-Si ce fapte a facut...Burebista?
-Multe si marete, draga Andrei. Mai intai Burebista a unit poporul dacilor intr-o singura tara
mare,numita Dacia, cum v-am mai spus. Pe el l-a ajutat un batran intelept,numit Deceneu.
Ca sa intelegeti mai bine ce fel de om era Burebista,sa va povestesc cum i-a aparat el pe daci de
primejdia dusmanilor din afara.Erau multi acesti dusmani si parjoleau adesea pamantul dacilor: le furau
turmele, le pradau holdele, le ardeau satele si orasele.Si de cate ori vreo capatenie a dacilor cerca sa se
impotriveasca dusmanilor, usor usor era infrant, luat prizonier.Chiar si Burebista era sa-si piarda viata
intr-o astfel de batalie cu dusmanii.
Mare nenorocire pe capul dacilor acestii vecini pradalnici.
Vazand asa, Burebista a chemat la sfat pe toate capeteniile dacilor si le-a spus: „Daca vreti sa
avem liniste si pace, trebuie sa ne unim toti. Sa facem o tara mare. Sa randuim o armata puternica. Sa
zidim, pe malurile raurilor, pe varfuri de dealuri si de munti, cetati tari, de piatra”. Unele capetenii s-au
invoit si au zis „Iti urmam sfatul, Burebista. Dar sa ne conduci la biruinta.”. Unii s-au impotrivit spunand
„Decat sa ascultam de un stapan ca tine, mai bine ne intelegem cu dusmanii.Le platim lor sa ne lase in
pace.” S-a intamplat ca,la doi ani dupa aceasta, dusmanii, pe cai iuti, sa navaleasca iar in Dacia. Auzisera
ei ca Burebista i-a unit pe cei mai multi dintre daci, dar tot credeau ca-i vor zdrobi in lupta si le vor prada
bogatiile. Ce-a facut Burebista? A iesit inaintea lor cu o parte din oaste, la raul Nistru si le-a oprit
inaintarea. Cu toata oastea, i-a inconjurat. Si, lovindu-i din toate partile, i-a luat prizonieri, pe cei mai
multi.A prins si trei capetenii dacice care tradasera, trecand la dusmani. Vazandu-i, Burebista i-a intrebat:
„Ei v-ati incredintat, ca daca suntem uniti ii infrangem pe dusmani?” „Ne-am incredintat,au zis
capeteniile,te rugam sa ne ierti.” „V-as ierta eu,bucuros,daca tradarea n-ar fi cea mai nelegiuita fapta. Va
dau pe seama poporului, sa va judece el.”
Burebista a iertat pe multi dusmani, lasandu-i sa plece in tara lor,dupa ce au jurat ca nu vor mai
veni niciodata cu arma, asupra Daciei. Pe tradatori, poporul i-a osandit la moarte.
Asa, cu intelepciune, cu hotarare, cu vitejie si cu dreptate. Burebista a intemeiat,acum doua mii de
ani, Dacia, vatra Romaniei de azi.
Deci nu uitati: Burebista e strabunul strabunilor nostri. Se cuvinte sa-i cinstim numele pentru ca el
a unit pe daci, a facut Dacia, tara lor libera. Si a aparat-o, vitejeste,de orice primejdie.
 One day I was walking with my niece and her friends in the public garden. When they got tired of
running and playing, they sat down on the bench where I was sitting and reading. Oana asked me:
-Grandpa, who made...Dacia?
- Well... the Dacian people. That is, the great-grandfathers of our great-grandfathers.
-And the Dacians, who taught them to make... country?
-Their leaders. That is, the wise and brave Dacians. The wisest and bravest among the leaders of
our Dacian ancestors was King Burebista. –
Burebista! shouted Dorina, very happy to hear such an old and sounding name, like beating a
brass drum.
-And what deeds did... Burebista?
- Many and great, dear Andrei. First, Burebista united the Dacian people in one big country,
called Dacia, as I told you before. He was helped by a wise old man named Deceneu.
To better understand what kind of man Burebista was, let me tell you how he defended the
Dacians from the danger of the enemies from outside. There were many of these enemies and they often
scorched the land of the Dacians: they stole their herds, plundered their hoards, burned their villages and
towns .And every time a Dacian chieftain tried to oppose the enemies, little by little he was defeated,
taken prisoner. Even Burebista was about to lose his life in such a battle with the enemies.
Great misfortune on the heads of the Dacians, these wasteful neighbors.
Seeing this, Burebista called all the leaders of the Dacians for advice and told them: "If you want
us to have peace and quiet, we must all unite. Let's make a great country. Let's gather a strong army. Let's
build, on the banks of the rivers, on the tops of hills and mountains, strong, stone fortresses". Some
captains nodded and said "We follow your advice, Burebista. But lead us to victory." Some objected,
saying "Instead of obeying a master like you, we better get along with our enemies. We pay them to leave
us alone." It happened that, two years after this, the enemies, on fast horses, invaded Dacia again. They
had heard that Burebista had united most of the Dacians, but they still believed that they would crush
them in battle and rob them of their riches. What did Burebista do? He came out before them with part of
the army, at the Dniester river and stopped their advance. With the whole army, he surrounded them.
And, hitting them from all sides, he took most of them prisoners. He also caught three Dacian captains
who had betrayed, going over to the enemies. Seeing them, Burebista asked them: "Did you believe that if
we are united we will defeat the enemies?" "We entrusted ourselves, said the captains, please forgive us."
"I would gladly forgive you, if treason was not the most wicked act. I will put you in charge of the people,
let them judge you."
Burebista forgave many enemies, letting them go to their country, after they swore that they
would never again come to Dacia with weapons. The people condemned the traitors to death.
So, with wisdom, with determination, with bravery and with justice. Burebista founded, two
thousand years ago, Dacia, the hearth of today's Romania.
So don't forget: Burebista is the great-grandfather of our great-grandfathers. We are told to honor
his name because he united the Dacians, made Dacia, their free country. And he defended her, valiantly,
from any danger.