- In medieval Hungary, Toldi, an incredibly strong nobleman commits a careless murder and is forced to go into hiding. He has to redeem himself by defeating a champion, despite his brother's plans.
- TOLDI The story of a Hungarian hero from the fourteenth century Animated version of the famous epic tale by János Arany
In the bright midday sun, Miklós Toldi, a stripling lad among the serfs weary from the summer heat, is watching soldiers approaching on horseback. They call him a serf too, but he shows his superhuman strength and uses a hefty timber to point the way to Buda.
When he returns to his parents' home, Miklós see his brother György, who has come for half the house's yield. György insults Miklós too, and their mother has to intervene to keep the two from coming to blows. Miklós tries to take refuge in a quiet corner of the yard.
György and his men make merry and target practice with wooden spears. Drunk, György goads them to harass his little brother. One of them wounds Miklós with a spear, and Miklós throws a millstone at them. The stone hits the man who wounded him, and he dies on the spot. Miklós must flee.
The soldiers come after him, but Miklós manages to slip away. He hides in the reeds in the night. The next day, his faithful apprentice Bence finds him. Bence brings him food and drink and tries to prevail on him to return home, but Miklós has decided that from now on, he will follow his own path.
Miklós decides to set out for Buda, but first he wants to bid farewell to his mother. On the way, he accidentally stumbles across a fox's den. The startled foxes spring on him, and he slays them. He then continues homeward with the dead animals slung across his shoulder.
Once home, Miklós puts the two fox corpses next to his brother György. He tells his mother his plan and they bid farewell to each other. The dogs catch the sent of the foxes' bodies and begin to bark. Everyone wakes up. Miklós flees, and György and his men pursue him.
A storm comes, and Miklós is able to escape his pursuers. After traveling across the land on foot for three days, he reaches the outskirts of Pest. In a cemetery on the edge of the city, he espies a widow mourning by one of the graves. She tells him that a Czech knight has been slaying Hungarian knights one after the other in jousting tournaments. Her two sons both perished in the bouts. Miklós hears her out and then continues on his way to the city.
György in the meantime has been riding at a furious gallop to the king's court, for he wishes to cheat his younger brother of his property. The king receives him, but he soon sees through György's greedy scheme. He offers György his younger brother's property if György can defeat the Czech knight. György, however, is struck with fear and flees.
Darkness falls and the city of Pest is quiet. Suddenly, a clamor erupts. People are running through the streets. A bull who has broken free is charging at anyone in his path. Miklós stops the bull and drags it back to the slaughterhouse by its horns, but the butchers won't let him take refuge for the night at the slaughterhouse. He returns to the cemetery in the hopes of finding the woman who was grieving her sons. He wants to ask her for her sons' weapons.
Miklós spends the night in the cemetery. He falls asleep but then awakens to the sound of horse hooves. His servant Bence has brought him his favorite mount and an iron box with one hundred gold coins in it sent by his mother, baked into a loaf of bread. Miklós plans to use the gold to buy weapons and armor in the morning, but first, he and Bence spend one gold coin in the tavern next to the cemetery.
At dawn, Miklós rows across the Danube to Buda to get weapons, armor, and tack for his horse. Garbed for battle, he mounts his steed and sets out for the king's camp. A crowd has gathered around the king's tent. The stranger knight (Miklós) and the Czech knight row each in his own boat to the island. The Czech knight offers to shake his opponent's hand, but he wears an iron glove and is trying to trick Miklós. Miklós sees through his ploy, and he gathers his strength and crushes the Czech knight's fingers with his bare hand. The Czech knight surrenders, but then he tries to strike Miklós from behind. Miklós realizes and slays the Czech knight.
The king sends a finely decorated raft for the victorious Miklós, but Miklós does not reveal who he is until he is standing in front of the king. When the crowd recognizes Toldi, György hangs his head in shame. The king knows of his devious ploys, and he pronounces judgment on him. As reward for his bravery, Miklós becomes a knight in the king's court. His mother and Bence soon arrive and embrace him.
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