THE TRADITIONAL BULGARIAN GAME “KRALYO PORTALYO”

Rules of the Bulgarian game “Kralyo Portalyo”

Two of the participants are facing each other about half a meter with their hands raised – forward, palms resting. In this way, children create a kind of “gate”. The other participants, in a row, passed through it one after another, singing the song together:
Kralyo Portalyo, open the gates to pass the Royal Army!

Open, close, leave only one!
At the end of the song, say, “Just leave one!”. The child then quietly wonders which of the pre-conceived words to chose – “apple” or “pear”( or in other words). Pointing to one or the other, the “captured” child is assigned to one of the two players. Thus, by “closing” the gate periodically, at the end of the song, those who are caught in it choose one of the two suggested words. Then they stand on either side of the gate.
At the end of the game, when all participants have gone over and selected one of their suggested words, they are arranged in two columns, one opposite to the other, caught across the waist. The first of each group is grasping hands and determining which hand is stronger.