Gryżyna is a village located in Kościan County, ca. 10 km south-east of Kościan.

Once upon a time, a miserable widow lived not far from Gryżyna. Her little boy Tony was the greatest joy in her life, and she spared no efforts and did all her best to have him indulged. She found it awkward to get angry at him at all; or, to have him punished for any offence, on an otherwise fair basis. With time, Tony was growing wayward and naughty a boy.

It so happened once that he hit his mother in anger on the face; but she pardoned him this particular instance of iniquity as well. When the boy turned ten of age, he fell ill, and died soon thereafter. He was buried at the parish cemetery in Gryżyna. It was noticed on the following day that a pale arm of a child surfaced out of the grave. As she was scared at that, the dead boy’s mother brought the rector along; the rector celebrated a holy mass and consecrated the tomb. The child’s arm disappeared, but reappeared on the following day.

The rector got worried at that, and said, “As for me, I cannot do anything else about the issue. It is clear that the kid cannot find peace after his death, as he did not receive his deserved punishment for the offences he committed.” At these words, the boy’s mother burst into doleful tears and confessed that she had not been able to punish her boy, even though he might have raised his hand against her in anger. On hearing this confession, the priest tore off a twig from a nearby birch, handed it to the mother and said, “Then, do administer justice to this kid now that he is dead, once he did not experience it whilst alive. Otherwise, he shall not find peace for ever.”

It was with a great cry that the mother grabbed the twig, and started beating the dead arm, which at this same moment slid backward into the grave, never-ever reappearing again. The rector then put the birch twig into the soil by the tomb, and consecrated it; a mighty tree grew out of the branch soon after – to remind anyone else of that you ought to get punished for the offences you have committed whilst still alive.

The birch grew at the Gryżyna cemetery until the year 1875, the moment a cruel tempest knocked it down. However, the legend was to dwell in the people’s memory till this very day. A cross made of Gryżyna birch, hanging in the porch of the Borek-Wielkopolski church at Zdzież, on its left-hand site, proves to be quite a unique memento of the occurrences of yore.