The love story of Klepetan and Malena

Klepetan and Malena; a real fairytale

Not often do love stories make it become something as inspiring and beautiful as one of Klepetan and Malena, two storks whose devotion to each other became a synonym for eternal hope and love.
The story began 25 years ago when Malena, the female stork, broke her wing and couldn’t fly to warmer areas in the South anymore. A janitor from the local school in Brodska Varoš in the Slavonia region took care of her and let her reside on the nest on the roof of his home.
That’s when Klepetan, the male stork, started to visit Malena every year at the end of March (mostly on March 24th) and the couple would spend time together in happiness and affection.
The annual visits resulted in over 40 little storks, and the story gained popularity among the Croatian nation and beyond. Every year the public patiently awaits will Klepetan survive the 15, 000 kilometers long trip all the way from Africa to see his beloved one.
To this day, Malena and Klepetan are still alive and together and their story inspires numerous people with their message that you should never lose hope and always believe in true love.
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Photo by Jose Ruales on Unsplash
Photo by Jose Ruales on Unsplash
ABOUT AUTHOR

Andreja Pruša Horvatić

"There are countless beautiful stories proving that what I’ve been doing for the past eight years, with varying levels of enthusiasm is truly meaningful."

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