János vitéz

It is a story of the young shepherd who is forced to leave his home and undergoes adventures as he defeats the villains such as Turks and witches while searching for his true love.

Kukoricza Jancsi ("Johnny Maize") is found abandoned in a corn field as an infant; he is taken in by a peasant landowner, and by his adolescent years, is a shepherd for his master.

The hussars journey from Hungary to France (crossing the many, heavily fictionized countries in between, such as Venice, India and Mongolia, where they arrive just in time for the battle.

After several years of further wandering, which includes him slaying a dragon, János finally emerges at the end of the world, the coast of the Óperenciás sea (a traditional uncrossable ocean in Hungarian folklore).

The translation made efforts to retain the informalities and tone of the original, such as rendering "Kukorica Jancsi" as "Johnny Grain o'Corn" and "Illuska" as "Nelly" or "Nel".

Ridland received several honors for his work, including the Balint Balassi Memorial Award presented by the Consul-General of Hungary to the United States.

While it is a clear departure from Petőfi's original, it is not entirely out of line with the rest of the poet's body of work, who was himself a fiery nationalist (having started, and died in the Hungarian Revolution of 1848).