Shackles - S. Skitalec

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owner for fun struggled with her before the laughing loudly people. There was a wish to clasp also to it the new friend in arms. He gave hands to a young of wild animal. The bear cub sniffed at Vukol. From an animal smelled of wet wool. Approached it closely, but at this time someone seized him behind and lifted on air: it was Vukol’s mother. Without telling anything, she ran from the yard, strong pressing the son to a breast.

      On the street put on legs, took by hand, told:

      – It is impossible to play with a bear: he will eat you! Let’s go better to Romanevym!

      Vukol was surprised: so ridiculous bear cub and cheerful!

      Romanev lived nearby, in a big old log hut. Them was much: the grandma, the gray-haired grandfather, two bearded men, two guys – all such huge, they seemed Vukola nearly to a ceiling: women, maids, children – the log hut is always full. In a log hut the horse harness, in an outer entrance hall – a colored arch with a bell is hanging: about Romanev said that they are from time immemorial coachmen. There lives Pashka, the friend Vukola. She comes to play every day to it dolls or calls on the street. Lips and a chin at it always in sores from fever, it always nasty, but Vukol loves it with all the heart.

      All family sat at a table and had dinner. Pashkina the grandmother gave on a table.

      – Welcome! – all told chorus. – Ali the groom – from missed the bride? Pashka! you will go in marriage for Vukol?

      – I will go! – Pashka answers, thrusting a finger into a mouth, and, having approached “groom”, whispers to it on an ear: – Let’s go to a barn.

      All densely laughed.

      Vukola with Pashka called the groom and the bride long ago and though they did not understand value of these words, nevertheless believed that they will always play together, even when big will grow.

      Mother began to tell about Vukol’s fight against a little bear and asked not to allow to go home the boy, will not take away bears yet: the guide has dinner.

      – And we it together with Pashka on the near field will take to build a buffoonery! – men answered. – Tomorrow on an arable land we want to leave!

      Mother left soon.

      All family left to the yard. Men began to oil tar of a wheel and axis of the cart, women put knots, koshma, sheepskin clothes in the cart.

      Pashka quietly pulled Vukol a sleeve and began to mince to gate. Her head with a white braid is tied by a motley scarf, a sundress on it from homespun matter, a leg barefoot, with coarse heels, in “tsypka”. Vukol always went after Pashka, and Pashka bossed.

      The barn was across the road, there stood omt last year’s straw, near it an old shed with a straw low roof. The somersaults in straw and a travel from an omet on a flat roof of a shed were favourite their game.

      This time they, as before, happened, climbed on a shed and, having joined hands, with an extraordinary celebration jumped on an old, thin roof, and Pashka, choking with happy laughter, sang:

      Rain, rain, stop,

      We will go to Arestan…

      – Sing! – she shouted, jumping and holding Vukol by both hands.

      In the heat of their fun the roof under their legs cracked, was moved apart, and both of them failed down, in a shed, together with an armful of brushwood and rotten straw. It was so unexpected that children did not manage even to be frightened and only floundered in dusty straw.

      Dust powdered eyes, sprinkled faces, jammed into a nose. Having put out the heads from straw, they looked at each other in a dark shed and laughed. Got out, shook off, and Pashka began to jump again and started singing.

      – Gate are locked! – plaintively Vukol told. – Let’s not get out!

      – Eva! and a gate on what?

      Easily crept under shed gate, through a pool. From a barn ran to the Pashkiny log hut. Midway to them the low old man met a long white beard, in bast shoes and a high cap, in a blue pestryadinny shirt, a comb at a belt. Having passed them by itself, it took the end of a beard in a mouth, terribly began to roar, shook the head and zatopat bast shoes.

      Children very much started running.

      – This is the brownie! – Pashka explained, having turned pale and having begun to shake. She ran quicker than Vukol, but did not release his hand from the.

      Vukol believed Pashke that it is not the person, but some terrible brownie: and before he heard about it from Pashki any horrors. The brownie steals some children, carries away them with himself in a bag and even eats.

      In fear they looked back.

      – Dorzhi! dorzh! – the brownie shouted them following – — solution! – shook a beard and stamped legs in bast shoes as though being going to catch up with them.

      In horror, with crying they ran in in a log hut.

      At Vukol were stared, lips twitched, the person turned pale as chalk.

      – Brownie! brownie! – breaking into tears, Pashka shouted. – Runs for us… the beard long… growls here so: at-at!

      – What brownie? – Pashkina the grandmother was surprised, looked in a window. – Yes it is Terenti, the shepherd! purposely it, not really! Took in head to scare you! See, as you shiver both! Well, fall to me, восподь with you! What old fool! Shepherd Terenti it, joker it at all not the brownie!

      Pashka and Vukol rushed to it, buried the heads in her sundress, and she stroke-oared them on the heads wrinkled, rigid.

      When children calmed down, put them in the cart on soft knots and sheepskin coats. There the grandmother, two maids and two guys sat down.

      Dear Pashka cheered up and began to assure Vukol that in the field for them will build a tent which will be “to the sky”.

      The field was nearby, immediately behind a village fence. From the cart pulled out huge panels and began to lift it on in advance hammered columns and stakes.

      Vukol with interest waited for construction of a tent: really to the sky? Looked up: highly the cloud floated, the sun was rolled up for the end of the earth.

      The linen tent was built such big and high that men went under a tent without being bent – but after all the tent did not reach the sky.

      – It only this way, wait a moment! – surely Pashka told – and then isdelat another. That will already be to the sky!

      Women made fire before a tent and began to cook porridge. All mudflows on a koshma in the middle of a tent and a fir-tree crude a honey agaric with bread.

      Then ate hot potato, supped millet soup. While had supper, there came dark spring night with the rare large stars which acted in dense black height.

      After a dinner all went to bed on a koshma a vpovalka. Vukola with Pashka put nearby, covered with an odorous tanned sheepskin coat.

      – Groom with the bride! young people! – men joked.

      – Sleep, good luck! – the grandmother told.

      But they were whispered for a long time, arguing among themselves. In a tent opening stars from above looked.

      – Nebushko is a God’s tent! – his girlfriend whispered Vukola, embracing him for a neck thin hands – and stars – gvozdochka gold, the sky is beaten by them that did not fall – a baushka of a bayal – really, I do not lie, burst eyes! And above god sits: it does a rain, a thunder and to a molonye and if Ilya prophet on a nebushka goes by a fiery tarantass – a baushka of a bayal – that time the thunder rattles and molonye happens! And in the sky there are andela: hands at them of a netuta, only heads and wings, as at birdies –

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