One day lyudi brought in yolku. Eta yolka was very weak and moaning pitifully. Murka licked her paw and explained, "Yolka umirajet."
"Chto takoje yolka, i chto takoje umirajet?"
"Yolka eto tuckoye djerjevo (such a tree), which lyudi always kill in the winter time and bring inside to die slowly. Umjerjetj means to stop breathing, stop talking, stop moving and to be thrown away if you can't be eaten."
"Pochemu!"
"Pochemu chto?"
"Pochemu umirajut?"
"You umirajesh if someone bites off your head, or if you have nechevo estj (nothing to eat) for a long time, or if you zabolyejesh (get sick) or sostarishsja (get old)..."
"Chto takoje sostaritjsya?"
"Your babushka staraja. She is the oldest in your semjya. She will probably umrjot soon."
"She'll stop moving and will get thrown out?"
"Right. No one would want to estj her, her myaso (meat) is old, njevkusnoje (doesn't taste good)."
"And if I umerla?"
"Ya tjebya sjem. You'r tasty." Murka licked my hand with her rough little tongue.
"Spasiba."
"Na sdorovje."
"Chto takoye derevo?"
"Derevja grow out of the ground. They stay in the same spot attached to the ground and use korni go get food iz pod zemli (from under the ground). They grow so huge, their tops reach oblaka (clouds). They are fun to climb on, but very scary to climb down. Derevo can't get food without korni. Eta yolka umrjet in a few weeks without food."
Lyudi stood yolku in a bucket of voda.
"Pochemu they put her in voda?"
"She won't die so soon if she can drink vodu."
"Pochemu lyudi eto djelajut?"
"They have some holiday that calls for sacrificing a tree to their bog," shrugged Murka. "They make it look all pretty and celebrate its death."
"Chto takoje bog?"
"Bog is some being lyudi invented, who, supposedly, brings presents for everyone. Except that lyudi secretly bring the presents themselves and wrap them in pretty paper when no one is looking."
"That's crazy!"
Yolka sighed deeply and moaned.
"Privet," said Murka to yolka.
Yolka stopped moaning and replied, "Privet."
"Nje povezlo tjebe (ran out of luck)," commented Murka.
Yolka started to cry, "I'll never see my brothers and sisters and my parents again."
"Cheer up," said Murka, "You will be decorated and your death will be special and memorable."
"My stvol hurts where they cut it..."
"It will soon stop hurting," said Murka.
"I am hungry..."
"I'll bring you a fish head and put it v tvojo vedro (in your bucket)."
"Spasiba."
"Where did you come from?" I asked Yolka.
"Iz lesa," said Yolka.
"Chto takoje les?" I asked.
"It's a long story. I feel rather faint. How about that fish head?" Yolka asked Murka.
"All right, I'll go get it. Don't start the story without me," Murka took off.
"I'm sorry your stvol hurts," I said to be nice.
"Yeah, right! Why would you care, you're one of them! Cruel, heartless chudovisha!"
"I'm not one of them! I am their pet, like Murka."
"You are chelovek. You are their child! You'll grow up and be just like them, stupid, selfish and cruel."
I started crying, "No, no, never! I'm not like them at all! I can't stand up, I'm small, I can talk to you and Murka and they can't!"
"Children of humans grow slowly. It takes a year before you can stand. But you will grow, and in a few years you will be disgusting like them - moving all over the place, chattering all the time, and killing plants!"
I was crying full force now, "No, no, no! I am not human! I'm just a pet, I am a hairless cat!"
Yolka hissed, "I don't feel sorry for you, little human. We die by millions so you lyudi can live! You cut us to make beds and tables, you burn us to be warm, you eat us! You're lucky I can't get out of this bucket and strangle you!"
"Do you hate Murka, too?"
"Not as much as humans, but we derevja hate everyone who can move around rootless. It is evil! Long time ago zemlya was covered with happy plants. We all lived in harmony and peace. Then one day horrible chudovisha crawled out of the seas and the oceans and started eating everyone! Those who couldn't adapt by growing horns or becoming poisonous quickly died out. Derevja survived by growing very tall, so chudovisha couldn't reach the leaves and the fruits, and by covering our stvoli with thick layers of kora (bark)..."
Babushka came in the room and picked me up. She started walking towards Yolka! Terrified, I wiggled in her arms and screamed. What was she doing! Was she going to feed me to Yolka!
Yolka continued grumbling, "We yolki were safe for a while, but then those nasty squirrels and birds appeared and started eating our seeds..."
Babushka stopped near the tree and said, "Smotri kakaya krasivaya yolochka."
She took Yolka's branch and tried to bring it within my reach.
Yolka barked at me, "Out of the thousands of shishek growing on each yolka, only a few seeds remain to grow into our babies..."
I fought babushka with everything I had, banging her chest with my fists.
Babushka said incredulously, "Nje boisya! Yolochka horoshaya..."
Stupid woman! "Horoshaya" indeed! Yolka couldn't wait to wrap its branches around our throats and squeeze the breath out of us! I kept on screaming and fighting, until babushka finally returned me to my crib.
Murka came in with a fish head. She dumped it into Yolka's vedro and sat next to it, observing my struggle with a condescending smile, grooming the tip of her tail.
Babushka put me down, straightened up and said to herself, "Chto tak riboi pahnet?" She left the room, mumbling how she hated it when some neighbor cooked fish.
___________________________
Vocabulary:
Yolka - a fir or a spruce tree used for a christmas tree
shishka - a pine cone
Nje boisya - don't be afraid
horoshaya - good, nice
vedro - bucket
riba - fish
pahnjet - smells
"Chto takoje yolka, i chto takoje umirajet?"
"Yolka eto tuckoye djerjevo (such a tree), which lyudi always kill in the winter time and bring inside to die slowly. Umjerjetj means to stop breathing, stop talking, stop moving and to be thrown away if you can't be eaten."
"Pochemu!"
"Pochemu chto?"
"Pochemu umirajut?"
"You umirajesh if someone bites off your head, or if you have nechevo estj (nothing to eat) for a long time, or if you zabolyejesh (get sick) or sostarishsja (get old)..."
"Chto takoje sostaritjsya?"
"Your babushka staraja. She is the oldest in your semjya. She will probably umrjot soon."
"She'll stop moving and will get thrown out?"
"Right. No one would want to estj her, her myaso (meat) is old, njevkusnoje (doesn't taste good)."
"And if I umerla?"
"Ya tjebya sjem. You'r tasty." Murka licked my hand with her rough little tongue.
"Spasiba."
"Na sdorovje."
"Chto takoye derevo?"
"Derevja grow out of the ground. They stay in the same spot attached to the ground and use korni go get food iz pod zemli (from under the ground). They grow so huge, their tops reach oblaka (clouds). They are fun to climb on, but very scary to climb down. Derevo can't get food without korni. Eta yolka umrjet in a few weeks without food."
Lyudi stood yolku in a bucket of voda.
"Pochemu they put her in voda?"
"She won't die so soon if she can drink vodu."
"Pochemu lyudi eto djelajut?"
"They have some holiday that calls for sacrificing a tree to their bog," shrugged Murka. "They make it look all pretty and celebrate its death."
"Chto takoje bog?"
"Bog is some being lyudi invented, who, supposedly, brings presents for everyone. Except that lyudi secretly bring the presents themselves and wrap them in pretty paper when no one is looking."
"That's crazy!"
Yolka sighed deeply and moaned.
"Privet," said Murka to yolka.
Yolka stopped moaning and replied, "Privet."
"Nje povezlo tjebe (ran out of luck)," commented Murka.
Yolka started to cry, "I'll never see my brothers and sisters and my parents again."
"Cheer up," said Murka, "You will be decorated and your death will be special and memorable."
"My stvol hurts where they cut it..."
"It will soon stop hurting," said Murka.
"I am hungry..."
"I'll bring you a fish head and put it v tvojo vedro (in your bucket)."
"Spasiba."
"Where did you come from?" I asked Yolka.
"Iz lesa," said Yolka.
"Chto takoje les?" I asked.
"It's a long story. I feel rather faint. How about that fish head?" Yolka asked Murka.
"All right, I'll go get it. Don't start the story without me," Murka took off.
"I'm sorry your stvol hurts," I said to be nice.
"Yeah, right! Why would you care, you're one of them! Cruel, heartless chudovisha!"
"I'm not one of them! I am their pet, like Murka."
"You are chelovek. You are their child! You'll grow up and be just like them, stupid, selfish and cruel."
I started crying, "No, no, never! I'm not like them at all! I can't stand up, I'm small, I can talk to you and Murka and they can't!"
"Children of humans grow slowly. It takes a year before you can stand. But you will grow, and in a few years you will be disgusting like them - moving all over the place, chattering all the time, and killing plants!"
I was crying full force now, "No, no, no! I am not human! I'm just a pet, I am a hairless cat!"
Yolka hissed, "I don't feel sorry for you, little human. We die by millions so you lyudi can live! You cut us to make beds and tables, you burn us to be warm, you eat us! You're lucky I can't get out of this bucket and strangle you!"
"Do you hate Murka, too?"
"Not as much as humans, but we derevja hate everyone who can move around rootless. It is evil! Long time ago zemlya was covered with happy plants. We all lived in harmony and peace. Then one day horrible chudovisha crawled out of the seas and the oceans and started eating everyone! Those who couldn't adapt by growing horns or becoming poisonous quickly died out. Derevja survived by growing very tall, so chudovisha couldn't reach the leaves and the fruits, and by covering our stvoli with thick layers of kora (bark)..."
Babushka came in the room and picked me up. She started walking towards Yolka! Terrified, I wiggled in her arms and screamed. What was she doing! Was she going to feed me to Yolka!
Yolka continued grumbling, "We yolki were safe for a while, but then those nasty squirrels and birds appeared and started eating our seeds..."
Babushka stopped near the tree and said, "Smotri kakaya krasivaya yolochka."
She took Yolka's branch and tried to bring it within my reach.
Yolka barked at me, "Out of the thousands of shishek growing on each yolka, only a few seeds remain to grow into our babies..."
I fought babushka with everything I had, banging her chest with my fists.
Babushka said incredulously, "Nje boisya! Yolochka horoshaya..."
Stupid woman! "Horoshaya" indeed! Yolka couldn't wait to wrap its branches around our throats and squeeze the breath out of us! I kept on screaming and fighting, until babushka finally returned me to my crib.
Murka came in with a fish head. She dumped it into Yolka's vedro and sat next to it, observing my struggle with a condescending smile, grooming the tip of her tail.
Babushka put me down, straightened up and said to herself, "Chto tak riboi pahnet?" She left the room, mumbling how she hated it when some neighbor cooked fish.
___________________________
Vocabulary:
Yolka - a fir or a spruce tree used for a christmas tree
shishka - a pine cone
Nje boisya - don't be afraid
horoshaya - good, nice
vedro - bucket
riba - fish
pahnjet - smells
0 comments:
Post a Comment