The daily worker., 1929-11-27
THE CITY -.,.,,-. !" s-.-..,,
'-s:::t;ss s"s s;::;; ;9'' O. BREAD
Reprinted permission,
(Continued.)
TRANSLATED FRU.l
THE RUSSIAN

(Continued)
On clear warm day in the late autumn the
stop and Buzuuk Several
muks jumped down from the cars to the platform The
stop When the again with busy catter
wheels there the hard frozen gravel the tracks piled up
sacks grain marked with and bars and crooked letters
sacks three poods in weight written in
indelibe pencil: Mich Dodon
husky sunburn big, cap approached sacks
carefully felt the sacks themselves and blew out his
brown unwashed cheeks compacenty
clear, lofty foated buegray cloud
of the and casting light shadow. n
The husky sunbunt lad stood there his feet wrapped in
spread wide mu fashion, calmly and gravy he surveyed the
sacks securely double drew breath of keen
autumn air. coughed and shook his head
"How cold it is here! Must be frost already, nights "
This Mishka.
In Tashken he had roamed for long time about the market
places slept under hedges lain around by muddy canals When he
fell sick of dysenery he thought he would surely die
Day by darhea His tortured entrai
be him. the result of the rotten apples and
days destroyed lived through everything endured
everything and dirt and dysentery He sold his knife and
his be gathered apples from the ground begged for aims
And then day he had enough it, hateful him. He
get any way And he have seed with
which to sow his land and save the farm
He went work in the gardens of rich Sar then he met
Buzuuk mu with them the He threshed
weeds sacks of ganfour pools apiece
pood he for the journey home he ate the
wanting beg any longer muk
native district
Lopatino village at the
Two carts came by from neghbong village and the other
muks began loading their sacks of Mshka said to the driver
"Take mine along I'll pay"
"It will be too heavy" objected the driver.
ly there's hurry You have to village anyway
The horses oed along their bony backs bent the wheels began
groned and the sacks bursting with heavy yellow grain moved slowly
the field path into the transparent stiffness the deserted
muks cart looked greedily
about the low hills and the valleys and the rabbit holes and thought
of his mother:
SIS alive?"
His troubled the naked fields picked
hard clod of earth from the and sighed:
81 wonder what it costs to buy horse here now?"
When they his village, Mshka
empty silent izba, with the genish glass its little wndowpan
Through the gateway he could the empty courtyard
with weeds stngnet tall against the fence the
yoke lay backened and forgotten the ground
His mother did not to meet him.
the courtyard
and lay them down the bankedup earth beneath
But still no to meet him.
His heart shook all grew dark before his eyes,
Old grandfather Ignatye creeping of his he
shaded his with his hands, stared the cart with the sacks
it, and called in a weak voice:
"Help S come-for whom?"
Nshka paid the drivers with of his sacks then
to the shrveed trembling old
Grandfather, what's happened to my people?"
Grandfather Ignatye stared him with dm finger
ing his beard with a trembling hand.
"Wai, watt where do you from?"
Two lying windows
picked grains that had fallen the slowly
Little father! Look what he has brought along'
In the empty darkened izba bed
eyes of two icons, lay his sick mother
Yashka and Fyedka dead.
Mishka bent above his and said softly:
Mamma wake up back!"
His mother heightened Joyful moved her lips weakly
"Ive brought bread, Mamma For
From his pocket
full of dried in
"Take them, Mamma. Eat"
YOU'RE alive, little SON."
"Tm alive Mamma Don't be afraid!"
Mishka stood by his mothers d brown big unreognizab
she stroked his cheeks with her dry fingers.
"My darlng"
Then he
with weeds His fell dried
bered about the horse He must He hens with
two feathers lying in the blackened straw, sighed:
"The whole place will have to be built again. No
No chickens"
III
that had alive lit brokendown of
cowshed 1t hoped ruffled feathers
looked at Mshka with twinkling eyes.
Mhka looked thougtful the He lifted the bacene
yoke from the earth and Then he
to the sacks of wheat.
It doesn't matter There's crying I'll fix everything
:"