Chapter 4 Four

sleep at night.I lay on a big bed, covered with several layers of big quilts, and listened intently to my grandmother praying. The tall grandmother knelt on the ground, with one hand on her chest, and the other kept making the sign of the cross. The cold wind outside the window was biting, and the cold green moonlight shone through the icy flowers on the window glass and shone on my grandmother's kind face with a big nose. Her eyes were as bright as phosphorescent fire. In the moonlight, her turban seemed to be made of steel, floating from her head and falling to the floor.After my grandmother said her prayers, she took off her clothes, folded them, and walked to the bed, and I quickly pretended to be asleep.

Are you pretending to be garlic again?Kid, are you not asleep?She whispered, did you hear me, my boy!Hey, give me a bed! When she said this, I knew what to do next, and I burst out laughing, and she laughed too: Okay, how dare you pretend to be an old woman with me! As she spoke, she grabbed the edge of the quilt and pulled it hard, and I was thrown into the air, spinning around, and landed on the eiderdown mattress. How about it, kid? Did you suffer?We laughed together for a long time. Sometimes, she prayed for a long time, and I really fell asleep. I don't know how she lay down.On a day when there is a fight or something like that, the prayers will be longer on that day.She will tell God every detail of the housework, which is very interesting.She knelt on the ground, like a hill. At first it was rather vague, but later it simply became a common saying:

Lord, you know, everybody wants to live a good life!Mikhail was the eldest, he should live in the city, he thought it was unfair to move him across the river, saying it was a new place where no one lived.But his father liked Yakov better, he was a bit biased!Lord, please enlighten this stubborn old man!Lord, entrust him with a dream, let him understand how to separate the children! She looked at the darkened icon, crossed herself, kowtowed, her head pounding the floor, and then she spoke again: Give Volvo a little happiness too!What is it about her that offends you?What is she guilty of?Why did she fall into this field, soaked in sorrow every day.Lord, you must not forget Gregory!If he is blind, he can only beg for food!He has exhausted all his efforts for our old man!You might think we old man would help him!O Lord!impossible!

She was lost in thought, bowing her head and hands, as if she had fallen asleep. What else?Oh yes, save all the Orthodox, have mercy on them!Forgive me, my fault was not from my heart, but only because of my ignorance! She sighed deeply and said contentedly: Almighty Lord, you know everything and you are omnipotent! I like this god of my grandmother very much, he is so close to my grandmother.I begged my grandmother: Tell me a story about God! When she was telling the story of God, she looked very solemn. She sat upright first, then closed her eyes, and made a long and low voice: Among the wild mountains, on the grass of heaven, under the silver linden tree, on the sapphire seat sits God.The Bodhi tree is always full of leaves, there is no winter and no autumn, and the flowers of heaven never wither, in order to please the believers of God.There are always groups of angels flying around God, like bees and snowflakes!They came down to the world, returned to heaven, and reported all the things in the world to God!Among these angels, there are yours, mine, and your grandfather's. Everyone has an angel in charge. God is equal to everyone.For example, your angel reported to God: Alexey stuck his tongue out at his grandfather and made a face!God would say: Well, let the old man beat him up.This is how angels report to God and issue God’s will. God’s meaning for everyone is different, some are joy, and some are misfortune.In the heaven where God lives, everything is beautiful, and the angels are playing games happily and singing non-stop: Glory to you, Lord, glory to you!And God just smiled at them, as if saying: Okay, okay!

Grandma also smiled slightly when she talked about this, shaking her head slightly. have you seen these No.But I know.She thought for a moment and answered me. Every time she talked about God, heaven, and angels, she was very gentle, she seemed to be smaller, her face was rosy, and she was full of energy. I wrapped her big braids around my neck and listened to her endlessly. story: Ordinary people cannot see God. If you must see, you will become blind.Only saints can see Him.Angels, I have seen them, as long as you are calm, they will appear.Once when I was doing morning service in the church, there were two angels on the altar, clear and bright, with the tips of their wings touching the floor, like lace.They walked around the throne and helped the old priest Iria: he raised his hands in prayer, and they held his arms.He was too old, blind, and soon died.I saw those two angels, I was so excited, tears flowed out, oh, so beautiful!Lyonika, my dear darling, everything that belongs to God is beautiful, whether in heaven or on earth

Is everything good here too? Grandmother crossed herself again: Thanks to Our Lady, all is well! This makes me wonder, is everything good?Our days are getting worse and worse. Once, when I passed by Uncle Mikhail's door, I saw Aunt Netanleya clad in white clasped her hands on her chest, yelling in the room: God, take me away I knew what she was shouting, and I understood why Gregory always said: Going blind and begging for food is better than staying here! I hope he's blind, so I can show him the way, and we'll get out of here and beg outside. I shared the idea with him, and he laughed:

That's good, let's go beg for food together!I yelled everywhere: This is the leader of the dyeing house guild Vasily.Grandson of Casale, please do me a favor!That was so much fun! I noticed that Aunt Netanleya's eyes had a few black bruises and her lips were swollen, so I asked my grandmother: Uncle hit it? Grandmother sighed: Alas, he beat him secretly, damn it!Your grandfather won't let him fight, but he fights at night!This kid is ruthless, but his wife is weak and can be bullied It seems that the grandmother is talking about it, and these are what she wants to say: It's not as strong as it used to be!Slapping the face, pulling the braids, that's all.In the past, a dozen can be a few hours!The longest time your grandfather beat me was on the first day of Easter, from noon prayer to evening, he beat me up and down, using planks, ropes, everything.

Why did he hit you? Can not remember.Once, he beat me almost to death. I didn't eat or drink for five days in a row. Alas, this life was taken back! This really surprised me a bit, my grandmother was almost twice the size of my grandfather, could she really beat him? Does he have any tricks?Always beat you! He has no tricks, but he is older than me, and he is my husband again!He did God's will, and it's my destiny She wiped off the dust on the holy image, held it up with both hands, looked at the magnificent pearls and precious stones on it, and said gratefully: Ah, how lovely!She made the sign of the cross, kissed the icon, almighty Madonna, you are the eternal joy of my life!Lionia, my dear boy, look at how wonderful the painting is, the patterns are small and clear.This is the twelfth day of the twelfth, and in the middle is the perfect and beautiful Our Lady of Feodorovskaya [Note: One of the famous saints of the Russian Orthodox Church. 】.Here it is written: Holy Mother, do not weep when you see me in the coffin. [Note: This painting depicts the scene of the Virgin standing beside the coffin of Jesus. 】

Grandmother used to gossiping about playing with icons in this way, just like her cousin Katerina, who was mad at someone, played with dolls. Grandmother often sees ghosts, one when there are few, and a large group when there are many: Late one Lent night, I passed in front of Rudolif's house.It was a moonlit night, and everything was bright.I suddenly found a nigger sitting by the chimney on the roof!He has horns on his head, and is smelling the chimney, and snorting!The guy was big and hairy, and his tail was sweeping and rattling all over the roof!I hastened to cross myself: Christ is resurrected, and woe to the imp.The ghost screamed and fell from the roof all at once!Rudolph was cooking meat at home that day, and that ghost went to smell it!

I imagined the appearance of a ghost falling from the roof, and smiled.Grandmother also laughed: Ghosts are like children, very naughty.Once I was doing laundry in the bathroom until late at night when the stove door opened and they came out of the stove!These little guys, one is smaller than the other, there are red and green, black and white!I ran to the door quickly, but they blocked the way, filled every corner of the bathroom, they crawled around, tugged at me, I couldn't raise my hand to make the sign of the cross!These little things are fluffy, soft and warm, like kittens, but they walk on their hind legs.They bared their teeth mischievously, their small eyes glowed with green light, a tooth just emerged from their horns, and their tails were like pig tails, I fainted!When I woke up, I saw that the candle had burned out, the water in the tub was cold, and the laundry was thrown all over the floor!What the hell!

As soon as I closed my eyes, I saw those red, green, and furry little guys running out of the stove, covering the ground, and crowded the room.They stick out their pink tongues, blow out candles, and look both ridiculous and scary.Grandmother pondered for a while, then regained her spirit: Another time, I saw the cursed man.It was also at night, and I was walking in the Djukov Valley with wind and heavy snow.do you remember?Did I tell you that Mikhail and Yakov were trying to drown your father in a hole in the ice there?I was walking there when I heard screams!I looked up suddenly, and saw three black horses galloping towards me with a sled!A big ghost was driving the car. It was wearing a red hat and sat on the car like a wooden stake, standing upright.The three-horse sleigh rushed past, and disappeared in the snow at once, with ghosts whistling and waving hats!Seven more of these sledges followed one after the other, and all disappeared at once.The horses are all black.do you know?Horses are people who have been cursed by their parents. Ghosts drive them away for fun, and let them drag them to a banquet at night!What I saw that time may be a ghost marrying a wife Grandma's words are so convincing that you have to believe them. I also especially love listening to my grandmother read poems.There is a poem about the Virgin Mary's inspection in the suffering world. She reprimanded the female robber, Duchess Angaretchaeva, not to rob and beat the Russians.Some poems are about Alexei, the proud son of heaven.Some talk about Ivan the Warrior [Note: A famous Christian in the fourth century. ], the wise and wise Vasilisa, the ram priest and godson of God, Queen Marfa [Note: In the second half of the fifteenth century, the wife of the governor of Novgorod, Russia.He opposed the annexation of all Russian lands to Moscow, and was forced to become a Nepalese. ], Green forest female leader Usta old woman [Note: The legendary heroine along the Volga River. ] and the robber leader, the guilty Egyptian woman Maria [Note: The legendary story of the sixth century Egyptian slut Maria who turned from evil to righteousness. ] And the sorrow of the robber's mother, and so on.There are countless poems, fairy tales and stories in her mouth. Grandma is not afraid of anything, she is not afraid of ghosts, nor is she afraid of her grandfather or anything more evil, but she is especially afraid of black cockroaches.The cockroach was so far away from her that she could hear it crawling.She used to wake me up in the middle of the night and say: Dear Valyosha, there's a cockroach crawling, for God's sake, kill it! I dazedly lit a candle and crawled around on the floor looking for cockroaches.But not every time you can find: No! The grandmother covered her head with a quilt, lying in the bed, and said vaguely: There must be, I beg you to look for it again!It's here again, crawling Her hearing was amazing and I found the roach far from the bed. Is it dead?Oh thank God!Thank you too, my darling! She lifted the quilt to reveal her head, and smiled in relief. If I can't find that little bug, she won't be able to sleep again.In the dead of night, her ears are extremely sensitive, and if there is any movement, she will tremble and say: It's crawling again, what's under the box Why are you so afraid of cockroaches? She will come up with a set of her own theories: God gave each kind of small bug a specific task. The appearance of the ground beetle means that the house is damp. Bedbugs come out because the walls are dirty. Anyone who is bitten by fleas will get sick. Only these little black things crawl around. , do not know what is the use?I don't know what God sent them for? On this day, she was kneeling there devoutly praying to God when her grandfather broke in and shouted: God is coming!Old woman, there is a fire! What?ah!Grandma jumped up from the floor and ran away. Yevgonia, take down the icon!Netanleya, dress the children quickly!Grandmother directed loudly.Grandfather just wailed there. I ran into the kitchen; looking at the kitchen in the yard lit up with golden lights and red lights floating on the floor.Uncle Yakov was jumping about while putting on his boots, as if the yellow light from the ground had scalded his feet.he yelled: Mihiga set the fire!He's gone! Bastard, you fart!Grandma reprimanded him loudly and pushed him almost down. On the roof of the dyeing workshop, tongues of flames were rolling, licking the doors and windows.In the silent night, the smokeless flame, like red flowers, dances and blooms!Black clouds rise high above, but they cannot block the silvery Milky Way in the sky.The white snow turned into red snow, the walls seemed to be shaking, red light flowed, and golden ribbons wrapped around the dyeing room.Chug, rattle, rustle, clatter, all kinds of strange sounds played together, and the fire decorated the dyeing room into the holy wall of the church, attracting you to walk over and get close to it involuntarily. I grabbed a bulky short fur coat, slipped my feet into someone's boots, and scrambled up the steps.The scene outside the door was really shocking: the fire snakes scurrying, the crackling sound and the shouts of grandfather, uncle, and Gregory rang together.With an empty bag on her head and a horse quilt on her body, the grandmother rushed into the sea of ​​fire like flying, and she shouted: Sulfates, bastards!Sulfates, going to explode! Ah, Gregory, grab her, hurry!Hey, now she's done! Grandpa screamed wildly. But the grandmother came out again, bowing and walking quickly, holding a large bucket of sulfate in both hands, and smoking all over her body. Old man, take the horse away!Grandma yelled hoarsely, quickly take it off for me, blind, I'm about to catch fire! Gregory tore off the horse from her body, and it was burnt and extremely hot.Gregory scooped up large chunks of snow with a shovel and threw them into the dyeing workshop.Uncles danced around him with axes.Grandfather is busy spreading snow on grandmother. After the grandmother stuffed the bucket into the snowdrift, she opened the gate and bowed to the people who ran in: Neighbors, please save this fire!It's about to burn down to the warehouse, our house is going to burn down, and you will suffer too!Come on, take the roof off the warehouse and throw the hay out there!Gregory, hurry up!Yakov, don't run around, bring the ax and the shovel!Well done everyone, God bless you! The grandmother's performance is as particularly interesting as the fire itself.The fire seemed to have seized her, who was dressed in black, and illuminated her everywhere she went.She ran around, directing everyone. Sharap ran into the yard, stood upright suddenly, and turned grandfather over.The two big eyes of the big horse were very brightly illuminated by the fire, and it neighed endlessly and moved restlessly. Granny, hold on to it!Grandfather yelled. Grandmother ran over and opened her arms.With a long cry, Da Ma finally obediently let her lean over. Don't be afraid, don't be afraid!You won't be hurt, dear, little mouse, she patted its neck and muttered.The little mouse, three times her size, followed her obediently to the gate, snorting as she walked. Yevgonia brought out the crying children one by one, and she cried out: Vasily.Vasilich, Alexey can't be found I hid under the steps in case she would take me away. Well, let's go let's go!Grandfather waved. The roof of the dyeing workshop collapsed, and smoke rose from several beams and columns, shooting straight into the sky.Inside it crackled, and whirlwinds of red, green, and blue threw clouds of flame across the yard, menacingly.Everyone was shoveling snow with shovels and throwing it in. Several large dyeing pots were boiling crazily, and the yard was filled with a very strange smell, which made people cry.I had no choice but to crawl out from under the steps, just touching my grandmother's feet. Get out, trample you to death!Grandmother yelled. Suddenly, a man rode into the yard on a horse.He wears a steel helmet and holds his whip aloft: Get out of the way!The bay red horse was foaming, and the rapid ringing of the small bell under its neck stopped. Grandmother pushes me up the steps: go, hurry up! I ran into the kitchen and put my face on the window and looked out.But the crowd blocked the fire.The only thing of any interest is the glint of the brass helmet. The fire was suppressed and extinguished.The police shooed people away, and my grandmother went into the kitchen. Who?It's you!Don't be afraid, it's all right! She sat beside me, swaying, not saying a word.Everything seemed to be back to the same night as before, except that the fire was out and it was not interesting. Grandfather walked in, one foot in and one foot out of the door: Is it an old woman? Um. Is it burning? nothing! He struck a match, and a little blue light illuminated his soot-covered, weasel-like face.He lit a candle and sat down next to his grandmother. You go wash it!Grandma said so, but her own face was also smoldering. Grandfather sighed: God is merciful and gives you wisdom, otherwise he touched her shoulder and smiled flatteringly: God bless! Grandmother smiled too.Grandfather's face suddenly changed: Hmph, it's all Goregoli, that bastard, careless, he's done enough, he's done it!Yashiga is crying at the door, you bastard, go and see! Grandma blew on her fingers and went out. My grandfather didn't look at me, and said softly: See the fire?how is your grandmotherShe is old, has suffered all her life, and is sick, but she is still very capable!Oh, but what about you people? After being silent for a long time, he bowed and pinched off the candle, and asked: Are you scared? No. Nothing to be afraid of. He took off his shirt, washed his face, stamped his feet, and shouted: who is it?You bastard, you should take him to the square for a smoke!Lighting a fire is no different from stealing someone's stuff!Why don't you go to bed, what are you still doing sitting here? I'm going to bed.But did not sleep.As soon as I lay down on the bed, a howling sound lifted me out of bed again.I ran into the kitchen, and my grandfather was standing in the middle with a candle in his hand. He rubbed his feet back and forth on the ground and asked: What's wrong with Yakov, old lady?what's up? I climbed onto the kang stove and quietly watched the commotion in the room.The howling continued rhythmically, beating the ceiling and walls like waves.Grandpa and uncle scurry about like headless chickens, and grandma yells at them to get away.Gregory filled the stove with firewood, poured water into the iron pot, and walked back and forth with his big head shaking, like a big camel in Atrakhan. Boil hot water, sir!Grandmother directs. He hurried to find the pine branch, and touched my feet all at once: Ah, who is it?Scared me to death!you little brat! What is this for? Your aunt Netanleya is giving birth!He replied blankly. In my impression, my mother didn't call it that when she gave birth! Gregory put the tin can on the fire and came back to me.He took a clay pipe from his pocket: I started smoking, for my eyes!Your grandmother advised me: sniff snuff, but I think it's better to smoke The candlelight shone on his face, one side of his face was covered with soot, his shirt was torn, and his ribs could be seen.A piece of one of his spectacle lenses was missing in the middle, and through the jagged hole, his eye, which looked like a wound, could be seen. He stuffed the tobacco leaves into the smoke pot, listened to the groans of the parturient, and said incoherently: Look, what has your grandmother been burnt to, can she still deliver babies?Listen, your aunt is howling, but others will never forget her!You see how difficult it is to have children, that's all, people don't respect women!You have to respect women. To respect women is to respect mothers! I couldn't hold on anymore and dozed off. The noise of people, the slamming of doors, and the cries of drunken Uncle Mikhail kept waking me up, and I heard a few strange words intermittently: Open the door of God, come, come, half a glass of oil, half a glass of rum, and a spoonful of soot, let me see that this is the feeble roar of Uncle Mikhail.He slumped on the floor, flapping his hands feebly. I jumped off the kang stove, it was too hot.But Uncle Mikhail suddenly grabbed my ankle, and I fell on my back, hitting my head on the floor. asshole!I cursed. He jumped up suddenly, threw me up and fell to the ground: kill you bastard When I woke up, I found myself lying on my grandfather's lap.He raised his head, shook me, and muttered: We are all unworthy sons of God, no one gets forgiveness, no one gets forgiveness Candles were still burning on the table, but there was already a hazy morning light outside the window.My grandfather lowered his head and asked me: how's it going?Where does it hurt? My whole body hurts and my head feels heavy, but I don't want to talk about it. Everything around was strange: the chairs in the hall were full of strangers, priests, old men in uniform, and a group of people who didn't know what to do.They were motionless, as if they were listening to voices from outside. Yakov stood by the door.Grandfather said to him: You, take him to sleep!He gestured and beckoned me to follow him.Into my grandmother's room, I climbed into bed, and he whispered: Your aunt Netanlea is dead! I wasn't particularly surprised by the news, as she hadn't been seen for a long time.Do not eat in the kitchen, nor go out. Where is my grandmother? over there!He waved and left. I lay on the bed, looking around.Grandma's clothes hung on the corner of the wall, and there seemed to be someone hiding behind it, and there seemed to be many faces on the window, all of them had very long hair and were all blind.I hid under my pillow and peeped out the door with one eye.It was too hot, and the air was suffocating. I suddenly remembered the scene when Gypsy died, and I seemed to see the blood on the floor, still flowing slowly.Looks like I ran over a loaded convoy and crushed everything The door finally opened slowly.Grandma almost crawled in, and the door was pushed open by her shoulder.She stretched out her hands to the ever-burning lamp, crying like a child: "It hurts, my hands!"