Trafika Europe 7 - Ukrainian Prayer

Two Tales

away. She thought it had died from the fall. But no. Nothing actually had happened to the child. It’s very difficult to take a child, like drunks, to the point of death. They have an extraordinary tenacity for life. Just like cats. Grandmother sat till evening in the forest not far from her father’s house. She looked out for what was happening in the house from behind the bushes. But her step-mother knew where grandmother was hiding. When it began to get dark, her step-mother stepped out into the yard and shouted: “Come home! I’m not going to beat you! Come home! It’s late already. You haven’t eaten anything all day! Come home, child, I’ll give you some really tasty birch kasha to eat! Come home, don’t be afraid!”

Grandmother believed her. She came out from behind the bushes to her step- mother because she was really hungry. Grandmother always used to be hungry as a child, and later, even in her old age, was always hungry. She stepped out to her step- mother and said: “Where is the kasha?” “Go inside, it’s in the house.” Grandmotherwent inside,but her step-mother already had prepared the birch switches. She grabbed grandmother by the arms and began to whip her on her legs, her back, her behind. Her face. She screamed out: “You little bitch! You wanted to kill my child, did you? You shoved her off the stove shelf on purpose?!” She beat her until grandmother’s father came

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