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"Tale of the Military Secret"
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Page 4 |
The boy climbs onto the roof. He stays up there all day. No, still no
sign. At night he lays down to sleep. Suddenly he hears a clatter on
the street and a knock at the window. The boy looked out. Standing by
the window is the same rider. Only the horse is thin and tired; only
the saber is bent and darkened; only the cap is shot through, the star
cut up, and his head bandaged.
"Arise!" shouted the rider. "There were small misfortunes, but now
disaster is all around. There are many bourgeois, but few of us. In
the field bullets fly in clouds, and shells explode in our ranks by the
thousand! Arise and give help!"
The older brother arose and said to the boy:
"Good-bye, boy. You'll stay here alone. You have shchi in the
pot, cottage loaf on the table, water in the springs, and a head on your
shoulders. Live as best you can, but don't wait for me."
One day passes; two days pass. The boy sits by the chimney on the roof
and sees an unfamiliar rider approaching from the distance.
The rider galloped up to the boy, leapt from his horse, and says:
"Give me, dear boy, some water to drink. For three days I've had no
drink, for three days I've had no sleep; three horses I've worn out.
The Red Army has learned of our misfortune. The buglars have called the
alarm with all their horns. The drummers have pounded loud on their
drums. The standard bearers have unfurled all the battle flags. The
entire Red Army is flying and galloping to our aid. If only, boy, we
can hold out until tomorrow night.
