"Tale of the Military Secret"

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.

Russian Version

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