Atondido Stories
Holena snatched the violets and fastened them in her waist.
She kept smelling them herself all afternoon and she let her
mother smell them, but she never once said to Marushka:
"Dear sister, won't you take a smell?"
The next day as she was sitting idle in the chimney corner
she took the notion that she must have some strawberries to eat.
So she called Marushka and said:
"Here you, Marushka, go out to the forest and get me some
strawberries."
"Good heavens, my dear sister," Marushka said, "where can I
find strawberries this time of year? Whoever heard of strawber-
ries growing under the snow?"
"What, you lazy little slattern!" Holena shouted. "You dare to
argue with me! You go this minute and if you come back with-
out strawberries, I'll kill you!"
Again the stepmother sided with Holena and, taking
Marushka roughly by the shoulder, she pushed her out of the
house and slammed the door.
Again the poor child climbed slowly up the mountain side
weeping bitterly. All around the snow lay deep with no track of
man or beast in any direction. Marushka wandered on and on,
weak with hunger and shaking with cold. At last she saw ahead
of her the glow of the same fire that she had seen the day before.
With happy heart she hastened to it. The Twelve Months were
seated as before with Great January on the high seat.
Marushka bowed politely and said:
"Kind sirs, may I warm myself at your fire? I am shaking
with cold."
Great January nodded and Marushka reached her stiff fin-
gers towards the flames.
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