Wet cold wind blows from the sea, spreading the deep melody composed of the sound of waves lapping on the shore and the whisper of shrubs on the shore on the grassland. A gust of wind sometimes brings some yellow leaves and blows them into the bonfire to fan the flames; In the autumn night, the darkness that surrounds us quivers and retreats in fear, sometimes revealing the endless grassland on the left, sometimes revealing the endless sea on the right and the figure of the old man in Shigang opposite me, Macad Chudra. He is guarding the horses of his nomadic team, who are scattered and camped fifty paces away from us.
A cold wind lifted his coat, revealing his hairy chest and gave him a good beating, but he didn't care. He lay half-lying in an elegant and powerful posture, facing me, slowly smoking his big pipe and spewing clouds of smoke from his mouth and nostrils. His eyes crossed my head and stared at the dead silence of the grassland. He has been talking to me, and he can't resist the sharp attack of the cold wind at all.
"Are you just wandering? This is good! You chose a glorious fate, you eagle. That's it, walk around, have a look, and when you've seen enough, lie down and die-that's it! "
"Life? Others? " After listening to my dubious refutation of his sentence "It should have been like this", he continued. "ah! What does this have to do with you? Aren't you a life yourself? Others can live without you, others can live without you. Do you think anyone really needs you? You are not bread or a crutch, and no one needs you. "
"You mean, to learn, to teach others? But can you learn how to make people happy? No, you can't. You must be honest before you preach to others. What is there to teach? Everyone knows what he needs. Smart people will take everything, stupid people will get nothing, and everyone will learn by themselves. ...
"You people are ridiculous. Gather in a pile and squeeze each other, but there are several places in this world. " He held out his hand and waved to the grassland. "They work all day. For what? For who? Nobody knows. If you see a person plowing the land, you will think that now he spends his strength on the land with sweat, and then he will lie in the land and rot in it. He left nothing behind, he didn't have time to see the harvest of his land, and he died, just like when he was born-he was always a fool.
"Why did he dig everywhere on the ground after he was born, and even died before he dug his own grave? Does he know about freedom? Does he know the vastness of the grassland? Will the waves make him happy? He was born a slave, and he has been a slave all his life, that's all! What can he do with himself? Even if he can get smarter, he can only hang himself.
"And I, you see, what I have seen in 58 years, if it is written on paper, like this pocket you are carrying, I can't even hold one thousand. Hey, tell me, where have I never been? You can't say it. You don't know where I have been. This is the way of life, go, go-that's it. Don't stay in one place all the time. What can you do if you stay in one place all the time? You see, running day and night, chasing each other around the earth, you should also avoid thinking about life like that, so as not to get tired of life. As long as you think, you will get tired of life. It has always been like this. I've had such a thing. Hi! Yes, my eagle.
"I have been in prison, in Galicia. Why should I live in this world? That's what I think when I'm bored-prison is boring, my eagle, alas, boring! Whenever I see the field outside the window, sadness will seize my heart and clamp it tightly like pliers. Who can tell why he is alive? No one can say, my eagle! You shouldn't ask yourself such questions. Live, that's all. Take a walk and look around, and sorrow will never catch you again. Once, I almost hanged myself with a belt, that's all!
"ah! I once talked to someone. You Russians are serious people. He said,' You can't live according to your own ideas, but live according to God's will. Obey God and he will give you everything you ask. But he himself is in rags. So I prayed to God to give myself a new dress. He flew into a rage and scolded me and drove me away. But before that, he still said that people should be forgiven and loved. He should forgive me even if my words offended him. That's the teacher! They teach to eat less, but they have to eat ten meals a day. "
He spat into the bonfire, was silent, and began to fill his pipe again. The wind is blowing gently complaining, the horses are neighing in the dark, and a gentle and sweet lyric song is floating in the nomadic team. The singer is Marca's daughter, the beautiful Nongka. I am familiar with her deep voice. Whether she is singing or greeting, she is always strange, dissatisfied and reserved. Her dark, dull face embodies a kind of queen's pride, and in her dark brown eyes shrouded in some shadow, there is a kind of irresistible beauty and self-confidence of contempt for everything except herself.
Mccard handed me the pipe.
"Go ahead! Does this girl sing well? It's good! Do you want this girl to fall in love with you? Don't you want to? Very good! That's it. Don't trust girls. Stay away from them. Kissing a girl is certainly better and happier than smoking my pipe, but after kissing her, your freedom will die. She will tie you to her with an invisible thing. If you can't make it, give her your whole soul. It's true! Be careful, girls! They are always lying! A girl will say: I love you more than anything in the world. But if you don't stab her, she will break your heart. I know! Hey, I know too much! Hey, my eagle, shall I tell you a story? You should remember this story, remember it, and you will be a free bird all your life.
"Once upon a time, there was a left Barr, Loki left Barr, who was a young tzigane. He is famous in Hungary, Czech Republic and Slovenia, as well as coastal countries. What a brave young man! In every village in those areas, there are five villagers who swear to God to kill him, but he still lives well. As long as his favorite horse is guarded by a team of people, Zobal will still run away on it! Hi! Is he afraid of anyone? It was the devil who brought all his people to catch him. Even if he didn't stab him, he would scold him happily and beat the kids in the face-that's true!
"All the nomads know him or have heard of him. He only likes horses, and he doesn't like anything else. Even horses don't last long-he sells them as soon as he rides them, and whoever wants money takes them. Nothing is precious to him. If you need his heart, he will take it out of his chest and give it to you, as long as it is good for you. He is such a man, my eagle!
"Our nomadic team was wandering around Bukovina-it was about ten years ago. Once, on a spring night, we sat together. Me and kossuth kossuth: Hungarian national hero. Danilo, a soldier who fought together, has old Nur, others and Danilo's daughter Rada.
"Do you know my Nong card? She's the queen! But she can't compete with Radha-I'm flattering my farm card! About her, this Rada, it's hard to describe in words. Perhaps, her beauty can be expressed by a violin, but only by someone who knows the violin as well as his own soul.
"How many young people did she make thirsty? Oh, how many! On the Morava River, there was a rich man, an old man with long hair, who froze at the sight of her. He rode on a horse and looked at her, trembling like a fever. He was dressed like a holiday devil, with gold thread embroidered on his jacket and a saber studded with precious stones around his waist. As long as the horseshoe moves, the knife will shine like lightning. The blue velvet on his hat is like a small piece of blue sky-what a great old gentleman! He looked at it and said to Rada, "Hey! Give me a kiss and I'll give you a bag of money. But she turned around, that's all! Please forgive me if I make you angry, but can't you look at me more gently? The old rich man immediately restrained his arrogance and threw a bag of money at her feet-a big bag of money, brother! And she kicked it into the mire without caring. That's it.
"'Hey, this girl!' He sighed and whipped the horse, and a cloud of dust rose.
"The next day he came again. Who is her father? He shouted at the nomads. Danilo came out. "Sell me your daughter and take whatever you want!" But Danilo said to him, "Only gentlemen will sell everything, from their pigs to their own conscience. I fought with Cossus, and I don't do any business! The rich man shouted and pulled out his knife, but one of us put the burning tinder in the horse's ear, and the horse ran away behind the man's back. We left. We walked for a day, and the next day, we saw-he caught up! "Well," he said, "my conscience is clean before God and before you. Give me that girl as my wife, and I will share everything with you. I'm rich! He swayed on the saddle with excitement, like a thatch in the wind. We are considering this matter.
"'Well, daughter, tell me!' Danilo muttered something.
"'What will happen if the female eagle voluntarily runs into the crow's nest?' Rada asked us.
Danilo smiled, and we laughed.
"'well said, daughter! Did you hear that, my Lord? This is impossible! You'd better find those little pigeons, they are more docile. So we walked forward again.
"So adults grabbed his hat and threw it on the ground, urging the horse to run, and the earth trembled. Rada is such a girl, my eagle!
"That's right! One night, when we were sitting, we heard a burst of music floating on the grassland. What beautiful music! It warms the blood in the blood vessels, and it calls people where to go. We feel that all of us start to hope for something because of this music, but if we get that thing, there is no need to live any longer. If you want to live, unless you are the emperor of the world, my eagle!
"Drill out a horse in the dark, riding a person at once. He came to us with a harp. He stopped in front of the bonfire, stopped playing the piano and looked at us with a smile.
"'Hey, Zoba, it's you!' Danilo shouted to him happily. That's him, Lajko Zoba!
"His beard hangs down to his shoulders, mixed with curly hair, his eyes are shining like bright stars, and there is a smile. God, it is a complete sun! He is like a piece of iron, with people and horses. He stood, reflecting the light of the bonfire, covered in blood. He's smiling, and his white teeth are shining! Before he spoke to me, or before he realized that I was still alive, I fell in love with him as if I loved myself. If not, then I should die!
"Yes, my eagle, had such a person! He looks into your eyes and your soul will be taken away. But you are not ashamed of it, but proud of yourself. With such people, you will become better. Such people are rare, my friend! However, less is less. There are too many good things in the world, and people will not feel good. That's it! You keep listening.
"Rada said,' That's very kind of you, Lajko! "Who made this beautiful violin for you?" The man smiled. "I made it myself!" ! It is not made of wood, but the chest of a young girl I like very much. I pluck the strings with her heart. This piano is not obedient yet, but I know how to draw a bow!
"As we all know, our brother tried to cover the girl's eyes at once, lest those eyes burn his heart, but his own eyes were covered with melancholy. Lajko, that's what happened. Look, he didn't succeed. Rada turned around and said with a sigh,' People also say that Zobal is smart and flexible, and people are lying!' Then she walked away.
"'Hey, beauty, your teeth are really sharp!' Roy winked and jumped off the horse. Hello, brothers! I just came to see you! '
"'Welcome guests!' Danilo said to him. Everyone kissed, talked, and then lay down to sleep ... everyone slept soundly. In the morning, we found a piece of cloth wrapped around Zoba's head. What's going on here? He said he was kicked by a horseshoe while sleeping.
"Ha ha ha! We all know who this horse is. Everyone sipped their mouths and did Sarah laugh, and Danilo also smiled. What, Loko is not good enough for Rada? No, that's not true! No matter how good a girl is, her soul is always small and narrow. Even if you hang more than ten kilograms of gold around her neck, she will not become better than before. Oh, come on!
"We live in the old place. At that time, our life was good, and Zobar lived with us. He is a good partner! He is as smart as an old man and knows everything, as well as Russian and Hungarian. Often when he opens his mouth, you will always listen and never want to sleep for the rest of your life! Speaking of playing the piano-if there is anyone in the world who can play as well as him, let lightning strike me to death! As soon as his bow touches the strings, your heart will tremble. Pull again, and his heart will stop beating, while he is still pulling and laughing. Listening to him play the piano, you can't help crying and laughing. It's like someone is moaning to you and asking for help, just like cutting your heart with a knife. This is the grassland telling a story to the sky, telling a sad story. This is a girl crying to send her good man away! Good people are calling girls to the grassland. Suddenly-hi! A free and lively song sounded like thunder, and the sun danced with it in the sky! That's it, my eagle!
"Every blood vessel in your body can understand that song, and you will be a slave to that song. If Loico had shouted at that time,' Guys, pick up the knives!' No matter who he points to, we will rush at that person with a knife. He can make a person do anything. Everyone loves him and loves him very much. Only Rada doesn't even look at the young man. As long as she doesn't look, she will laugh at him. She deeply hurt Zoba's heart, alas, deeply! Luo Yike gritted his teeth and pulled his beard. His eyes are darker than the abyss, but there is something terrible shining in his eyes. At night, Loico walked to the depths of the grassland. His violin cried till dawn, and his piano cried, burying Zobal's freedom. We lay listening, thinking: What should we do? We also know that if two stones collide with each other, you can't stand between them, or you will be disabled. That's what happened.
"On one occasion, we all sat together and talked about things. Everyone is bored. Danilo asked Luikko, "Zoba, sing a song to make everyone happy!" Lajko looked up at Rada lying not far from him and plucked the strings. The sound made by the violin seems to be really a girl's heart. Lloyd sings:
Hey, hey! There is a flame burning in my chest,
What a vast grassland!
My good horse runs like the wind,
How strong my arms are!
"Rada turned his head, leaned in, looked into the singer's eyes and smiled. He blushed like a flush.
Hey, yo, hey! Hey, my partner!
We galloped forward on horseback!
The grassland is covered with thick darkness,
But the dawn is waiting for us there!
Hey, hey! We flew to meet that day.
Let the horse soar in the sky!
Just don't let the horse's mane
Meet the beautiful moon!
"How well you sing! No one can sing like that now! But LADA said lazily and slowly:
"'Don't fly too high, Lajko. If you drop it and hit your nose in the mud, you will get your beard dirty. "Be careful." Roy gave her a bad look, but said nothing. Young people endure, continue to sing:
Hey, yo, hey! This day suddenly came,
You and I are still sleeping.
Hey, hey! You and me,
Be ashamed!
"'This is a song!' Danilo said. I have never heard such a song; If I am lying, let the devil take my pipe!
"The old slave also satisfactorily touched the beard and shrugged his shoulders. We are all satisfied with Zobal's heroic song! Only Rada doesn't like it.
Once upon a time, there was a mosquito who just wanted to imitate the sound of an eagle. That's how it hums. She said it was like throwing a handful of snow at us.
"'You probably want to get whipped, Rada?' Danilo rushed to the front of her, threw his face as black as the land, threw his hat on the ground, and said:
"'Don't start work, Danilo! A fierce horse needs an iron chew! Give me your daughter as a wife!
"'That's what you said!' Danilo smiled. You can take her as long as you want! '
"'Great!' Loki said. Then he said to Rada,' Hey, girl, listen to me, don't be too proud! I've met many of your sisters, alas, many! But no girl has touched my heart like you. Alas, Rada, you have captured my soul! Is there any way? Fate is bound to happen, and ... no horse can ride away from itself! ..... I want to marry you in front of your father and all these people, in the name of God and my own reputation. However, you should be careful not to interfere with my freedom. I am a free man. I will live what I want! He gritted his teeth and walked towards her with shining eyes. We watched, and he handed her his hand, and then we thought, Rada is going to chew the ring for this wild horse on the grassland! Suddenly, we saw his hands stretched out, his brain spoon fell to the ground and fell with a bang!
"What's the matter? It's like a bullet hitting a young man in the heart. It turned out that Rada wrapped his leg with a whip and pulled it back-Lloyd fell.
"The girl lay down again, motionless, just smiling silently. We are observing what will happen next. Loico sat on the ground with his head in his hands, as if afraid that his head would burst open. Then, he stood up quietly, without looking at anyone, and walked to the grassland. Nur whispered to me,' Go and see him!' In the evening, I followed Zoba into the grassland. Here's the thing, my eagle! "
Mccard emptied the ash from his pipe and began to reload it. I wrapped my coat tighter, lay down and looked at his old face blackened by light and high winds. He shook his head seriously and coldly, and said something to himself; The gray beard is shaking, and the wind is blowing the hair on his head. He is like an old oak tree. Although burned by lightning, I am still strong and firm, and I am still proud of my strength. The sea continues to talk to the coast in a low voice, and the wind is still bringing the whistle of the sea to the grassland. Nongka has stopped singing. Dark clouds gathered in the sky make the autumn night darker.
"Roy walked step by step, with his head down and his hands hanging like whips. She came to a valley by the stream and sat on a stone and sighed. He sighed sadly, and even my heart bled with pity, but I still didn't go near him. Words are of no use to pain, are they? ! That's right. He sat for an hour, sat for another hour, and sat still.
"I lay not far away. This is a bright night. The moon shines silver light on the whole grassland, and you can see far away.
"Suddenly, I saw Rada leave the camp and hurried away.
"I am very happy! I thought,' Aha, that's great! Rada is really a bold girl! "He came to him, but he didn't hear. She put her hand on his shoulder; Lloyd shivered and let go and looked up. He jumped up and pulled the horse out at once! Oh, he's going to kill the girl, I know, but when I was about to run to the camp to call someone, I suddenly heard:
"'throw the knife away! "I'll break your head!" I saw that Rada had a pistol in his hand and aimed it at Zobal's forehead. What an evil girl! Well, I think, now that they are evenly matched, what will happen next?
"'listen!' Lada pinned the pistol to her waist and said to Zoba,' I'm not here to kill you, but to make peace. Drop the knife! The man threw away the knife and looked into her eyes gloomily. This is weird, man! Two people stood there, looking at each other like wild animals. Both of them were very good and brave people. I watched them with the bright moon-that's it.
"'Hey, listen to me, Lajko, I love you!' Rada said. The man just shrugged his shoulders as if he were tied up.
"'I have met many young people, both in soul and appearance, and you are braver and more beautiful than them. Every one of them, as long as I look at them, will shave. As long as I want, they will kneel before me. But what's the use? They are not so brave. I can make them all like women. There are not many brave Zgang people in this world, not many, Loki Branch. I have never loved anyone, Leucker, but I love you. But I still love freedom! I love freedom, Leucker, more than you. I can't live without you any more than you can live without me. So I want your soul and body to belong to me, do you hear me? The man smiled.
"'listen up! I'd love to hear it from you! "Ok, pull it up!"
"'There's something to say, Roy. No matter how you wander, I will conquer you. You are my man. So don't waste your time, waiting for you is my kiss and hug … I want to kiss you deeply, Loico! In my kiss, you will forget your brave life ... your energetic song that makes young people in Zgang happy will never ring on the grassland again-you will only sing a gentle love song to me ... so don't waste your time-I have said that tomorrow you will obey me, just as young people obey old people. You must kneel at my feet in front of the whole nomadic team and kiss my right hand, and then I will be your wife.
"This is what this demonic girl wants! This kind of thing is rare; According to the old people, this kind of thing only happened among the ancient Montenegrins, and the Cigang people never did it! Look, my eagle, can you think of anything more ridiculous than this? Even if it takes a year, I can't figure it out!
"Roy turned to one side and gave a fierce roar to the grassland, just like being stabbed in the chest. Rada trembled, but she hid.
"'Well, see you tomorrow, and you must do as I say tomorrow. "Did you hear that, Lajko?"
"'I heard it! I'll do it. Zobal gave a groan and held out her hand. She didn't look back at him, but he fell to the ground shaking like a tree broken by the wind. He cried and laughed.
"Look at what this damn Rada did to this young man. It's hard for me to convince him.
"alas! What kind of devil can make people feel pain? Who wants to hear people groan when they are crushed by pain? Think about it!
"I went back to the camp and told all the old people about it. The old people thought about it and decided to wait and see how things developed. The thing is this: In the evening, when Luikko came, we were sitting around the campfire. He was a little distracted, lost a lot of weight overnight and his eyes sank; He lowered his eyes and never raised them again. He said:
"'The thing is, my friends, this night I looked at my heart and found that there was no place where I used to live freely. Rada is the only one who lives there-that's it! This is her, beautiful Rada, smiling like a queen! She loves her freedom more than me, but I love her more than my own freedom, so I decided to kneel at her feet as she told me, so that all of you can see how her beauty conquered me. The brave Loiko Zobar had been playing with this girl like an eagle catching a chicken before meeting her. Then, she will be my wife, hug me and kiss me. In that case, I will no longer miss song for you, and I will no longer pity my freedom! "Is that right, Rada?" He raised his eyes and looked at her gloomily. She nodded silently and solemnly, and then pointed to her feet. We watched and didn't understand anything. We even want to go away, lest we see Lajko Zobal fall at the feet of a girl-even a girl like Rada. We seem a little shy, a little pathetic and a little sad.
"'hurry up!' Rada shouted to Zobal.
"'Hey, don't worry, there's plenty of time to bother you ...' He smiled. He laughed as loudly as steel.
"'that's the way it is, guys! Anything else to do? I also want to see if our Rada's heart is as hard as she showed me. "I'll try-forgive me, brothers!"
"We haven't had time to guess what Zoba wants to do. Rada is already lying on the ground. Zobal's machete stood upright on Rada's chest. We were all stunned.
Rada pulled out his knife and threw it aside. She blocked the blade with a lock of black hair, smiled and said loudly and clearly:
"'Goodbye, Lajko, I knew you would do it!' She's dying.
"Do you know anything about this girl, my eagle? ! Let me be cursed forever, this girl is really a devil!
"Oh, I will kneel at your feet, arrogant queen!" Lajko shouted to the whole grassland. He threw himself on the ground, his mouth pressed against the dead Rada's feet, motionless. We took off our hats in silence.
"What can you say about such a thing, my eagle? Yes! Nur said: "We should tie him up!" But no one will start tying up Loico Zobar, and Noor knows it. He waved and stepped aside. But Danilo picked up the knife that Rada threw aside. He stared at the knife for a long time, and his gray beard was shaking. On that knife, Rada's blood hasn't solidified yet. This knife is curved and very sharp. Then Danilo approached Zobal and inserted the knife into his back, right in the heart. Veteran Danilo is Rada's father after all!
"'Great!' Luikko turned to Danilo and made it clear that he went with Rada.
"We are observing. Rada lay there with a lock of hair on her chest, and her open eyes reflected the blue sky. At her feet, there lay the brave Luiko Zobal. His curly hair was loose and covered his face.
"We stood and thought. Old Danilo's beard kept shaking and his heavy eyebrows wrinkled together. He looked at the sky without saying a word, while Nur, with his silver hair, was lying on the ground crying, and his shoulders twitched because of crying.
"This is worth crying, my eagle!
"... your wandering, but you have to go your own way, don't turn. Go straight ahead. Maybe you won't ruin yourself in vain. That's it, my eagle! "
Mccard stopped talking. He put his pipe in his pocket and wrapped his clothes around his chest. The rain is dripping, the wind is more violent, and the sea is growling in a low and angry voice. Horse after horse approached the dying bonfire. They looked at us with big eyes and stood motionless, forming a dense circle around us.
"Ho, ho, ho!" Mccard shouted at the horse, patted his beloved black horse on the neck and turned to me and said, "It's time for bed!" " He wrapped his coat around his head, stretched himself hard on the ground and fell asleep.
I don't want to sleep either. I looked at the darkness on the grassland. In the night sky before my eyes, I saw a beautiful and arrogant figure, like Queen Radana. She grabbed a lock of black hair and put it on the wound on her chest. Blood oozed from her dark and slender fingers and splashed on the ground bit by bit, like red stars.
Behind her, there is a brave young man, Lajko Zobal; Thick curly hair covered his face, and curly hair shed tears as cold as a stream. ...
It's raining harder, and the sea is singing gloomy and solemn carols for Loki Zobal and Rada, the daughter of veteran Danilo.
The two of them whirled smoothly and silently in the dark, but in any case, the beautiful man Lojko couldn't catch up with the arrogant Rada.