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  .., 2026.



Willa Siebert Cather   

O pioneers!  !



to those grain-bearing fields    

with golden wheat   

and with silver rye    셻

Adam Mickiewicz  



In memory of Sarah Orne Jutt, whose work is filled with subtle beauty and inescapable perfection    ,        



Spring on the Prairies   

Evening Plain  

Always silent, abundant and stern.  ,   .

For many miles there is only fresh arable land,      ,

Heavy and black, powerful and stern.   ,   .

The wheat grows, and the weeds spring up.  ,   .

The horses are plowing with difficulty, and the people are tired.    ,   .

Empty long roads,   ,

The ominous lights of the sunset are fading,    ,

And the sky is eternally unresponsive.    .

And youth in spite of everything    

Blazes like a wild rose   

And the song of the lark flutters over the fields,      ,

Shining like a star in the twilight.    .

With unbearable sweetness,   ,

With an unquenchable thirst   

And with a furious desire   

All youth sings   

By the Mouth of Silence  

In the earthy twilight.   .



Part I Wild Land  I  



I

On a January day thirty years ago, the small town of Hanover struggled desperately against a wind that threatened to blow it off the Nebraska plateau.            ,      . Fine snowflakes swirled like mist around a handful of sad, squat buildings scattered haphazardly across the gray prairie under a gray sky.         ,         . Some of the houses seemed to have been hastily built overnight, and all of them were exposed to the winds, giving no sign of substantial dwellings.  , ,    ,      ,      . Some stood apart from the rest, as if wanting nothing to do with their neighbors.     ,        .

The main street, a deep, icy rut, led from the low brick station and grain elevator on the north side of town to the lumber yard and horse pond on the south side.                           . On both sides of the road, a ragged line of log buildings lined the roadstores, two banks, a drugstore, a feed store, a saloon, and a post office.           ,  , , ,  ,    . At two o'clock in the afternoon, the sidewalks, covered with gray, packed snow, were deserted.     ,    , . The merchants, returning from lunch, hid behind windows decorated with frost patterns. ,   ,   ,   . The children were at school, and only a few strangersstern-looking farmers in fur coats and hats pulled down to their nosesmoved along the streets.    ,                   . Some had brought their wives with them, and now and then, figures in red and checkered shawls could be seen hurrying from from one warm store to another.     ,      ,         ,       . Along the street, heavy draft horses harnessed to farm carts stood tethered, shivering under their warm blankets.     ,    , -,    . The station was deserted  the next train was not expected until the evening.          .

On the sidewalk in front of one of the shops sat a little Swedish boy of about five years old, crying bitterly.               . His long black fur coat made him look like an old man.        . His brown flannel dress, shrunken from repeated washing, revealed his stockinged legs in rough shoes with copper-studded toes.   ,    ,           . From under his cap, pulled down over his ears, peeked out his chapped nose and cheeks, red from the cold. - ,   ,  ,      . The few passers-by did not notice the quietly crying child, and he did not dare stop anyone or go into the store and ask for help - he only clasped his hands in the overly long sleeves and, sobbing, lamented:       ,      -                 , , :

- Kitty, my little kitty is freezing!  ,   !

At the top of a telegraph pole, a trembling gray kitten was meowing pitifully, desperately clinging to it with its claws.    ,     ,     . The older sister left the boy to wait at the store while she went to the doctor, and in her absence the dog chased the kitten up the pole.       ,     ,         . Finding itself at such a height for the first time, the little animal was frozen with terror, and its little owner was completely confused in an unfamiliar place, completely different from the farm he was used to.     ,    ,         ,       . Here lived smart people with hearts of stone, and the boy, out of timidity and embarrassment, wanted to hide so that no one would laugh at him.       ,        ,      . However, now he was so unhappy that other people's ridicule did not bother him. ,     ,      .

At last a ray of hope appeared:    : the elder sister appeared in the street, and the boy rushed towards her, stomping with her heavy boots.     ,     ,   . The tall, strong girl walked quickly and confidently, like a person who knew exactly where she was going and what she would do. ,      ,  ,  ,      . She was wearing a long man's coat (which she wore quite naturally, like a young soldier) and a round plush cap tied with a scarf.       (    ,   )    ,  . Her clear blue eyes looked seriously and thoughtfully into the distance, not seeing anything around, and the boy had to pull his sister by the sleeve.        ,    ,       . She stood rooted to the spot, awakened from her thoughts, and leaned towards her tearful brother.    ,   ,     .

- Emil, what is wrong?  ,   ? I told you to wait in the store and not come out.         . What happened?  ?

Sister, they kicked my kitty out, and the dog chased her over there.  ,    ,      .  Pulling his hand out of his long sleeve, the boy pointed to the post where the unfortunate creature was trembling.       ,    ,    .

 Ah, Emil, I warned you:  , ,   : you shouldnt take her with you  it wont end well!          ! Why did you even beg me?     ?. .. . However, Im not bad either. ,   .  Approaching the post, Alexandra stretched out her arms and began to call the kitten, but he only meowed pitifully, twitching his tail.     ,       ,     ,  .  No, she wont get off herself, someone will have to take her down.   ,    , -   . I saw the Linstrums cart in town, Ill try to find Karl  maybe he can.      ,       . Just stop crying, otherwise Im not going anywhere.   ,     . Where is the scarf  did you forget it in the store?      ? Never mind, hold still, Ill wrap you up.  , - ,   .

She took off her brown scarf and tied it around her brother's neck.           . At that moment, a shabby, puny traveling salesman came out of the store on his way to the saloon and stood frozen, staring with stupid admiration at Alexandra's uncovered hair - two thick, shiny braids, arranged around her head in the German style, in a cloud of reddish-straw curls that had escaped from her hairstyle.      ,   ,   ,    ,             ,      ,      - . Taking a slobbered cigar from his mouth, he exclaimed with innocent stupidity:     ,     :

- My God, girl, what hair you have!   , ,     !

Alexandra bit her lower lip and gave him a furious look, worthy of an Amazon, far too stern in the circumstances.   ,      ,  ,     . The salesman started in surprise, dropped his cigar and hurried unsteadily into the saloon, driven by the icy wind.    ,         ,   . His timid advances had been met with resistance before, but never so merciless.       ,     . Now he felt humiliated, deceived, used, and his hand trembled as he raised the first glass of alcohol to his lips.     , , ,   ,      . All day long you walk from door to door, shivering in cold, smoky, dirty carriages from one dreary little town to another... Is it such a sin to feel like a man for even a moment when you see a beautiful creature?       ,                            ?

While the unfortunate traveling salesman was drowning his sorrows, Alexandra hurried to the drugstore, hoping to find Karl Linstrum there.      ,    ,     . And sure enough, a slender, narrow-shouldered youth of about fifteen stood at the counter, leafing through the colored lithographs that the Hanover pharmacist bought for ladies interested in porcelain painting.           ,   ,      ,   . Having listened to his friend's request, Karl went with her to the telegraph pole, near which Emil was still sitting.   ,        ,   -  .

Well have to climb up.    . I think there will be some spikes to put on our feet at the station. ,    ,    . Wait here!  ! And Karl, putting his hands in his pockets, ran off towards the north wind.    ,    ,    .

Soon he returned, and Alexandra asked:   ,   :

- Where is your coat?      ?

I left it at the drugstore  you cant climb a pole in it anyway, Karl shrugged.             ,    . If I fall, catch me, Emil!      , !

Alexandra watched her undressed friend with concern:       : If it was so cold down there, what could we say about the heights?     ,      . The kitten held on tightly, and Karl had to climb to the very top and unhook it by force.   ,          . Having descended, he handed the rescued kitten to its crying owner and opened the store door for him. ,           .

- Go, Emil, warm up.  , , . Listen, Alexandra, should I go with you? , ,       ? Ill help you drive the horses.   . Its getting colder by the minute.    . Have you consulted the doctor?    ?

- Yes, hell come tomorrow.  ,  . Only he said that father wont recover   ,     

Alexandra's lips trembled.   . She looked into the distance, gathering her strength to look into the face of trouble that must be overcome despite the pain, and the wind furiously fluttered the hem of her heavy coat.   ,   ,     ,   ,   ,        .

Karl, a tall, fragile and pale youth with dark, thoughtful eyes and reserved movements, remained sympathetically silent. , ,           ,  . Loneliness was well known to him, and in the curve of his mouth, too sensual for a man, bitterness and doubt were already visible.     ,     ,    ,     .

For a while the friends stood silently at the windy crossroads, like two lost travelers.        ,    . Finally, Karl spoke:   :

- I'll go get your harness ready.     .

Left alone, Alexandra went into the store to warm up before the long, cold journey and ask for her purchases to be packed in egg crates.  ,                 - . Emil was sitting on the stairs leading up to the carpet and ready-made clothing department and was playing with a girl who was trying to make a cap out of a handkerchief on a kittens head.    ,  ,      ,    ,           . It was Marie Tovesky, a little Czech girl who had come with her mother from Omaha to visit her uncle, Joe Tovesky.    ,  ,         ,  . Dark-skinned, with dark, doll-like curls and smiling scarlet lips, she attracted attention with her unusual eyes: ,        ,     : brown with yellow spots, they resembled gems - either aventurine or Colorado tigers eye.    ,       ,     .

Children in these parts usually wore ankle-length dresses, and Marie, a city child, looked like she had stepped out of a Kate Greenaway drawing:          ,  ,  ,      : She wore a red cashmere dress with a high waist and a wide, gathered hem that reached almost to the floor.                 . Combined with a bonnet, this turned her into a miniature version of a lady from a bygone era.             . A white fur cape covered her shoulders, and the girl graciously allowed an admiring Emile to touch it.     ,        .

Alexandra did not have the heart to separate her brother from such a beautiful friend, and the children continued to tease the kitten until Joe Tovesky entered the store noisily and sat Marie on his shoulders so that everyone could admire her.          ,     ,                ,      . Joe himself had only boys, and he adored his little niece.      ,     . The friends who had gathered around - tanned, mustachioed farmers smelling of alcohol and tobacco - showered compliments and teased the girl, and she good-naturedly, without offense, accepted their jokes.       ,    ,      ,   ,     . Everyone was delighted with her:      : you rarely see such a beautiful and well-behaved child.       . Having declared that it was time for Marie to choose a sweetheart, the men tried to outdo each other with promises and described all sorts of sweets, pink piglets and spotted calves that she will receive. ,      ,          ,     ,   . She glanced at the applicants with a sly smile, gently ran her finger along her uncles stubbled chin and declared:       ,         :

- Here is my darling!    !

Everyone burst out laughing, and Joe hugged her so tightly that the girl screamed:  ,      ,   :

- Stop it, Uncle Joe!  ,  ! It hurts!  !

The girl's friends showered her with candied nuts, toffees, and homemade lollipops, and she gratefully kissed each one on the cheek, although she did not like farm sweets, preferring chocolates.     , ,  ,        ,     ,   . Maybe that's why she remembered Emil and ordered:  ,        :

- Let me go, Uncle Joe, I want to treat the nice boy we met.   ,  ,     ,    .

Marie's excited admirers surrounded the children in a ring and began to tease Emil until he, completely embarrassed, buried his face in his sister's skirts.          ,  ,  ,     . Alexandra complained that he was behaving like a little boy.  ,      .

The farmers were already preparing to leave:     : the women were checking their purchases and wrapping themselves in red shawls, the men were buying tobacco and sweets with their remaining money, boasting to each other about their new shoes, gloves and blue flannel shirts.        ,        ,      ,     . Three tall Czechs, smacking their lips loudly, were drinking from flasks a strong liquor with cinnamon oil, considered a sure remedy for the cold.   ,  ,        ,     . Their voices drowned out all other noise, and the whole room was filled with animated Czech speech, as well as tobacco smoke, the smell of wet wool and kerosene.     ,       ,    ,     .

Karl entered wearing a coat, carrying a wooden chest with a copper handle.    ,      .

Come on, Ive fed and watered your horses, he said to Alexandra.  ,      ,    . The cart is ready.    .

Karl carried Emil out in his arms and placed him in a pile of hay on the cart.             . The boy was drowsy from the heat, but he still held the kitten tightly.    ,       .

Youre terribly kind, Karl, you climbed in and took my kitty, he muttered sleepily.    , ,     ,    . When I grow up, Ill also help little boys with kittens.     ,       .

Before the wagon had crested the first hill, Emil and his kitten were fast asleep.       ,        . The winter day was fading, although it was not yet five o'clock.   ,       . The road led southwest, where a strip of pale, watery light glimmered on the leaden-gray horizon, illuminating two sad young faces - a girl looking to the future with pain and confusion, and a young man whose joyless gaze seemed already directed to the past.    -,   -    ,  ,       ,       ,  ,   , ,    . The town behind them dissolved like a mirage, lost among the hills, and the harsh, frosty prairie opened its arms to the travelers.     ,  ,   ,        . Many miles lay between the rare farms.      . Here and there on the horizon rose lonely windmills, and sod-roofed houses hid in the hollows.    ,      ,       . The boundless land stifled with its grandeur the pitiful shoots of human civilization, trying to break through in the gloomy expanses.         ,     . It was this that forced the young man's lips to twist bitterly at the thought of how insignificant were man's attempts to leave at least some trace on this land, which preferred to cherish in solitude its cruel power and its peculiar, wild, infinitely sad beauty.           ,       -    ,        , ,   .

The cart shook along the icy track.     . The friends were, contrary to usual, silent, as if frost had frozen their hearts.  ,  , ,     .

Did Lou and Oscar go get firewood?       ?  Karl finally asked.     .

 Yes.  . I almost regret letting him go  its so cold.  ,      . But my mother cant find a place for herself when the firewood supply is running low.      ,      .  Alexandra pushed her hair back from her forehead and sighed.         .  I cant imagine what will happen to us, Karl, if my father dies.    ,    , ,   . Im afraid to even think about it.   . It would be better if we left with him.       .

Ahead of them a Norwegian cemetery appeared, overgrown with withered grass, beyond which one could not even discern the fence.    ,   ,      . Karl saw that Alexandra needed support, but what can one say?  ,     ,    ?

Of course, she continued, controlling the trembling in her voice, the boys are strong and work hard, but we have always relied on our father so much that now I cant imagine how to live on.  ,   ,     ,      ,       ,     ,   . As if there was no point.    .

- Does your father understand?    ?

 I think so.  , . He lies around all day and counts on his fingers  trying to figure out what he will leave us.          ,   . He is consoled by the fact that my chickens lay eggs even in the frost and this gives us a small income.  ,             . I would like to distract my father from such thoughts, but now I have almost no time left to spend with him.      ,         ,    .

 Do you think it would amuse him if I brought my magic lantern?  -,  ,      ?

Alexandra perked up.  .

- Ah, Karl, did you really buy it?  , ,    ?

- Yes, its lying in the straw  did you notice the box?  ,       ? Ive been checking it at the pharmacy all morning, it works perfectly  it shows big, beautiful pictures.     ,       .

- Which ones?  ?

 Hunting scenes in Germany and funny stories with Robinson Crusoe and cannibals.             . And I also want to paint several glass plates based on Andersens fairy tales myself.            .

Alexandra perked up.  . Those who had to grow up early still retain a lot of childishness.  ,    ,   .

 Be sure to bring them, Karl!   , ! I cant wait to see them, and my father will surely be delighted.   ,    . The pictures are in color, arent they?   ? Then hell definitely like them  he loves the calendars I bring from the city.        ,     . Its a pity there arent many of them... Its time for you to turn in here, right? ,       ? Thanks for keeping me company. ,   .

Karl pulled on the reins and looked doubtfully at the black sky.          .

 Its already completely dark.    . The horses will, of course, find their way home, but Ill light a lantern  maybe youll find it useful. , ,   ,  -      .

He climbed into the cart and, covering his head with his coat, began to light a fire.     ,    ,   . On the tenth try, the lantern lit up, and Karl placed it in front of Alexandra, covering it with a blanket so that the light would not blind her.     ,      ,  ,    .

 Wait, I'll find my box... Here it is.  ,       . Good night, Alexandra!  , ! Try not to worry.   .  With these words, Karl jumped to the ground and ran across the fields to the Linstrums' farm.                .  Hey-hey!   -!. .. .  he shouted goodbye and disappeared behind a hill into a sandy hollow, and the wind echoed and howled in response.             ,       .

Alexandra continued on her way alone.     . The howling wind drowned out the sound of the wheels, and only the light from the lantern, firmly planted between her legs, marked the movement of the carriage further and further into the darkness.     ,    ,      ,         .



II

On one of the hills in the middle of the windy wasteland, there was a low log house where John Bergson was dying.           ,    . The Bergson farm was easier to find than others - it towered over a shallow, muddy stream, the Norwegian Channel, which sometimes flowed, sometimes stood as a pond at the bottom of a winding gorge with steep, rapid slopes overgrown with bushes, poplars and dwarf ash trees.             ,  ,   ,           ,  ,    . The stream distinguished the surrounding farms from others hidden in the lowlands in the middle of the wasteland.      ,     . The usual housing in these parts are dugouts that merge with the turf from which they grew.       ,   ,   . The roads leading to them are barely visible in the thick grass, the fields cultivated by human hands are lost against its background, and the tracks cut by the plow are no deeper than the pathetic scratches left on the walls of the caves by prehistoric people, or maybe glaciers.         ,        ,          ,       ,   , .

For eleven long years, Bergson left almost no trace on the wild land he came to conquer.            ,   . It retained its unbridled nature, and no one was able to unravel the riddle of its fury.     ,        . The spirit of the place was hostile to people and brought only failures.          . The sick man reflected on this, resting after a visit from the doctor whom Alexandra had invited from the city the day before.    ,    ,      . Outside the window, the invariably gray, dismal spaces stretched out.       . Bergson knew every hill, every lowland from here to the horizon.    ,      . To the south lay its plowed fields, to the east - stables, a corral for cattle, a pond, and beyond that - grass, grass, grass.      ,    ,   , ,     , , .




  .


   .

   ,     (https://www.litres.ru/book/uilla-sibert-keser-34096512/o-pionery-anglo-russkaia-bilingva-74589457/)  .

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