Page:Selected Czech tales - 1925.djvu/21

 thing happens as your not knowing what is going on, our mountain will disappear and a great lake come in its place.’

‘Come, come, you’ve made enough noise from the belfry for us not to forget that you are the sacristan. What are rattling on for now?’

‘How can I help being surprised? So far you have always known everything that happened exactly an hour sooner than those whom it most concerned. I could not dream that you should not have known of Lukas’s young wife having blessed this life, and gone to her rest in the Lord.’

‘Lukas’s young wife? That can’t be true! That is impossible! I met her last night in the lane.’

‘I saw her hanging up her washing yesterday.’

‘I’ve told you the truth. Lukas’s young wife has blessed this life. She died a few minutes before noon, and left a little daughter.’

‘Poor wee thing! What a hard parting that must have been! Poor wretched mother!’

‘They say she died an easy death; she did not know she was going where all of us who are standing here will have to go; one a little