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24 WWW. UNWLA.ORG “НАШЕ ЖИТТЯ”, ЖОВТЕНЬ 201 7 The Mitten: A Ukrainian Folktale Retold for adults by Irene S. Pyskir - Bilak Just recently, a loving grandmother spent time with her young grandson Nicholas, Nicky, as he was called by most of his friends and family. She knitted him a new pair of mitten s, which by his re quest, were snow white. Grandmother - Baba and Nicky enjoyed themselves indoors as it was snowy and cold outdoors. Later in their conversation, Nicky stated, “Grandma, I am going outside to play in the snow. Would that be alright?” “Yes, that’s fine, Nicky. The fresh air will do you good, but be careful. If you lose your white mittens in the white snow, you might have a hard time finding them.” “Don’t worry, Baba, I’ll be fine.” Sure enough after sledding a while, build- ing a snowman, and l ooking for animals which abounded in the forest behind his grand ma’s house, tired, Nicky came back to Baba’s house to warm up. “I hope my good Babusia will give me some hot chocolate. That would be absolutely grand,” he thought. Inside, Nicky hung up his coat, not notic- ing that one of his mittens had fallen somewhere on the snow. Baba served Nicky his favorite sandwich, with a large cup of chocolate milk which Nicky devoured. It was fun to be in her house and share a meal with Baba. “Thank you, Baba. That was delicious. I’ll just lie down on your comfy sofa and rest a bit. Ok? I’m tired and sleepy.” “Of course! I’ll sit down next to you and do more knitting. Perhaps I’ll make some mittens for your sister.” In just a few minutes Nicky was fast asleep. He dr eamed that his mitten was lying in the snow, but it was not the white one Baba gave him. It was blue and yellow, and it was very large. Outdoors in the bitter cold, Harriet Hedgehog was looking for food, spotted the blue and yellow mitten, and decided to c limb in to see what there was to see. She liked the comfort of the mitten and soon felt warm and snug inside. Rare Rabbit came by and asked if he could join her. “Come in,” replied Harriet Hedgehog. Soon Felix the Fox came by and asked to come inside, wagg ing his bushy tail. “We’ll move over. Come on in. We’ll make room for you. You’ll warm us with your cozy fur.” “Thanks. We’ll make it a party!” Foxy fox- es love to have a good time, especially when they have consumed a few chicks. “Hey, what’s going on? I wasn’t invited,” croaked Froggie Frog. Of course, the animals let her in, tight as it was. There were now four. However, things changed drastically when a large bear, a very, very large bear, Russian Bear Putin Putinsky told the animals to give up the mi tten. “I want the mitten to myself. I need lots of room! I’m used to getting my way. I want to make Russia great again. I’ve taken Crimea from you. No vacations there for you anymore! If you don’t agree, I’ll also bring my family of bears to beat you up. M ove, now!” As Putinsky talked, he stood on his hind legs, pulled himself up and roared. The animals cringed and started to move. He did not wait; he pushed his way in, terrorizing them all with his brute body, large claws and huge teeth. The blue and yell ow mitten started to rip and give way. There was a pop and they all fell out. Now no one would have a home! The animals cried, tumbling into the cold snow! “You ruined our home! Putinsky, you are a bully,” yelled Rare Rabbit. Suddenly a warm, pleasant bree ze gently blew bringing with it a tall, beautiful woman dressed in furs with a gold crown on her head. A large eagle was perched on her shoulder. “I am the good witch Baba Yaga America. Many magical tricks have I. But, I can turn also into the evil Ya- ga at will.” In her hand she held the American flag. “Did you vote to let the bear Putinsky into your home, or did he threaten you?” she asked. “No, Your Royal Highness, no, we did not have a chance. Lady America, home of the power- ful Eagle,” stated Felix the F ox. “Putinsky threat- ened us and moved in by force. I see some more bears coming in the distance. I fear they will beat us up! But we will not give up. We will fight for our rights, our animal rights guaranteed by our Forest Constitution. We shall have to c onsult with our president, the Lion King.” Harriet Hedgehog and Rare Rabbit nod- ded in agreement shaking from cold and fright. “Save us, Good Witch Baba Yaga - America. Please save us! Putinsky took our warm home and our peninsula Crimea on the Black Sea. We want it back!” “Please call your President, the Mighty Li- on Poroshenko. He replaced bad Russian puppet
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