Chapter 16 Chapter Fourteen

Old "Wrodika" was not wrong when he said that Zbyszko and Jagienka loved each other, and even missed each other.Jagienka often came to Bogdaniec, either alone or with her father, under the pretext that she was going to see Macko's illness.Zbyszko also often went to Zgotrilitye.In this way, within a few days they became acquainted and had friendship.They fell in love with each other and talked about the things they were interested in.There is also a great deal of mutual admiration in this friendship.The young and handsome Zbyszko, who had already distinguished himself in the war, had participated in many tourneys, had seen many kings, and therefore seemed to the girl a knight of real character, especially when When she compared him with Rogoff's Khitan or Borzodova's Wilke; for his part, he was amazed at the girl's extraordinary beauty.He was loyal to Danusia; but whenever he saw Jagienka suddenly in the forest or at home, he often couldn't help thinking: "Hey, what a beautiful girl!" He helped her mount her horse, and touched her with his hands. His elastic body felt unnatural, and he couldn't help shivering, his whole body feeling numb.

Jagienka, in spite of her proud, sarcastic, and even somewhat pretentious nature, became more and more tender towards him, often looked at him, tried to please him; he understood her feelings; he was grateful to her for this, I like being with her more and more.At last, especially after Macko had begun to drink bear blubber, they saw each other almost every day; and when the scraps of iron were out of the wound, they went together to get fresh otter blubber which was necessary for the healing of the wound. They took their crossbows, mounted their horses, and went first to Mochitori, which was assigned to Jagienka as a dowry, and then to the edge of the forest, where they handed over their horses to a servant, and went on foot, because they had been riding on horses. No jungle.As they walked, Jagienka pointed to a large meadow covered with reeds and a long line of green forests and said:

"The woods belong to Rogoff." "Is that the one who wants to marry you?" She laughed: "He wants it!" "It's easy for you to defend yourself because you have Wilk as your bodyguard, a man who, as far as I know, has a gnashing of teeth on Chedang. I wonder why they don't fight each other to the death." ①It means wolf. "They don't challenge, because 'Dadoro' said to them before he went to war: 'If you fight for Jagienka, I will never see you again.' When they were in Triritre, they glared at each other; but after that, they drank together in an inn in Kirsisnia, and they all got very drunk."

"Fool!" "why?" "Because one of them can take you away by force while Zikh is away. So what will Zikh do when he comes back and finds you with a baby on your lap?" At this Jagienka's blue eyes sparkled. "Do you think I'll let them take it? Don't we have anyone in Zgortritri? Don't I know how to make a crossbow or a boar-piercing spear? They'll try it! I'll drive them home Go, even attack them at Rogov or Borzodova. My father understood that, so he was able to go to war and leave me alone at home." As she said this, she frowned and shook her crossbow so menacingly that Zbyszko laughed and said:

"You should be a knight, not a girl." She calmed down and replied: "Kitten defends me, lest I be taken away by Wilk, and Wilk is afraid that I will be taken away by Kitten. Besides, I am under the protection of the abbot, and it is better for anyone not to touch the abbot." "Oh wow!" said Zbyszko. "They're all afraid of the abbot! But, may St. George help me to tell you the truth, I'm not afraid of the abbot, nor your peasants, nor yourself; I'll marry you!" At this, Jagienka stopped where she was, fixed her eyes on Zbyszko, and asked in a soft, surprised voice:

"Will you marry me?" So her lips parted, her face flushed like the morning glow, and she waited for his answer. But he was evidently only thinking what he would do if he were in Chidden's or Welker's place; for after a moment, shaking his golden hair, he went on: "A girl must marry and not fight boys. Unless you have a third, you must choose one of the two." "You needn't tell me that," answered the girl sadly. "Why not? I've been away from home for a long time, so I don't know if there's anyone near Zgotrilici that you'd like."

"Hi!" answered Jagienka. "forget it!" They walked on in silence, trying to break their way through the jungle, but the jungle was denser now, for the bushes and trees were covered with hop-vines.Zbyszko went ahead, tearing down the green vine, and snapping branches here and there; Jagienka, with a crossbow slung over her shoulder, followed him like a huntress. "Beyond the jungle," she said, "there is a deep stream, but I know where the shallow water for the river is." "My boots are above my knees, and we can get through," replied Zbyszko.

After a while, they came to the stream.Jagienka found a place to cross the river easily, as she knew the Mochitori forest well; but the river was deeper than usual because of the swell from the rain, and Zbyszko took the girl away without her consent. in my arms. "I can go by myself," said Jagienka. "Put your arms around my neck!" replied Zbyszko. He walked slowly in the water, and the girl clung to him.At last, when they were on the other side, she said: "Zpiscigu!" "what?" "I don't care about Chedden, and I don't care about Wilk."

As he put her on the shore, he replied excitedly: "May God give you the best! You young couple will never quarrel." Now it is not far from Lake Ozteni.Jagienka walked ahead, turning her head every now and then, putting a finger to her lips, and telling Zbyszko to be silent.They walked among the willows and the gray poplars, on the low, damp ground.From the left, the sound of birds could be heard, and Zbyszko was surprised to hear it, because it was the time for birds to migrate, and where did the birds come from. "We're approaching a swamp that never freezes," said Jagienka in a low voice, "where the ducks spend the winter; even the lake freezes only near the shore. Look at it misting."

Looking through the willows, Zbyszko saw what seemed to be a sandy bank covered with mist, which turned out to be Lake Ozteny. Jagienka put her finger to her mouth again; after a while they reached the lake.The girl climbed an old willow tree and bent her body towards the water.Zbych learned from her; they remained silent for a long time, the fog was thick ahead, and nothing could be seen; nothing could be heard, only the four mallards looked and cried sadly.Finally the wind blew, and the yellow leaves of willows and poplars rustled, exposing the lake water, and the lake surface was blown by the wind.

"Do you see anything?" whispered Zbyszko. "No. Be quiet!" After a while, the wind stopped, followed by a boundless silence.Then a head appeared on the surface of the lake, and then another; at last, near them, a large otter jumped from the bank into the water, with a freshly broken branch in its mouth, and stood among the green floating grass and longevity. Chrysanthemum swam up in the middle, it exposed its mouth above the water, and pushed the branch in front of it.Lying on the trunk below Jagienka, Zbyszko saw her elbows move quietly, her head fell forward; evidently she had aimed at the clear lake, which she did not expect any danger. Swimming past the beast. At last the bow of the crossbow thumped, and at the same time Jagienka was heard shouting: "I hit it! I hit it!" Immediately Zbyszko climbed higher and looked out at the water through the bushes; the otter dived into the water, then emerged from the water again, turning its head over and over again. "I gave it a dick! It's guaranteed to be immobilized immediately!" said Jagienka. The beast slows down, and before you can recite a verse of "Blessed Mary," it floats on its belly. "I'll go get it up," Zbyszko said. "No, don't go. There's deep clay on the bank here. Anyone who doesn't know how to deal with it must be drowned." "Then how do we get it up?" "It's always going to Bogdaniec tonight, don't worry; now we have to go home." "You guys are amazing!" "Hey! This is not the first one!" "Other girls are afraid to even look at the stone bow; with you together, no one has to be afraid to go into the forest." Jagienka smiled at this compliment, but made no reply; they went back the way they had come.Zbyszko asked her something about the otters; she told him how many there were in Mochita and how many there were in Zgotrilici. She suddenly slapped her waist with her hand and shouted: "Well, I dropped the arrow on the poplar. Wait a minute!" Before he had time to say that he would go back and find her, she had already hopped back like a little deer and disappeared.Zbyszko waited and waited; at last he began to wonder what had delayed her so long. "She must have lost those arrows, and is looking for them," he thought, "but I'm going to see if anything has happened to her." He was about to go back when the girl appeared with a bow in her hand, a smile on her red face, and the otter on her shoulder. "My God!" cried Zbyszko, "how did you get it up?" "How did you get it up? I got into the water, and what else! That's nothing new to me; but I don't want you to go, because I don't know that swimmers get stuck in the mud and can't get up." "I'm waiting here like a fool! You're a cunning girl." "Well, can I undress in front of you?" "Well, if I go to Yue'e with you, I can see a miracle!" "do not talk!" "I was just about to go, I swear!" "do not talk!" After a while, to change the subject, she said: "Help me twist my braids, it wets my back." Zbyszko took hold of the braid with one hand and began to twist it with the other, saying at the same time: "Better to untie it. The wind will dry it quickly." But she would not do that because she had to get out of the jungle.Zbyszko put the otter on his shoulders.Jagienka went ahead of him and said: "Now Macko will be well soon, for there is nothing better for a wound than bear fat or otter fat. In two weeks he will be riding a horse." "God bless!" replied Zbyszko. "I'm waiting for this day as if for a savior, because I can't leave the patient and it hurts me to stay here." "Why is it hard for you to stay here?" she asked him. "Has Zich told you nothing about Danusia?" "No, he told me a little... I know she put her hood over your head. I know that! He also told me that every knight takes an oath to serve his mistress. But he said, This oath is nothing; some knights are married, and still serve their mistresses. Zbyszko, tell me about this Danusia!" She walked close to him, looking into his face with great anxiety; he paid no attention to his startled tone or look, but said: "She was my lover, and at the same time my closest lover. I have never told of her to anyone; but I will tell you, because you and I have known each other since childhood. I must go to her, even if If I cross the tenth river, cross the tenth sea, even if I go to the Germans, to the Tartars, I will go to her, because there is no other like her in the world. Girl. Leave my uncle in Bogdaniets, and I will go to her. Without her, what Bogdaniecs, what family, what herds, what abbot's property do I care about! I want Ride and walk, I swear; I will keep my vow to her, or I'd rather die." ① means to search all over the world. "I didn't know," Jagien-Carmen replied sullenly. Zbyszko told her all that had happened; how he had met Danusia at Tiniec; how he had sworn to her, and all that had happened afterwards; how he had been imprisoned, and how Danusia had saved him; He spoke of Jurand's refusal to give his daughter to him, of their parting, of his loneliness; and finally of his happiness, because as soon as Macko recovered he would go to his dear girl.He didn't continue talking until he saw the servant leading the horse and waiting by the edge of the forest. Jagienka jumped on her horse, and said good-bye to Zbyszko at once. "Let this servant go with you behind the otter's back, and I'm going back to Zgotrilici." "Then you haven't gone to Bogdaniec? Zich is there." "No. Daduro said he would go back and told me to go straight home." "Well, may God reward you for the otter." "goodbye." Jagienka went back alone.She was walking home across the moor, looking back at Zbyszko's back; and when he had disappeared beyond the woods, she covered her eyes with her hands, as if to shade the sun.But in a few moments big tears rolled down her cheeks and fell on the horse's mane.