Note 4 — Chapter V · SLOVAK, MORAVIAN, AND BOHEMIAN GYPSY STORIES

‘Well, we set off and journeyed through the great forests, where we must go on and on, two whole days, without ever lighting on town or village. Never a peasant was to be seen, and night,’ she said, ‘came upon us, when we could go no further, and I was so weak that I could not take another step. There, poor soul, I had to bide, lying in the great forest under a great tree. It rained, and we crouched close under so as not to get wet. Forthwith I gathered wood, made a big fire, plucked moss, and made a resting-place for us. It was dark, and my sons said, “We must mind and not be eaten by wild beasts.” And my elder son said to his brother, “I will think what must be done. You, too, have a couple of guns; if anything attacks us, you will shoot.” But he said to his elder brother, “Do you, my brother, sleep first, and when you have had your sleep out, then you will watch again.”4 As they all slept under that great tree, he thought to himself, “I will sling my gun round my neck and climb a tree.” He climbed a tree, reached its top, for he wondered whether he might not see something—a village or a town or a light. As it was, he did see a light. He took the hat from his head, and threw it in the direction of the light.’