Summary “The Alpine Ballad” Bykova
At night there was a bombing, and in the morning five prisoners of war found an unexploded bomb in a dilapidated factory shop. It was a chance. Replacing the damaged fuse, the prisoners cast lots – who will strike at the striker. To die out was the consumptive gaftling (captive), but he no longer had the strength to strike accurately, and Ivan Tereshka took the sledgehammer. Suddenly a German officer approached the group, although the Germans usually stayed away from the prisoners, who neutralized the unexploded ordnance. The officer called Ivan and told him to clean his dusty boots.
Working prisoners were working nearby, and Ivan caught a contemptuous glance of one of them. “This look, as if boiling water, splashed into his soul with the unbearable pain of reproach… Something that still allowed to control itself suddenly broke off in it.” Ivan jumped from his knees and struck the German in the jaw. The German pulled out a pistol, but then an explosion
There was a thick forest beyond the field, but Ivan did not have time to reach him – he was caught up by the dogs. He shot one, and on the second shot the gun jammed. Wolfhound jumped, but Ivan managed to grab the collar and break the dog’s backbone. The road to the forest was free.
Only when he was in the forest did Ivan notice that someone was following him. It was a girl, young, black-eyed and miniature Italian Julia. In the distance, Ivan saw another geftling. Escorted Tereshke were not needed – one to run much easier, but he could not leave the girl either. She was too naive and careless.
Despite the fact that there was a weak girl followed, Ivan did not slow down. Only now, making his way up the steep slope through the stones and fallen trees, Ivan noticed that the dog had managed to bite him. In addition, even during the explosion, he lost
A cold, rainy night “caught fugitives in some stony, overgrown crooked pine grove.” Wade through the Lahtali Alps was difficult, but the mountains served as an obstacle between fugitives and German motorcyclists. Prikornuvshemu under the impending rock Ivan dreamed of an ever-repeated dream, where he again and again was taken prisoner. It happened in a village near Kharkov. The detachment of Ivan was surrounded. Tereshka himself was wounded with a bayonet and woke up already in captivity.
In the morning Ivan was awakened by Julia. They managed to explain themselves in a mixture of Russian and German. He learned several German words already in Germany, and Julia taught her to speak Russian a little of her friend, also a prisoner. Ivan had a plan: to cross the Alps and get to Trieste, where, according to rumors, there were detachments of resistance. The main thing – do not fall into the hands of the Germans, do not let “hang yourself under a drum battle on a black silk drumming.”
Having got out of the gorge, the fugitives came into a dense pine forest, where they met a local resident, an Austrian. Threatening with a pistol, Ivan took from him a leather jacket and a loaf of bread. The man was elderly and poorly dressed. Tereshka did not want to become a robber at all, but he had no other choice – to go to the Alps, he needed food and clothes. In the distance, Ivan noticed a mansion where, apparently, the Austrian lived.
Prisoners ran away and climbed into the overgrown rhododendrons crevasse to have a snack. Suddenly they heard shots. Looking out of the crevice, Ivan saw the same gaftling, who was following Julia. He fled from the manor in their direction, and the Germans were beating from machine guns. The prisoner fell behind the rock, and the shots ceased. Ivan hurried away from this place.
Ivan escaped from captivity more than once. During their last escape, their company reached Ukraine. Stopping near a village, comrades sent Ivan for provisions. It was noticed by the Germans, but Ivan managed to dive into the first hut and fall under the stove. The Germans did not find it, from the shelter of Ivan “smoked” the local policeman. He set out to set fire to the house, and the master’s wife betrayed the fugitive. “Anger at this woman he did not have,” but the traitor-policeman he wanted to shoot on the spot.
Having got out of the crevice on the bare slope, Ivan was surprised to see that the geftling, which Julia called crazy, is still alive. He followed them and demanded food. I had to give a piece of precious bread – Ivan was afraid that this terrible heftling would give them away. Ivan knew that he should be killed, but the insane was defenseless, and Ivan did not raise his hand, which he then bitterly regretted.
On the slope they found a path and moved along it. It was cold, and their camp clothes did not warm at all. On the way, Julia told me about herself. She grew up in a rich family, but gave up everything for the sake of a loved one who was a communist. The girl considered the Soviet Union a fairytale country, where all are equal and happy. Ivan did not tell how hard life in this country is.
In the evening it began to snow. Ivan stubbornly walked, he wanted to pass this mountain ridge as quickly as possible, but Julia’s strength ended. Again Ivan could not leave the girl. He put it on his shoulders and carried it along a slippery path. Only by morning they passed the pass and descended into the meadow zone.
Until now, Ivan did not have a beloved girl. When his father died of hunger, Ivan had to raise his family – not until love was. The only example of such a relationship for Ivan was the love between the senior lieutenant, from whom he served as an orderly, and a young nurse. Their feelings were strong and serious, but when the lieutenant died, the girl very quickly fell in love with another. Since then, all the girls seemed to Ivan inconstant and treacherous. He decided that “girls are not for him.”
On a beautiful alpine meadow where fugitives found themselves, a lot of strawberries grew. For the first time in a few days, Ivan and Julia were able to eat. Tereshka tried to tell Julia the truth about his life in the Soviet Union, but the girl was offended and withdrew into herself. She did not want to lose her illusions, the only thing that she had left. Julia and Ivan considered a hero, but Tereshka himself had a different opinion. He believed that he should commit suicide, and not fall into German captivity. Ivan also considered his country the most fair, which he tried to explain to the girl. Hunger in the Belarusian villages for him was a temporary phenomenon, and depression – by accidental mistakes.
The love between Ivan and Julia arose suddenly and captured them without a trace. “Something unsaid, secondary, all the time holding them at a distance, was overcome, experienced happily and almost suddenly… Among the dense wilderness of the mountains, in one step from death was born the unknown, mysterious and imperious, it lived, craved, frightened and called. ” Lovers spent a day in the meadow – everything that was measured in this life.
Here they were again overtaken by a crazy heftling. I had to give him some more bread. Ivan again began to bleed a wound on his leg – a ragged dog bite did not heal. Crazy geftling disappeared for a while, but a day later appeared again, and this time not alone. He led the Germans, repeating that they would give the Russian a lot of bread. The Germans spread a narrow chain across the meadow, and Ivan and Julia again had to flee.
The wound made its mark – Ivan no longer ran, but moved with leaps, dragging his heavy and swollen leg behind him. He understood that the infection of blood began. The fugitives rushed to get as high as possible, where German bullets could not get them. Julia climbed to the edge of a steep scree, overgrown with stilt, and with difficulty dragged Ivan behind him. Then I had to make my way through the thorns. They did not need to get to the saddle. The Germans overtook, and Ivan tried to shoot back, but Julia asked not to spend all the ammunition, leave two – for himself and for him.
Breaking through the stlanyk, lovers reached the saddle. Then they noticed that the pursuit was behind, as if the Germans had decided to let them go. Ivan was not in a hurry to rejoice, and was right. The Germans fell behind only because the lovers themselves ran into a trap. The gorge to which they ended up ended in a bottomless precipice. The fugitives were already standing on the edge of the cliff, when the Germans dropped the dogs. Then Ivan noticed far below, on the slope, a snowdrift of mists of snow. He grabbed Julia in an armful and threw it all the way to the side of the snowdrift. Itself could not jump – the wounded leg prevented. Dogs attacked Ivan. “The unbearable pain pierced the throat, for a moment the gloomy sky flashed in the eyes, and everything died out forever…”.
Instead of an epilogue
Many years after the war, Ivan Tereshky’s family received a letter from Italian communist Julia Novelli. It was picked up by the partisans, warmed up and rescued. During the war, Julia joined them, and then began to work in the Union for Peace. During this time, she raised her son Giovanni, who was already eighteen. Julia insisted that Ivan’s son learn Russian. She herself did not forget her beloved for a single moment and only regretted that she did not have a single photograph of Ivan.
It was the time of the Great Patriotic War, almost half was already over, and throughout the occupied territory there were many camps where prisoners of war, women, men, children were. They could be of different nationalities and religions, but all wanted one thing – freedom. Near the Alps in Austria was one of these camps. Five prisoners of war after the bombing found an unexploded bomb and decided to use it to escape.
Since everyone wanted to live, they decided to cast lots. Prisoner Srebnikov, sick with consumption, who had a stroke on the striker, said that he did not have the strength to do it. Then Ivan Tereshka, another prisoner of war, took on this mission, but did not have time. A German officer approached the funnel, and Ivan had to jump out to the top to prevent the Germans from figuring out their plan. The German officer forced Ivan to clean his boots, and while he carried out the order, he smoked over his head, and Ivan fell on his head.
POWs passed by, and Ivan read contempt in their eyes. He held back as best he could, because he felt responsible for himself, but when the German framed the second boot and kicked Ivan in the chest, he could not stand it and attacked the German with all his might and malice. At the same moment, there was an explosion. Waking up, Ivan snatched the German’s Browning and ran to the fence. He did not manage to reach the forest – he was caught up with dogs. Ivan had to withstand the fight with the wolfhound and only then to run to the spruce more often. Quickly moving forward, he heard behind him some steps, and turning, saw shadows. Behind him ran a black-haired girl. Behind the girl there was a silhouette of another prisoner, but he was far behind Ivan. The girl moved quickly and carelessly. What caused Ivan’s irritation and dislike.
The girl was surprised by a slap in the face and even repeated the curse, which from anger flew out of the mouth of Ivan. This she even caused in him a sense of guilt for his act. The girl was so defenseless and at the same time fearless that Ivan could not help taking her with him. When he had to run across the road, he forced her to remove the shoes and took her hand. Acquainted with the girl closer, Ivan learned that she was Italian, her name was Julia and her friend taught her a little Russian. Ivan, meanwhile, planned to cross the Alps to Trieste. He had information that there were resistance detachments. On the way, she and Julia met the same Hoegliftling, who was then behind Julia. He was wounded, he always asked for bread from them and gave them a lot of trouble, but he did not raise his hand to shoot the madman. This was his mistake.
Between Ivan and Julia real feelings broke out. For Julia and Ivan there was not only geftling, but also Germans. It was very difficult for them to escape, as Ivan was wounded after the fight with the wolfhound. Ivan fired back, but Julia asked him to leave two bullets for them. At some point they thought that the Germans were behind, but it was a trap. At the moment when they had a gap on one side and Germans on the other, Ivan threw Julia down into a snowdrift. Julia survived, and she had a son from Ivan, Giovanni.
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