Translate by Natalia N Murray
NOONE
A man is walking along a side street having just had a few beers with his friends....he is feeling so good..hasn't been to work for a few days.
Suddenly a brick falls off the roof and he only just manages to get out of the way.
-Who did this? - he looks up scratching his head.
- Noone! - he hears back.
- Who said that? - he looks behind him and there is noone around.
- Noone! - says the voice again.
- Must be the wind....
The wind gets up and blows dust in his eyes.
- Who is doing this? - shouts the man.
- Noone! - answers the voice.
- Who is talking?
- Noone! - and the voice now sounds somewhat angry. - And if you want to see me you have to name me.
- You are nothing but a filthy dog, - says the man.
And here it is...a filthy dog before him, matted fur, glowing yellow eyes. The dog growls and bites into his leg ripping his trousers before he manages to fight it off.
He keeps walking and then suddenly trips and falls for no apparent reason.
- Who has tripped me up?
- Noone!
- Who is speaking?
- Noone. But if you want to see me you have to name me.
This time the man guessed he was being tricked and said:
- You are a dummy!
And looking at the ground he sees a plank of wood lying there. Big and heavy. He grabs it and starts waving it around.
- Just you wait you noone! I will show you! - he shouts in anger... and accidentally hits himself on the head and drops dead.
The following morning he is found by the police.
- Who could have done this?
Whispers the policeman to himself...
- Noone... - says the quiet voice in the air.
THREE CENTS
A man was going to work. He left his house, pushed open the car door, and suddenly a boy appears before him and says:
"Hey, mister, give me three cents!"
It is winter. The day was frosty. And the boy has on only the pressed shorts and a trotted short-sleeved shirt.
"Get out!" The man cries, gets into the car and driving away. Though he was a rich man, had a big house, a lot of money, he never gives to the beggars, from the street.
In the evening the man returns home from work, parks the car and the same boy appears in front of him.
"Hey, mister, give me three cents!"
The man harshly pushed away the boy aside, entered the house, switched on the TV-set, took a bath, ate supper... Occasionally he looked out the window and there the boy was standing near the entrance of the man’s house. The boy is trembling with frost but did not go away. The man has seen this and ignored him.
Next morning just the man comes out of his house and he heard the voice of the boy again "Hey, mister, give me three cents!"
And so for two days! On the third day the man couldn’t tolerated it and has gave him not three cents but third cents.
The boy did not say anything. He took the money and disappeared.
Nevertheless, the next day the boy was standing in front of his house and begging:
"Hey, mister, give me three cents!"
The man has given even three dollars! Without any effect! The man was sleeping in his bed and suddenly awoke from the touch of ice fingers. He opened his eyes and that boy leaned over him and whispered "Hey, mister, give me three cents!"
At last, the man has understood the cause was not money. He runs to the fortune-tellers "Help me!", and told them his problem
They listened and nodding their heads... They tell him "This is your conscience. Though it may seem punishment, it may also rescue you. Look into your past!"
Exactly! The man remembered one incident. Once, a long time ago then he learned at school he had tear from one boy any money. Just for fun.
He took his old album and there he has saw a familiar photo - the face of that beggar!
"Yes, I found it!" Thought the man.
His soul has been filled with ease, because the man loosed a dream, an appetite...
Next day he met the boy and gave him a whole three thousands dollars! He then kneeled before the boy and apologized. The boy took the money and said nothing.
In the evening, the man had a nice quiet dinner and fell fast asleep... Suddenly he awakened by his thirst, so he went downstairs into the kitchen and there the boy was standing and whispering in the darkness:
"Hey, mister, give me three cents!"
The man gave him everything: all of money, furniture, cars... He had only his old trousers and shirt. He knelt in front of the boy and started crying:
"I have no money, I have nothing, I have given you everything that I have!"
The boy smiled and said
"No, you did not"
With these words, the boy jumps up, pulls open the man’s chest and takes three cents from the man’s heart.
GRIEVANCE
There once was a boy. He was growing up with just his mum to care for him and no father. The boy was very quick to take offence. He cried every time he didn’t do well at school and spent his walk home thinking about how it would be nice to punish his teacher. Whenever he got given the wrong toy for his birthday he would sit in the corner feeling sorry for himself. And whenever anyone actually did him wrong he would shout and scream and try to start a fight. If unable to take revenge he would walk around sullen faced wishing all his enemies dead. And so, he grew and his grievance grew with him.
Once day he was walking back from a club feeling very sorry for himself; the girls didn’t want to dance with him, the boys were trying to pick a fight. It was quite late at night and it was dark outside so he tripped over a stone. He held on to his foot in pain, jumping around and swearing when a woman suddenly appeared from nowhere. She was quite huge and had a very red face and massive hands.
- I cannot get back at the whole world of course, - she said, - but I can get rid of this stone. She grabbed the stone and squeezed it until it turned into a handful of sand.
- Who are you? - the boy was frightened.
- Don’t be afraid of me, - said the woman, hugging him and stroking his head. I am your grievance, and from now on I will never let anyone offend you.
The boy’s life changed for the better. If ever he was upset with his boss the red-faced woman would storm into the boss’ office tearing up papers and throwing the boss himself around the room...
Whenever he was walking alone in a dark alley and was approached by some delinquents looking to rob him .... the huge woman would come to the rescue and beat the bullies up. Moments later his offenders would be lying on the ground unconscious and badly hurt.
- Had you got a bit more upset with them I would have killed them - boasted Grievance.
Everyone grew afraid of the boy. People started avoiding him and never said a bad word to him, or even a good word for that matter.
So, life was great for him, or so he though. And one day he decided to get married. The girl he wanted to marry was afraid of him so she married him out of fear. He calmed down a bit and didn’t get upset with people so much anymore.
Years passed, his love for his wife was strong, she was the apple of his eye. But one day he got terribly upset with her. She did something wrong, maybe dinner wasn’t ready when he expected, or she didn’t listen when he was talking to her but he took great offence. They argued, he stormed out of the room into the kitchen to pour himself some wine to calm down when he heard her scream.
"Serves you right" - he said angrily, but when the screaming didn’t stop he could not help it and went to check on her. He ran into the bedroom and saw the huge woman on top of his wife trying to strangle her on their bed. She Was holding the poor woman down with her huge knee, her massive hands firmly around her neck. He ran to her but it was too late. Grievance took his wife’s lifeless body and threw it on the floor and turned to him: " I will never let anyone’s else’s grievance upset you".
The young man didn’t say a word. He quietly walked into the bathroom, threw a rope around the pipe near the ceiling and put his head in the noose. As he started convulsing the huge hands lifted him out, ripped the rope and softly placed him on the floor.
Even death can’t have you now - said Grievance. You nourished and nurtured me for so many years and made me grow so big and strong!
And so, they are now living together, just the two of them, going from one place to another and no one knows how much harm this Grievance of his is going to cause in the world.
BACHELOR
Once upon a time, the fellow lived in a little town. It so happened, his parents died in a car crush and he lived alone. However, if his parents were alive now, nothing would change in his life. He did not love them, he loved nobody, he loved only himself.
"Give to wife, give to children, but what will I have? Who will give to me?" He thought to himself.
He could do whatever he wants. He wanted go to the party - going to the party; he wanted to go in the nightclub - going to the nightclub; he wanted bay a car - baying a car. And nobody said to him a bad word. He was born with a silver spoon in one’s mouth.
So it went on, until his forties was running out. And he started to feel cold at night. The hot summer heat settled in the suburb of the city, the windows of houses are wide open, but the bachelor is shivering from chill as if a cold autumn came. He is laying under two heavy wool blankets, on his head a ski cap, nevertheless his teeth are chattering from cold, the bed sheets are burning his back from the chill...
He had recurrence for the help of many doctors, but they did not find any cause or the medical validity for this very strange case. In the day the bachelor feels a kind of warm, by the evening when back at home he feels a cold again.
Sitting in the cold is very bad. The bachelor starts to go to his married friends. He came, sat, conversed, feeling the ice melt within his body, the chill letting go of him, to bask in the another’s love as in a fireplace. He talked some nonsense, so that he could be with friends longer.
However, his friends began to notice that things are not well. The scandals and the quarrels begun in this family, just as the bachelor left them. Why? What is going on? They did not understand this, but they had refused from friendship with him.
The bachelor had stayed alone. He is sitting at home, shivering from the cold, neither a whiskey or heating didn’t help. He is sitting, wearing the winter fur coat and winter cap, his hands are blue, his face is white, the vapor is going from mouth... Only his one thought is turning into his head:
"Give to wife; give to children, but what will I have? Who will give to me?"
The winter has come and the bachelor had froze to death. The people had found him and wondered - he was lying dead near heating and the grey ice glistened on his eyes.
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