Seite - 66 - in The Forest Farm - Tales of the Austrian Tyrol

his name-day? At the time of which I speak, lucifer-matches had not yet been invented and so the beloved fire was a precious thing. You could not carry it in your pocket as easily as to-day, without burning your trousers. It had to be knocked out of stones with hard blows; no sooner hatched, it must be fed with tinder, and it was long ere it derived strength enough from this to peck at coarser food and then become fledged. On every separate occasion, fire had to be formally brought into the service of man. It was a toilsome and ticklish piece of work; my own mother, who was usually so gentle, could get quite cross over it. The glowing embers, however carefully preserved overnight in the hearth, were generally dead by morning. Whatever pains mother might take to blow up the sparks in the ashes, it was all in vain: the fire had died during the night. And then the striking with flint and steel began, and we children were often quite hungry before mother produced the fire that was to cook the morning- porridge. So it was on the morning of cousin’s name-day. We had heard the bellows- blowing and fire-striking for some time out in the kitchen. Then our mother suddenly exclaimed: “It’s no good at all! One would think the devil had spat on the hearth! And the flint hasn’t a spark of fire left in it, and the tinder’s damp, and here’s everybody waiting for their porridge!” Then she came into the room and said: “Come, Peterle, quick, and run across as fast as you can to the Knierutscher woman. Tell her that I beg her to send me a handful of embers from her hearth. And take her that loaf of bread over there for her kindness. Hurry up, Peterle, so that we can get our porridge quickly.” I had my little white linen breeches on in no time and, as I was, barefoot and bareheaded, I took the heavy round loaf under my arm and ran off to the Knierutschers’ house. “You old sunshine!” I said, as I went. “You ought to be ashamed of yourself, that you can’t even warm a mouthful of porridge, and here I’ve got to go running to the Knierutscher woman for fire—But just you wait: things will soon be bright and jolly on our hearth—the flames will leap over the sticks, the walls will light up red, the pots will bubble, the smoke will rush out of the hearth and the chimney and hide you from sight! And quite right too, for then we shall eat our porridge and our stew in the shadow, and the pancake, too, that’s to be fried to-day for Cousin Jok, and you shall see