(magic realism story)

Two Dragovich brothers lived in a small Austrian village. One was 13 years old and the other was 9. The boys were very active, constantly looking for something new. They longed for learning the world.

Their parents were poor, so the children had no toys. Instead of toys, they had a whole world that they eagerly studied. Because of this, they did all the mischief in the village. Then they could steal a horse from a neighbor and jump on it through amazing Austrian mountains, then they could fight with their father’s fighting cocks, or even scare the shepherd and all his cows. But the guys were loved by everyone too much and had never been scolded. Though they kept on doing their pranks.

In their village there was a legend about a sacred stone that was forbidden to touch. This stone was in a cave, and its magic had been hidden. Even every cat in the village knew about it. But the boys went to the cave and moved the sacred stone. The whole cave began to glow and shake. The brothers got scared and ran away. When they returned to the village, they realized that they made a big mistake, got mute, and none of the villagers could talk to them. People were shocked and realized that Dragovichi had done it. They saw them but could not catch the meaning of their humming and bumming. No one knew how to fix it. Then one of the old men with a lush and gray beard took the boys by the hands and led them to the cave. The peasants only hoped for a miracle. The wise old man brought the boys to the crime scene, put the sacred stone in place, and gestured that the stone should be touched with a forehead and kissed. Trembling, Drahovichi obeyed the instructions of the wise man and the speech returned. After this prank, the Dragovich brothers never harmed anybody again. Over time, they grew into handsome and hard men, guarding their village.

Adult brothers…