The Wall by Marlen Haushofer

Author:Marlen Haushofer
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Cleis Press Start
Published: 2013-06-10T04:00:00+00:00

On the twentieth of May I began the move. I packed Hugo’s big rucksack and my own, and set off with Lynx. The meadow at the Alm was free of snow, and the young grass was green and glistened moistly beneath the blue sky. Lynx charged impetuously off across the soft grass. For some reason he kept rolling over, and looked very gauche and funny. At the hut I unpacked the rucksacks, drank tea from the flask and then lay down in bed on the pallet to rest a little. There was a kitchen with a bed and a small bedroom. I couldn’t bear to stay on the pallet for long; I had to have a look at the byre. It was, of course, much bigger than my byre, and had been kept much cleaner than the hut, and it seemed to be in working order, even if the wooden pipes had already rotted a bit. There was a little pile of wood in the stable, which was perhaps enough for two weeks. I wanted to get by with sticks throughout the summer. There was an axe as well, and that was all I needed. The important thing was the dairy implements, a few pails and barrels in which cheese had probably been made in the past. I didn’t need to bring any pots and pans either, as there were enough there for one person. I was struck by the fact that the dairy things, in contrast to the pots and pans, had been kept scrupulously clean, just as the byre had been kept so much cleaner than the hut. The dairyman seemed to have made a clear distinction between private and business matters.

I decided to leave the lamp in the hunting-lodge as well, and make do with candles and a torch. But I did want to bring the little spirit stove so that I wouldn’t have to heat the oven on warm days. The move was certainly worthwhile as far as Bella and the bull were concerned. It was light and sunny up here, and there was enough fodder for a few months. Also, summer would soon be at an end, and perhaps the sun and the dry air would cure my rheumatism completely. Lynx sniffed inquisitively at each object, and seemed thoroughly to concur with all my intentions. It was one of his most lovable aspects, the fact that he approved of everything I did, but it was dangerous for me too, and often encouraged me to do things that were stupid or foolhardy.

In the days that followed I gradually brought to the pasture everything I considered to be absolutely necessary, and on the twenty-fifth of May came the day of departure from the hunting-lodge. For the previous few days I had grazed Bella and the bull in the clearing, so that the little one could get used to walking out in the open a bit. The change had made the bull cheerfully excited. After all, the only thing he had ever known was the constant gloom of the stable.

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