This translation was made by machine. If you have a better translation, please tell us.

                                                                                                                                                              NaderAzin

(Bendjis of new dresses)

Bendji was well-known in the whole village. An eight-year old girl, who carried barefoot each morning very early a black pot on the heading into the city and returned in the evening again with this pot on the heading. She should the yogurt, which her blind mother had made at night from the milk of their only cow, sell in the city, a few food procure and on the return in the same pot water from the source bring along, but unfortunately never remained something of her few cash. Not even a pair of shoes for this cumbersome way could she afford. Bendji was not like other children. She did not go to the school and had also no spare time over to play, like other children at her age. If she had few time remaining, she always helped her mother. She lived with her in the far removed India. Still before her birth she lost her father by an illness. For this reason she had to operate and provide for her blind mother. In the evening, if it became slowly dark, Bendji ate somewhat, washed herself the hands and the feet, which were bloody sometimes, because she had hurt herself on her daily way into the city at a stone. She took then her small torn cushion and lies under the window to sleep.

To basing her sleep workstation hung a picture, on which by the window few light fell. This picture was everything that belonged alone to her. She had taken it sometime from a magazine and had nailed it to the wall. In the picture a small girl was shown in a nice flowered dress and with red shoes. It was beside a road in a beautiful clean city with many colored lights and looked at Bendji friendly. Bendji was correctly in love with this dress and the beautiful shoes. Their largest desire was to have even such a beautiful dress and each evening, when she put to sleep, she tightened in the dream this dress. Only in these minutes she felt as lucky as the child in that picture. Sometimes she smiled gentle and fall asleep.

In this night Bendji was like always on her workstation under the window, looked deeply into the picture and sank then gently in her dreams. After one while she noticed that the lights behind the small girl went on and out and the shadows moved slowly. But she thought, it would be only her large tiredness. Slowly, slowly, an easy breeze moved the skirt and the long hair of the girl. But nevertheless, it was really like that! She heard the steps of the passerbies on the sidewalk of the other roadside, the noise of her laughter and speaking. After she had all exactly observed, she heard quiet, merry music in the background. Bendji was completely content that she could experience for the first time everything in the picture alive. Suddenly a car behind the girl drove past, and the wind threw its skirt and the hair to the side. In front of Bendjis surprised eyes hopped the small girl and said to Bendji: "Why do you wait? Don't you want to see our city? So stand up! Today is Christmas! Do you know at all what Christmas is? Don't you want to know that? Do you want? Now come! Rise! Don't wait any more!" Und with a branch upward Bendji disappeared behind the contour.

Bendji could not believe, what she had just seen. Surprised she rubbed her eyes, but when she heard again the voice of the small girl, she took her hands down and looked again to the picture. Yes, actually, it was the small girl, it hung heading over in the picture frame, its long hair touched the road, and it called cheeky: "Hello, I am here. Rise! You don't dream! Aha, before I forget it, I must still say to you that you have only till twelve to o'clock time, then you must be back, otherwise you must remain here until least next year Christmas." Then it pulled up again and was disappeared.

Bendji rose disbelievingly and went to the picture. When she wanted to touch the picture with her hand, she noticed that it actually was an open window to the road boundary. At her hand she felt the light wind. She looked back to her mother, made sure that she was sleeping. Slowly she got herself a large, rusty sheet metal can. It served them as only chair, on which her mother sat on some days before the door, when she waited for Bendji. She placed the can under the picture, rose to it, adhered with both hands to the road soil and stretched her heading curiously through the frame."Wow, what for a smooth soil, what for a bright road, what for fluffy air!" But someone suddenly pressed her heading with the foot on the soil. She screemed from pain loud up. The can under her slipped away, and she fell on the soil of the room.

Although she had very much pain, Bendji remained being situated calmly on the soil and was waiting, how her mother would react, but she slept still completely firmly. A mans voice induced her to look again to the picture. In the picture a man and a woman were to seen, those tried, by that Frameworks to look, but obviously could detect nothing. The man said: "What for a large rat that was! Is it possible that the city was so careless lately with the poisoning of the rats that these animals increase again?" Bendji cried: "I am not a rat! We are also humans, exactly like you! Here are not your drains, but it is our home!" The woman, who had not probably heard Bendjis voice, answered the man: "In any case we must give after Christmas the responsible person answer that they worry better about the destruction of the rats, otherwise they make still our whole life broken. Come now! Let us go! Outherwise it becomes too late." Then she took the hand of the man, and they crossed laughing on the other roadside. Bendji became clear that they had not heard her. Fast she took the can, climbed again to the picture high and stretched her body far into the picture inside, in order to convince these people of the fact that really no rats live here, but humans, whom one may not poison simply. But the two had unfortunately disappeared already in a large crowd on the other roadside.

Slowly she rose and turned, so that she sat with the bottom already almost on the road. Her legs still hung in the room. She leaned her heading on the frameworks and looked at the side of the picture hidden up to now for her. "Oh, oh, what's going on our roof!? Many send people, who carelessly walk in the decorated roads with the many multicolored lights and the modern business." Really, so much beauty she had not seen in the dream up to now. A small, decorated white pudel, which also wore dresses, carried a flower at the heading, came with a blink from the boundary of the sidewalk to her, rose its hind leg in her direction and sank it short time later again. Then it continued to walk with its send owner, who had cigarette in the mouth and the line in the hand. She did not assume Bendji, because she carried her nose too highly.

Further