Fifteen years in a childhood paradise

This contractor just doesn't want to lose his job. Vater didn't charge him anything for the few apples that are left, and he also keeps an eye on the new trees."

"I don't think I would like that job." "Neither would I. But how about going to the orchard instead to the forest?"

"Why, would there be anything left that we could eat? I thought you had no fruit this year?"

"You are quite right, but I know an old pear tree which survived the severe winter."

"Oh, I like pears," said Hans. "So do I, let's go then."

We went through the garden gate and turned towards the third greenhouse. There was a tall pear tree, with branches hanging low enough to be reached, if we climbed along the outside wall of the sloping greenhouse roof. There were a few pears hanging in the tree.

"Hans, I must tell you a story connected with this tree. It must have been in September 1934, before my school lessons started. I often roamed about then with my Polish friends. Günter was already getting his school lessons from Mutter, so I was left to amuse myself." "What has that to do with the pear tree here?" "One day I played again with my Polish friends in the sand pit over the fence there. We knew that the fruit in this garden were beginning to ripen. As some branches were hanging over the fence, we could see some pears almost ready for picking."

"But it's very tall." "It wasn't that tall then, but as it stands right close to the fence and near the greenhouse here, we just had to steal some pears."

"Why didn't you just go into the garden and get them, as we are doing now?"

"Opa didn't want us here, and as I had about four friends from the village with me, he most certainly would have had a fit."

"So, what did you do?" "I said to Józiu, one of my play-mates: 'could you climb the fence for us and reach those pears?'"

"But Józiu was scared. 'Let Stefan go, he is taller'. Stefan, his older brother, didn't need any encouragement. The pears looked too attractive to him to argue about who was to go up. He climbed the fence from out there, then on to the side of the roof, and higher to where he could reach the pears. He threw a couple of pears down for each of us, and some more went inside the top of his jumper, after he made sure that it was tucked into his belt. When he picked all the pears he could reach, he turned to come down. Then he suddenly ducked. 'The Wiele Moúzny is coming,' he shouted."

"Who's that?"

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