The Death of Kikos
Once upon a time, there was a poor peasant. He had a wife and three daughters. One day, while the peasant was working in the field, he became very thirsty. So, he sent his eldest daughter to fetch water from the spring.The girl took a pitcher and set off to carry out her father's task. Near the spring, where she intended to draw water, there grew a huge tree. As she approached it, the eldest daughter cast a thoughtful glance at the tree and thought:
"Someday I will get married,
And I will have a son named Kikos.
He will grow up and come here to fetch water.
He will see this tree and climb it,
But a branch will break, and he will fall down:
He will hit his head on a rock and die instantly.
Oh, woe, woe! Poor little Kikos!"
The girl sat down under the tree and began to wail and lament. Back at home, they started to worry: why was she taking so long to return?
The mother sent the middle daughter to find out what was going on:
"Go and see what your sister is up to," she instructed the middle daughter.
When the eldest sister saw her middle sister approaching, she began to wail and cry even louder:
"Come, come here! Poor, inconsolable aunt, look what has happened to your little nephew Kikos!"
"What Kikos?"
"What, don't you know? Listen:
Someday I will get married,
And I will have a son named Kikos.
He will grow up and come here to fetch water.
He will see this tree and climb it,
But a branch will break, and he will fall down:
He will hit his head on a rock and die instantly.
Oh, woe, woe! Poor little Kikos!"
The middle sister also burst into tears. She sat down next to her elder sister and began to wail and lament with her.
By now, the mother was seriously worried. She sent the youngest daughter:
"Go and find out what's going on with your sisters," she told her daughter.
The youngest sister went to the spring and saw her elder and middle sisters sitting under the tree, weeping bitterly.
"What's happening here?" she asked anxiously.
"Don't you know yet?" replied the youngest sister. "Listen:
Someday I will get married,
And I will have a son named Kikos.
He will grow up and come here to fetch water.
He will see this tree and climb it,
But a branch will break, and he will fall down:
He will hit his head on a rock and die instantly.
Oh, woe, woe! Poor little Kikos!"
"Oh, poor Kikos! Who have you left your poor, unfortunate aunt to mourn you?" cried the youngest sister, joining her elder sisters in their lamentations.
Finally, the mother could no longer bear the suspense and rushed to the spring herself. All three daughters ran to meet her:
"Come, come quickly, poor, inconsolable grandmother! Look what has happened to your beloved little grandson!"
"What grandson? Since when have I become a grandmother?" exclaimed the astonished woman.
"What, don't you know yet, mother?" sobbed the eldest daughter. "Listen:
Someday I will get married,
And I will have a son named Kikos.
He will grow up and come here to fetch water.
He will see this tree and climb it,
But a branch will break, and he will fall down:
He will hit his head on a rock and die instantly.
Oh, woe, woe! Poor little Kikos!"
"Oh, woe, woe! Why am I still alive, dear Kikos? I, your unfortunate grandmother, should have died instead of you!" wailed the woman.
Meanwhile, the peasant couldn't understand where everyone had gone. He began searching for them and finally found them by the spring. As soon as they saw him, they rushed to meet him, wailing and lamenting:
"Come here, come here, you poor, unfortunate grandfather! Look what has happened to your beloved grandson Kikos!"
"What grandson? Who is this Kikos?" asked the bewildered peasant.
"What are you all talking about? I don't understand a thing!"
"What? You don't understand? Then listen:
Someday I will get married,
And I will have a son named Kikos.
He will grow up and come here to fetch water.
He will see this tree and climb it,
But a branch will break, and he will fall down:
He will hit his head on a rock and die instantly.
Oh, woe, woe! Poor little Kikos!"
And all four of them began to wail in unison:
"Oh, woe, our little Kikos has died!.."
The peasant thought for a while and then said:
"Listen to me, you foolish women. Stop crying. We can't bring Kikos back with tears. Let's go home, call the neighbors, and hold a memorial feast in Kikos's memory. Such is life: whoever comes into it must one day leave it."
All they had was one ox and a sack of flour. They slaughtered the ox, baked bread, and invited the neighbors to the memorial feast.
Afterward, they went to the church to order a requiem for the departed Kikos.
It was there that they finally came to their senses and returned to their ordinary lives.
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