They got lost. And it's up to night. Twilight was creeping insistently to the side of the road. But, thank God, it was a light haze of fog that revealed a village of a dozen yards, no more. We stopped near a house with a well. They explained to the elderly owners who came out to meet them that we were traveling and had stopped for the night closer to the apartment -it would be quieter that way.
Watching us from behind the curtains: as we washed and laid out for dinner, the hosts invited us into the house. It was cozy and modest, with lots of handmade items everywhere. There was a bright, newly whitewashed stove in the center of the house, and old photographs hung in frames on the walls. Among others, there was a picture of a village wedding. We asked what kind of wedding it was and who the bride and groom were.
...Warmth streamed through the house from the stove, and a small lampshade over the table cast soft shadows in the corners of the room, making the story we were told even more mysterious and romantic.
The heroes of this legend have known each other since childhood. They lived in neighboring yards, through a fence. Over time, their friendship turned into love. But the girl's parents had another fiance in mind-from a more affluent family, with two mills and a profitable cheese factory. The daughter's persuasions and tears, her explanations that she loves the guy from the next yard, did not soften the hearts of the parents.
Then a young couple in love, secretly from their parents, turned for help to the girl's grandmother, who lived on the other side of the village. After listening to the sad lovers, grandma told them that she had suspicions: the guy from the rich court was a werewolf, a ghoul. People say that he was once bitten by a wolf in a pasture and that when the moon is full he sneaks into the woods. But these were all rumors, and you can wrongfully offend a person by making such accusations.
"Parents probably won't believe it either, they'll think it's fiction. But I know the right way, and I'll help you, lovebirds," said grandma and took out a tablecloth embroidered with poppies from the closet. She explained that Easter cakes and eggs were consecrated on this tablecloth in the temple. "That's his strength! - grandmother claimed. - I embroidered two of them. "Your mother has one in her trunk," she told the girl, "in case of a holiday. He'll probably get it on the table for the matchmakers. But he has no power, he is not enlightened. And with this tablecloth, let's check who this groom really is." And she taught the girl how to act if rich matchmakers appeared in her house.
And so, as soon as the parents of the future bride announced that Matchmakers were expected to visit, the girl volunteered to clean the house and set the table. She replaced the tablecloth her mother had given her with her grandmother's and put it on the table, as her grandmother had taught her, with its back facing up.
So the matchmakers, as expected, were put in the red corner, and the groom in the middle. There are different liqueurs and snacks on the table. And wow! As soon as they had their first drink and had a bite, the guy started shaking, his face changed terribly, and he looked like he was trying to get out from behind. People on the left and on the right, the owners of the house across the table. So he turns around and looks out the window. He was the only one seen!
Then the neighbors said that someone was scary through their whitefish gardens: their clothes were completely torn, their hands and face were covered in gray wool.
Since then, this guy has not been seen in the village. And his parents sold his farm and left.
"And the wedding?" Was there a wedding? - We're asking.
- The young ones in the photo, you see. And next to them is the bride's own grandmother, and in her hands, look, the tablecloth is embroidered with red poppies.