Emilian Stanev

A short story with this title clearly reflects Emilian Stanev's view of life in nature, enduring features of his attitude to the world. Isn't it the key to the sources of his creative originality? There is nothing fairy-tale about the plot. On a moonless June night, a goldfinch sneaks into the nest of two finches, where the female warms her small, still naked offspring with her body. The bird wakes up and sees "the eyes of the little beast, which phosphoresced like two burning bluish-green abysses, but it continued to lie over the chicks, because a mother's love is stronger than death." Maybe this is a story about the power of a mother's love? No, only this restrained passage is dedicated to it. The author also describes the drama that unfolded, the death of the bird and its chicks with restraint: "Suddenly the golden eagle rushed forward, grabbed the nest in its paws, tore it off and fell with it onto a branch. There it sank its thin, needle-like teeth into the finch, which squealed. Then the little beast ate the bird and the naked chicks slowly, without rushing, as cats eat... Fed and already lazy, the golden eagle crawls into the hollow of the beech tree, where it falls asleep. "The beech leaves trembled soothingly, as if distant waters were rustling." Nothing unusual has happened, the June night is still as calm and beautiful, illuminated by the pale light of the stars. Even more beautiful is the morning when the forest awakens - endless and vast", the horizon is ablaze "with the advancing sunrise" and on the top of the huge beech, on its silvery bark, "fiery and orange spots" play. Its silky bosoms sway, in which the finch and her young perish at night. "Hirringly absorbing the sun's rays, the thousands of silky soft leaves trembled and rustled from top to bottom, as if the beech was laughing with joyful shivers..."