In lieu of an abstract, here is a brief excerpt of the content:

  • from Hermine: An Animal Life
  • Maria Beig (bio)
    translated from the German by Jaimy Gordon

WORM

Hermine’s first memory is of the wrinkled face of a Nahne, of a father’s bad-tempered scowl and the angry faces of sisters and brothers who were struck and struck back. There was only one ray of light among them: the face of her mother. But this was always turning away again to someone else. Hermine might well have cried too much. It was said she was the most terrible whiner.

A somewhat later memory is of stomach-ache; stomach-ache before eating and the same again after eating; stomach-ache at night and in the morning. Mother with her comparisons said Hermine was growing too slowly and had black rings around her eyes. Therefore she gave her rainbow-colored worm-seed to eat by the spoonful. Although Hermine was already going behind the house—there, next to the high wooden privy, was a much littler one—now she had to go again in the potty, so that Mother could see if her “sowing” had sprouted. One day Hermine ran from it screaming. She had seen a worm, a monster of a worm. It had eyes, and a mouth as well, with teeth. She claimed it even had claws. Of course no one believed her [End Page 153] about that, but even Mother said she had never seen such a thing in her life. Hermine’s brother said she was wormy. After that, for a while, she shuddered at her own self.

COW

Through all the years of her childhood, Hermine had one great worry. The feeding alley in the barn, which lay in between the row of cows and the row of horses and younger cattle, was the nightly meeting place of the children. But in order to get to it you had to force a narrow passage on one side or the other. Neither the front cow nor the horse was willing to let Hermine through; they wouldn’t give and that was that. She might manage it by pressing in close behind her sisters and brothers, or better yet between them. Or by slyness. Then she waited until the cow was eating so greedily she no longer paid Hermine any mind, or until she fought over a wisp of fodder with her neighbor. Should the cow spot her afterwards in the feeding alley, she shook her head in rage and took better care next time to back Hermine off with her great muzzle or even with her horns.

The horse gave her even more trouble. He had ways all his own of stopping Hermine: He could neigh at her furiously, prick up his ears and stamp his hooves, blow out so that his nostrils quivered and the wet oats flew down the back of Hermine’s neck; he could show her his long yellow teeth. Once he caught her by the hair on her crown and yanked her high in the air. When she screamed piteously, her father made fun of her and the horse laughed his hideous laugh. On that side she gave up trying altogether.

Once again a brother, a different one, looked out for Hermine, seeing how she tried in vain to get around the obstacle of the cow. He was younger than she but a good deal cleverer. “You’re going about it wrong,” he said. “The cow notices something about you. You have to act as though she isn’t there at all.” “You don’t have to show any respect for cattle. They have no reason and no immortal soul.” And so Hermine tried arrogance. Slowly, proudly, holding her head high, she tried to make her way, but the cow completely blocked the passageway with her thick head. Not until the clever brother struck her across the wet muzzle with a stick would she let Hermine pass.

ROOSTER

Hermine’s big sister was pretty. Almost all the boys in the neighborhood were under her spell. Every Saturday night she wanted to be the one to catch the rooster, for from July until late in the fall they would slaughter a cock every Sunday...

pdf

Share