Śmigus Dyngus

- Kaśka, saint Jesus, wake up!
- Mmmmm….
- Wake up, now, they are coming!

It was still dark behind the window, even though the sky was grayish. Inside the room you could only see the window. Well, maybe you could also barely see some contours of the bed and the table, but nothing more. It was night!

Kaśka still didn’t quite understand what was going on, remains of the dream still lingered about her head, she wasn’t sure if she was somewhere in the field, near the forest, or in her own bedroom, but she clearly heard some strange noises from behind the window. Some odd scrapping. Suddenly, she could see an outline of a human hand. It pulled the window frame. Once, twice… The third time, the staple creaked and let go. The window opened. Both girls could clearly hear the chorus of frogs from the lake, but listening to the sounds of nature wasn’t meant for them!

- Józek, give me the pail!
- Just here, take it!

The window disappeared suddenly, and in a moment reappeared again. Disappeared once more, a human outline covered it up, but then let it go. Both Kaśka and Józka, her sister, were completely awake. Both knew what was going to happen, felt a kind of excitement, but, to tell you the truth, they were scared.

And they really had something to be scared of!
A stream of ice-cold water hit the faces, first Józka’s, and then Kaśka’s. It was so cold that it stopped their breaths. The whole bed was wet. Both girls jumped out of it so quickly, that the second attack missed them: the cold water splashed against the bed and spread on the wall.

- Eeiiiii, brrrr, uff, aaaa!!!!
- Śmigus dyngus, śmigus dyngus, śmigus dyngus, hahahaha!!!
- Achhh, brrrr, och, you boys! What are you here…
- Easter! Monday! Tradition! Śmigus dyngus!

First one girl, then the second, found the door by feel. They slipped through it, run outside, but there were even more lads: each is holding a bucket or a pail, the water is spouting from all directions, the girls are squealing, the lads are laughing, and not only at their own yard, but at the neighbor’s, too.

The girls are completely wet, shivering from cold, snorting like horses, but they are happy: only forgotten girls, left dry on the Easter Monday morning, will have problems getting married. Them, for sure not! And as for the boys, they will do to them something. Not today, but maybe tomorrow…

And that it was like in the past. Now, less and less people are living in the country, and the city dwellers will only spray some water from a sprayer, a water pistol, or a teeth-cleaning glass. Everybody will spray, the boys are usually the most active, but the girls can fight back, too. There aren’t too many completely wet “victims” (yes, they do appear), but then there isn’t too little of laughter, joy and delight. And, nobody feels safe the whole Easter Monday!

Wojtek Grochowski