PANNA MARIA

RUSSIAN READERS WILL UNDERSTAND THAT THE STORY IS SET IN POLAND. KOSTEL AND KSENDZ ARE THE RUSSIAN WORDS FOR A POLISH CATHOLIC CHURCH (KOŚCIÓŁ) AND A POLISH CATHOLIC PRIEST (KSIĄDZ). THE HONORIFICS FOR THE WOMEN ARE POLISH—PANNA (MISS) MARIA ANDPANI (MRS.) JADWIGA. Our region has poor villages, small towns, and swamps. Occasionally, through the trees, you can catch a glimpse of church crosses and a bunch of gray huts huddled along the swamp edge. On Sundays, the tinny, dreary ringing torments the soul with its peal. Fair-haired girls and women in white scarves, like white birds, seem to float,