The Old Man and The Old Woman

In Hungary, an old man and an old woman lived. Like others in Hungary, they were dieing. Like others in Hungary, they had no one to help them farm. Their children and their children had left them for America. They had asked the old man and the old woman to come with them. They refused. They had both worked for far too long for their farm. The farm had kept them alive before. They will not leave it when it needed them the most.

The old man and the old woman now worked side by side together. Their mule had died the past summer. Now they took turns hitching themselves to the plow and pulling while the other pushed.

One day, the old man was too sick to pull. The old woman knew the field must be plowed or they would have nothing for winter. The old woman plowed all day in the hot sun, with no break for water.

That night, the old woman laid next to the old man. When the old man awoke the next morning to plow, he went over to the old woman to wake her. The old man did not.