პირველი თოვლი სულ თხელი იყო. იმ ღამეს არ გადაიღო, დილისთვის მთელი ველი დაფარა. ახლა უკვე ფეხი ეფლობოდა. მოშივდა ბაჭიას. ციოდა. თოვლი გაქექა და უკანა ფეხებზე ხტომით დაეშვა ჭალისაკენ. ქარი უბერავდა. ვერაფერი იპოვა.

შიოდა.

ძალიან, ძალიან მოუნდა ბალახი; თუნდაც სულ ცოტა, უფრო მოუნდა ან თივა, ან ყლორტი.

შიოდა.

რა გემრიელი იქნებოდა ბალახი.

ახლა შუა ველზე მიკუნტრუშობდა.

შიოდა.

უცებ იგრძნო რაღაც.

ტკივილი? - არა.

რაღაც და გათავდა.

ვანომ თავის შვილს დაუძახა და მოკლული ბაჭია აბგაში ჩაუდო:

- მამა, ფეხები მომეყინა, - თქვა ბიჭმა.

- ნუ გეშინია, ერთ საათში შინ ვიქნებით, - დაამშვიდა მამამ.

The first snow had been fine. That night the snow hadn’t ceased, for in the morning, the whole valley was covered. Already, legs could be submerged in the powder. The rabbit hungered. Cold. Uncovering the snow, he dug his legs in, jumping in a rush toward the grove. Wind pierced. Nothing could be found.

-Hunger.

Badly, oh how badly, he wanted grass; desiring even a little, he wanted for more, even hay, or sprouts.

-Hunger.

How delicious grass would be.

Now he bounced into the middle of the field.

-Hunger.

Suddenly he felt something.

Anguish? – No.

Just something… and then he was emptied.

Vano called to his child and killed the rabbit, placing it in his bag.

“Father, my legs have frozen,” said the boy.

“Don’t be afraid, in an hour we will be home,” reassured his father.

Born in July of 1934, Guram Rcheulishvili found himself surrounded by Soviet styles and sentiments. At the age of 23, he decided to become a writer, beginning to write various short stories, poems, plays, and novels. He began publishing his first stories in ‘Tsiskari’, a Tbilisi newspaper, in 1957. Tragically, he died in 1960, at the age of 26, saving a Russian child from the sea. Although only seven of his stories were published when during his life, his works are now among some of Georgia’s most beloved. His simple, realistic style broke the popular Soviet-realism of the period – in stories of Georgian life, and the beauty of Georgian people, he revolutionized the literary scene of Tbilisi.

Trevor Durham began his literary career at 18, producing and directing his first play. The following year, he premiered MASKS in an Off-Broadway festival after premiering it in Tallahassee, Florida. He began working as a journalist, publishing articles with BroadwayWorld, The Tallahassee Democrat, and more. He continues writing his own works as he interviews artists of all backgrounds. Durham moved to Tbilisi in 2018 to pursue his love of languages and history. This is his first collected translation.