In the forest, we were afraid of the ‘yellow lizard’ – actually a yellow-and-black salamander. They said it was the guardian of the forest. A neighbor predicted the future: ‘An iron bird and an iron snake will come.’ And indeed, airplanes and trains came. There were also strict rules – a boy wasn’t allowed to take a girl from another village, or he’d be beaten. That’s how my ‘japa’s’ (dad’s) ‘brateč’ (relative/cousin) suffered. My mom also told me how girls used to run away from the parish priest into the lime pits. These were stories that taught and frightened us. They aren’t told anymore – young people are preoccupied with cell phones and aren’t interested.