Der Ballon

The moment the warm red fluid melts with the icy blue
morning, a shriek rises high for a short endless while,
then it spreads and floats like a hood over the house.
Now the child comes out into the backyard and looks
silently at grandpa. It wonders if he feels sorry for
the pig he has just slaughtered, but it quickly decides
that whatever he feels, it must be washed down with
the Schnaps they just hand him. During the next hours,
that once so big and lazy pig becomes Bratwurst,
Leberwurst, Blutwurst, Speck, Schinken, Grieben...
till nothing recognizable is left of it. But no, one thing is
still left, the bladder. Grandpa washes it well and, with
the help of a reed pipe, he fills it with air, then he ties the
hole up with a thread. Now they both smile and the
child feels a sudden pride. In previous years, they used
to put a few grains inside, to make a rattle, but now it
becomes just a balloon, something for bigger children.
_________________

I was very surprised and glad to see this object in a
museum, since I doubt that I shall ever see it in any
household. This poor thing will never again make
a child smile. But I might be wrong.