It happened the evening Grandma rode off to get my future flock and bring it into the hürde for me. Mother had poured the fresh milk into the cast-iron kettle for boiling and, because the fire was burning too high, had taken the kettle off the oshuk and temporarily put it on the three chunks of dung lying next to it.

Then she left the yurt again to tether the calves since the yak herd had just returned from pasture. In the meantime, Father was busy outside with the lambs, along with Brother and Sister. Even though I was not yet changed and prepared for the night, I had, as often before, been overcome by tiredness, had crashed in the middle of playing, and now lay asleep on the low bed. Mother was about to sneak up and catch the last fugitive calf when she heard my screams. She became alarmed but tried to calm herself by reasoning I was crying because I had awakened afraid. Not wanting to run back to the yurt before she had caught all the calves and completed the last task of the day, she held out until she got hold of the straggler and tied it to the dshele. Once that was done, she raced back to the yurt as fast as she could because my screaming not only continued but was now cracking and threatening to choke me. By then the fire in the oshuk had gone out, leaving the yurt in darkness. Mother kindled a light and found me in the kettle, floating on top of the milk, my limbs stretched apart and stiff with fear. My head, arms, and legs were barely recognizable on the surface. But this must have saved me, otherwise I surely would have drowned. The kettle was large enough to submerge an entire wether, and that night the milk reached almost to its brim even though it was early in the year and the milking season was just beginning.

Since Grandma had moved in with us, the old practice of keeping me on the tether had become unnecessary even when I was fi gety. I had grasped that perfectly well and had in fact weaned myself, which became obvious the day after Grandma had left, when Mother tried to return me to the rope and it no longer worked: I fought against it with everything in my power, and won in the end.