Catching Fire - Chapter 1(6)

FISZKOTEKA

The shoes pinch my toes as I crunch along the cinder street. Cutting down
alleys and through backyards gets me to Gale's house in minutes. His mother,
Hazelle, sees me through the window, where she's bent over the kitchen sink.
She dries her hands on her apron and disappears to meet me at the door.

I like Hazelle. Respect her. The explosion that killed my father took out her
husband as well, leaving her with three boys and a baby due any day. Less
than a week after she gave birth, she was out hunting the streets for work. The
mines weren't an option, what with a baby to look after, but she managed to get
laundry from some of the merchants in town. At fourteen, Gale, the eldest of the
kids, became the main supporter of the family. He was already signed up for
tesserae, which entitled them to a meager supply of grain and oil in exchange
for his entering his name extra times in the drawing to become a tribute. On top
of that, even back then, he was a skilled trapper. But it wasn't enough to keep a
family of five without Hazelle working her fingers to the bone on that washboard.
In winter her hands got so red and cracked, they bled at the slightest
provocation. Still would if it wasn't for a salve my mother concocted. But they
are determined, Hazelle and Gale, that the other boys, twelve-year-old Rory
and ten-year-old Vick, and the baby, four-year-old Posy, will never have to sign
up for tesserae.

uciskać - pinch,
chrzęścić - crunch,
przemykam - cut down,
pochylać się nad - bent over,
wytrzeć ręcę o - dry hands on,
także - as well,
zajmować się kimś - look after,
udało się jej - managed to,
handlowiec - merchant,
zgłosić się po - sign up for,
uprawniać do - entitled to,
chudy - meager,
zapas, zaopatrzenie - supply,
zboże - grain,
na dodatek - on top of sth,
wykwalifikowany, zręczny - skilled,
łowca - trapper,
popękany - cracked,
krwawić - bleed,
pewnie do dziś by tak było - still would if,
maść, smarować nią - salve,
upichcić, przyrządzić - concoct,