The Story of a Dispute
or How Visitors to Lekshmozero had a Tongue Twister Challenge
One evening, Morsсhikhinskaya fishermen gathered around a campfire on the shore of Lake Lekshmozero. Joining them were people from Arkhangelsk and a couple of neighbors from Kenozero. As usual, they had a couple of fraternal drinks and a small talk that led them to the topic of fish – the size of pike and where vendace was the tastiest. Vendace. That's where it all started.
"Lekshmozero has the best vendace in the area! It's a fact. Its population in the Kenozero Lake is a way too small…" says Petrovich, a fisherman from Morsсhikhinskaya village.
His statement makes the guests from Kenozero set aside their glasses:
"Hold on a sec. Your vendace may be bigger, true, but our lake has depths deeper than 100 meters. You are fishing in the shallow waters!"
Things start to escalate from there. The men get carried away arguing, their fish soup ready and the tea water boiling.
"Lake Kenozero is larger and deeper than Lake Lekshmozero."
"It is. But its shores are jagged. The Lekshmozero is round and smooth as a saucer, a looking-glass for the sky!"
"Lekshmozero has the best vendace in the area! It's a fact. Its population in the Kenozero Lake is a way too small…" says Petrovich, a fisherman from Morsсhikhinskaya village.
His statement makes the guests from Kenozero set aside their glasses:
"Hold on a sec. Your vendace may be bigger, true, but our lake has depths deeper than 100 meters. You are fishing in the shallow waters!"
Things start to escalate from there. The men get carried away arguing, their fish soup ready and the tea water boiling.
"Lake Kenozero is larger and deeper than Lake Lekshmozero."
"It is. But its shores are jagged. The Lekshmozero is round and smooth as a saucer, a looking-glass for the sky!"
The visitors from Kenozero argue that each one of the isles in their lake is more lovely than the last, whereas the Lekshmozero hasn't a single island! "That's why you always have windy weather."
Mishka, an undergraduate student, comes up front. Every summer, students from different universities come to these parts for field practice – some to count ducks, others to take measurements of St. Peter and Paul Church or to sample water from the local water bodies. "Why argue?" says Mishka. "Lake Kenozero formed in the Proterozoic era in the oldest faults of the earth's crust. Right in this place we are sitting now, there passed a melting glacier. You can be proud that your Lake Lekshmozero: it's of glacial origin. This explains its being saucer-shaped and devoid of isles. As to whether it is deep or shallow, it depends on where shallow starts. Like all lakes of glacial origin, the Lekshmozero has shallow depths extending far towards its middle, where it suddenly becomes deep. And there's a 30-meter deep fault running across its central part."
No further questions followed from the fishermen. It was all clear to them that the Proterozoic era was a faraway time and that their fishing grounds weren't that simple. They poured themselves thick fish soup and deliciously scented tea – yummy!
Then, the Morschikhinskaya men asked if anyone could pronounce the name "Lekshmozero" the way the local people do, with the stress on the first syllable, for a bet. It was fun for them to hear the men try to say it right:
"You have to be born here to pronounce it right."
Mishka, an undergraduate student, comes up front. Every summer, students from different universities come to these parts for field practice – some to count ducks, others to take measurements of St. Peter and Paul Church or to sample water from the local water bodies. "Why argue?" says Mishka. "Lake Kenozero formed in the Proterozoic era in the oldest faults of the earth's crust. Right in this place we are sitting now, there passed a melting glacier. You can be proud that your Lake Lekshmozero: it's of glacial origin. This explains its being saucer-shaped and devoid of isles. As to whether it is deep or shallow, it depends on where shallow starts. Like all lakes of glacial origin, the Lekshmozero has shallow depths extending far towards its middle, where it suddenly becomes deep. And there's a 30-meter deep fault running across its central part."
No further questions followed from the fishermen. It was all clear to them that the Proterozoic era was a faraway time and that their fishing grounds weren't that simple. They poured themselves thick fish soup and deliciously scented tea – yummy!
Then, the Morschikhinskaya men asked if anyone could pronounce the name "Lekshmozero" the way the local people do, with the stress on the first syllable, for a bet. It was fun for them to hear the men try to say it right:
"You have to be born here to pronounce it right."
... And then, dawn broke… The sun began to rise, the fog was gone, and the lake – the giant sauce of purest water – stretched as wide and far as the eye could see. It was a serene morning on the Lekshmozero Lake, the rays of sun turning St. Peter and Paul Church golden...
"It's a beautiful view" say Morschikhinskaya men. "It is," the guests nod. "Heavenly beautiful…"
"It's a beautiful view" say Morschikhinskaya men. "It is," the guests nod. "Heavenly beautiful…"
