Łapa

Łapa is a dog present at Boryna’s death and the vigil that follows. As the household fills with mourners, he resists being used to control the crowd; later, his whining at the dead man’s bedside and furious barking at the cottage door place him among the few living creatures responding to the death and the unease around it.

Among the mourners

When the whole village crowds into the room and hallway to grieve, children press at the windows and skip about outside. Witek cannot drive them away and sets Łapa on them, but the dog does not obey. Instead, he stays close to Józka, occasionally running around the cottage and howling. The scene sets Łapa’s attachment to a familiar person against the commotion beyond the room: the dog does not serve as an effective guard or crowd-control animal, but remains near the household’s own grief.

At Boryna’s bedside

The vigil continues late into the night, with Ambrozy and Agata left to keep watch after the other mourners depart. Łapa comes into the chamber whining and licks Boryna’s greased boots. The gesture is quiet and physical, set amid the candles, incense, and exhausted prayers. It brings the dog into the intimate space of the death-watch without suggesting that he understands the rituals being performed there.

Alarm at the cottage door

In another tense moment, those inside the cottage believe they hear something moving around the building: footsteps overhead, sounds at the door and window, and a heavy tread. When the horse neighs in the stable, Łapa barks furiously and throws himself at the door. Józka, terrified, cries out to her father and begins to weep. Łapa’s reaction gives the scene an animal alarm amid the villagers’ fear, but the text does not establish what, if anything, has caused the sounds. Across these episodes, his shifting behavior—from staying beside Józka to tending close to Boryna’s body and charging the door—keeps him present at the threshold between household routine, mourning, and the villagers’ apprehension about death.