Specialist in Survival

From home to my place of study the whole night trip by fast train. I am a student, trying to sleep on the lower sidewalk near the exit. At one of the stops, I hear a grandmother telling the driver to let her in the car. He refuses, says there is no place. The grandmother regretfully asks, say, it is very necessary, not to go for a long time, she is ready to stand in the tambour, just let go!

Finally, the conductor regretted it. In the tambour, the truth was not allowed to stand, allowed in the car, there is warmer, winter still. The wagon is flat, people are sleeping on all the shelves, and the poor grandmother is standing alone in the passage. Five minutes later, as the train touched, she said to me:

Son, are you not sleeping?
and no.
“Let me sit in a corner near your feet, or my legs are old – they don’t hold anymore.
“Sit down, grandmother, I’m not sorry.

10 minutes later, I fell asleep and heard:

"Son, you would have cut off my legs a little so that I could back on the wall, it's hard to sit.

I cleaned. Time passes, the wheels knock, it smells. Through a dream, I hear someone shake my shoulder:

Son, are you not sleeping?
I will sleep!! to
You are my son, give me your place. How many third shelves are free, am I not going to climb the old on them? You are young and sleep there.

I listened to what she offered me in full seriousness and such a laugh made me laugh. Only an hour ago she was ready to go in a tambour, and now she survives me from my place!

She looked at me as if she were a judo, even moved away a little. I laughed and said:

Thank you for the offer, but not. You were allowed to sit, here and sit, and again you will wake me up, you will have to stand in the passage again.

The grandmother was upset, gathered her kittens and headed deep into the car. A moment later I heard her voice filled with familiar complaints:

“Son, I can sit here from the corner...