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  What it means

  “When Agnes comes, the wagtail will break the ice with its tail.” Around Saint Agnes’s day (21 January) the wagtail bird was expected to return and, symbolically, break up the winter ice with its wagging tail ; a sign of approaching spring.

  Vocabulary

  • pliszka — wagtail (bird)
  • ogon — tail
  • rozbić — to break up, to smash
  • lód — ice

  Grammar note

  'Rozbije' is the perfective future of 'rozbić'. 'Ogonem' is the instrumental of 'ogon' ; indicating the means of action.

  Cultural context

  Saint Agnes's day is 21 January. The wagtail (pliszka) was a beloved harbinger of spring in Polish folk tradition, its tail-wagging motion likened to breaking ice.

  Intermediate

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