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  What it means

  “Saint Agnes releases the skylark from her purse.” On Saint Agnes’s Day (21 January), the skylark is said to emerge from its winter hiding place, signalling the first stirrings of spring.

  Vocabulary

  • święta — saint (feminine)
  • wypuszcza — releases, lets out
  • skowronek — skylark
  • mieszk — purse, pouch (archaic)

  Grammar note

  'Wypuszcza' is third-person singular present of 'wypuścić'. 'Z mieszka' uses the genitive after 'z' (from).

  Cultural context

  Saint Agnes's Day (21 January) was a folk marker of the approaching end of winter. The skylark was a symbol of spring's return.

  Intermediate

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