35 292
The Phanariot Manuscript
35
Wallachians from Săruna
themselves
had
come
from there. Without any
particular
reason,
his
father’s
face
appeared
Ioanis’s eyes with its
pockmarks resembling a
patch of sand spattered with
rain drops.
“Anyway,” theTurk specified,
“these Wallachians aren’t
too bright! My Greek
friend’s brother became a
sailor because he couldn’t
sell a cloth square if his life
depended on it! His brain
is smaller than that of a
Persian hen! However, he
is now the governor of the
dancing Wallachians!”
The teacher talked about a
few more simpletons from
Săruna who had similarly
settled down, ending his
speech with an adage on
the subject that, from some
reason known only to him,
he said in Wallachian.
The teacher’s glasses sent
out a streak of light and
Mustafa’smoustachemoved
benevolently.
Suddenly
engulfed
by
euphoria,
Ioanis decided to buy the
silk wool with the money
for the butcher, thus totally
ignoring the lunch which
was only a few hours away.
3. A meal without meat
wasn’t a catastrophe, but
the entire family scolded
him anyway. Of course,
he couldn’t say that he
had spent the money.
Lost
sounded better, but only a
little bit, so he decided to go
with stolen.
“By whom?” asked the
father, rapidly going through