Trafika Europe 8 - Romanian Holiday

The Phanariot Manuscript

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

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