"ZAMFIR'S ZONA" "G'dmorning, Master-Sremac." " Good morning." "Morning already?" "!" "Ah, another lovely morning in Nish!" " Right, Master-Sremac." "The market and the streets are waking up slowly." " Here come gard'ners 'n' builders." " Yes, here they come, in order of their rank and standing." " Here they go, right." "And after them, there will come bakers and servants..." " Right." "And now, in due order, craftsmen and merchants are opening their shops." " Look, writer, Sir, that one's gotta shop, too!" "Manasije, called Mane." "Barely over twenty, but already has a small goldsmith's shop, kuymcu." "But, there isn't no door to it!" "How gets he in?" "There's how he gets in!" "See?" "Here come schoolmasters, with sour faces, thinking about the miserable status of schoolmasters." "Ah, here come high-school professors." "Good morning, colleagues!" "Good morning." "Up early this morning?" " Well, yes." "Do take a seat, dear colleague." "Sotir, one more cup of coffee!" "You are new in town, aren't you?" " I am, and I'm looking about me this town of Nish - it's hardly been a dozen years since the Turks were driven out, but there's a whole new world growing here." " Yes, just look at the professors teaching all sorts of subjects here." "Here come history and microscope teachers." "Good morning biologists!" "And these are philosophers and mathematicians!" "It must be time to set off to school." "Sotir, put this to my account!" "Hey, wow!" "Hallo there!" "It's harder for these poor girls to pass here than it was for ancient travellers to pass between the Scylla and" "Charybdis." " Hey, journalist!" "Don't you put us in newspaper!" "I'll buy you a drink!" "Two?" "Deal!" "A loaf o' bread and sweet halvah." " Me first customer!" "You'll bring me luck 'n' God's blessing." " That's the lassie with three beautiful sisters?" " Zone, how's your sister" "Kostadinka?" " And Rushka, what's she doing?" " Nothin'!" "Of course she's doing nothing - her father is hadji-Zamfir!" "And how's the prittiest sister, Done?" " What are you to her to ask 'bout 'er?" " Me to her - nothing!" "But what she's to me..." "Amet, give 'er halvah for two farthings, for Kostadinka." "Shall I help 'er, young-master-Mane?" "Ah, Zone, Zone!" "Zone!" "Zone!" " Go away!" "You take it, Manulach!" "Take it home." "Mama!" "Papa!" "Persa, here comes me son!" "Jordan!" "Manulach is my son!" " No, he's mine!" "He's my little girl!" " Nop!" "He is me son, my heir, my inheritor!" "Enough!" "Quiet!" "What is it, Mama's lit'le girl?" " I w's thinkin' - it's a pity t' waste such nice halvah." "Two farthings, not a small waste!" "That's papa's boy!" " Papa!" "Mama!" "Money's worth a lot t'day!" "It's r e c e s s' o n!" "Where from didya' get that word, Papa's lit'le donkey?" "!" "What w's that word 'gain, you little scamp?" "!" " Recess'on, Mama!" "Come here!" "I've lived long 'nough to eat up a ton of bread, but I haven't learnt that word - and that li'le one, he knows it already!" "C'me on, daddy's precious, what was that word?" "R e c e s s' o n." "My, my!" "This puppy's bound to b'come a banker in Belgrade!" "Master-hadji-Zamfir, a famous merchant." "During the Turks' rule the Pasha's door was open for him any time;" "He had influence at the court in Constantinople." " What is the source of his power?" " The source of his power is his enormous wealth." "Oh, dear little nightingale, don't sing so early, don't wake up my dear master," "I'll wake him up myself." "He's awake!" "Good afternoon, professor." " This is his fourth daughter, the youngest one - little Zone master-Zamfir's." "Sisters, sweet sisters!" "Ah, you, you!" "Take good care!" "You are t'get married." "B'come a respectful housewife!" "A chaste housewife!" "Don't lose face!" "Chastity is capital." "And you, Zone, how's your s'hool doing?" "Fine, papa." " And how's chorbaci-Jovan's lassie doing at s'hool?" " She's quit already." "She has, has she!" "Ha!" "Her father caught 'er with a love letter for a clerk!" "You are to quit s'hool, too, mind you!" "Ah, ah!" "Don't, papa!" "It's such a pity!" " Hush!" "We could send 'er off to higher s'hools, to Belgrade..." "What for?" "T' learn the German alphabet there, an' t' write love letters t' army officers and eng'neers!" "?" "Not in my lifetime!" "Very well." "Eh, sisters, dears." "'Ts all over for me." "Oh, you silly darling." "Your time's yet to come!" "We'll soon be given away, t' marry in Leskovac, in Pirot, in Vranje." "You alone will remain at home, t' be Papa's lit'le precious." "You I won't give up easily." "You're my little precious." "Tashana, where's that lit'le one?" "The lit'le one?" " That lit'le lassie, Zone!" "A little lassie?" "A grown-up girl already!" "She's got changed." "I send 'er to fetch my cigarette-holder - she comes back with my tefter, my account-book!" "'N front of the mirror all day long, she is!" "Talked to a lad the other day!" " Who talked to a lad?" " Zone!" "People saw 'er." " Oh!" "What's to b'come of today's girls!" "Zone!" "Come out here f'r a minute!" "D'you hear me?" "!" "Comin', mama!" "I'm changing..." "Hey, Zone!" "Come here right away!" "Your aunts want t' see you!" "All Zamfir's children were beautif'I, but this one!" "Ah, ah!" "This one's gonna come out prettiest!" "Woe to you, Tashana!" "Hang yourself!" " Zone, my daughter... you're not a child any more." "You should take care." "Listen, girl." "You have us, your aunts, to watch o'er you!" "We should take 'er out, show 'er in public, in the promenade." "Take 'er to the hammam." " To the bath!" "Me?" "Wow!" "Why d'you always look so messy, no hat 'n your head?" "Eh, Master, I can't remember wher' I've left it." " It's been six months!" "It's time you remembered!" "Aferim!" "very nice!" "Ahoy, Mane!" "A proper shop, now, isn't it!" "Look at this handicraft!" "That we've made for St. Panteleimon's Church." "Take it there, Pote." "Then we'll have lunch, here, mother's brought it." "Good day to you, Mistress Jevda." "Your son is getting on" "Very well." " So, he is, but I have t' do the cooking for three men now." " He might bring you a daughter-in-law?" "Look!" "'The Antiquary' magazine!" "Your son is a numismatist as well, madam!" " What is he?" "!" "Calm down, it's nothing dangerous." "Papa!" "Papa!" "Come o'er here, quick!" "Our Gigan's taken a fancy to Pirga!" "That's good, son." " That's his skill, the cock's craftsm'nship." "And Trsha and Pirga, they bowed their heads, like this!" "All right, never mind that!" "Never mind that!" "Papa, who's that lass?" "She can't be fr'm Nish." " Eh, you, blind silly, don't you know 'er?" "It's Zone!" " Zamfir-Zone." "Zone, Zone, is that really you?" "!" "Wow!" "This's somethin' new in Nish!" " My strategy's well known." "I pass by not looking at her." "Then I pass once again and thus look at her that her knees start shaking." "Watch me." "Excuse me." "Mane!" "Come here!" "What is it?" " Look!" "Who could this be?" "Zamfir's Zone!" "Don't stare at her like that!" "Wrong tactics altogether!" "You must look for a right match for you'self." "Keep in mind whose daughter you are!" " There's only one chorbaci-Zamfir!" " Lf there's nob'dy for you in Nish there'll be in Leskovac, Pirot, Vranje..." "You're not to take a common craftsman, some lowly nobody!" "Sergean', Sir!" "This is our Czech brother, pan-Franchishek." "Pani, I am the sole one to have finished the conservatorium." "These other gentlemen haven't finished the conservatory?" "Ano!" "I've played Paganini's Fantasy, prose pani." "What on Earth are you doing here?" " At home, we drink beer, but here you have zhupa-wine - hardly more expensive than water!" "Let's play, gentlemen!" "Ah, Mada!" "Where has your beauty gone?" " Eh, Master-hadji our time's long gone." " Youth 'n' beauty are gone like swallows in autumn." " Swallows come back 'gain in spring." "But your youth 'n' my beauty - they're gone f'r good." "Papa, can I go over to the oro?" " All right, child, but don't you join the oro." "It is for the lowly to jump 'n' dance, but for us, chorbaci, just to look on." " Very well, Papa." "He's changin'." "He's going out to the oro!" "Oh, what a lad he is!" "Not that we're partial!" "When he puts on those tight breeches!" "And that cotton shirt!" "Move away!" "Howdy t' you, aunts!" "What are you doin'?" "Hallo, Mancha!" "Nothin', sittin', chatting'." "That watch-chain you've got, it's silver, isn't it?" "Silver it is." "He made it himself." " Women, shall we make this lit'le donkey get married?" " No problem 't all, when the time come." " But it's time - yo've grown a moustache!" "It's a kown rule:" "Old 'nough for the moustche - old 'nough to get married!" " Oh, I didn't know that." "Now you know!" "Mama!" "Papa!" "Eggs!" "Our Tinka and Pirga laid th'm in the neighbour's yard," "I went over 'n' fetched them!" " Wow, still warm!" "Why waste them?" "Papa, they're as good 's money." " Right." "Here, it's my treat, go to the oro." "Papa, money's worth a lot today, it's recess'on." " Fine, fine." "Recess'on, papa!" " Papa's precious, go to jump 'n' dance." "Hi, Mane." " Howdy, howdy." " How are you?" "See how she's staring at him?" "God knows what she's telling him!" "?" "What a yob!" "Asana!" "Don't get wrong ideas into your head, darling." "I fancy you like me own child." "Eh, poor Jevda - you gave birth to such a rake!" "Ah, brother, let me die here!" "I can't hope to climb that high, not until I get my stripes!" "Look at Manulach!" "But that's moc, too much, pan-master!" " Play my song!" "Prose pani." "Let's play gentl'men!" "This boy is a real master!" "How does he do that jingle-jangle?" "Look, he's put weather-bells on his shoes." "These lasses!" "They all rushed into the oro, only b'cause of that goldsmith!" " Just like geese or sheep..." "There's my Gmitrach!" "Can I go too?" " Go on!" "Me, too!" "Me too!" "Take the popcorn, Zone." " Thanks, Manulach." "Move aside a bit, beg you." "Now, attack!" "Lead the oro right toward her!" "Don't look at her!" "Me!" "Look at me!" "Now go away!" "Now turn 'round and look straight in her eyes!" "'Ts not what you think, Gena." "I'm no goose!" "A very well performed attack!" "Just look at this giddy rake!" "'Ts easy for him - no expenses like us other smiths, family men..." " A thoughtless yobbo!" "What're you doin' here?" " Zone!" "She's changing!" "Ah, ah, Master-Mane..." " What?" "...we saw 'er changing'..." " Saw who?" "Zone was changing and we were looking on, but just a little." "Last night I saw you, ah, ah, Zone..." "Mane, she's ravishing!" "A shame for our craft!" " I can put him in my newspaper." "Well, then, do, do!" " I can cook up for him such hot stew if only you say so." " Oh, make it hot!" "I'll buy you a drink!" " Make that two and it's a deal." "Stop!" "Come here!" "Las' night..." "I saw you." "Wait, wait." "Las' night I saw you, ah, Zone..." "Saw you changing', ah, Zone..." "What was that for!" "?" "Who didya' hear that song from, you oaf?" "Ha?" "!" " From you, Kote." "Fr'm me?" "!" "Hm..." "Las' night I saw you changing', ah, ah, Zone." "Master, here she comes!" "What's the haste, brother?" "Take this, quick!" "Now, you set off, slowly!" "With dignity!" "Straighten up!" "A very important moment for your tactic!" "You are not a tiniest bit interested in her." "You walk by, cool." "Take my soap, aunt-Doka." "Take mine, aunt-Doka, 'ts from Vienna!" "Aaa, chicks!" "I know this is not for my sake!" "I wonder which one 'f you's gonna b'come my in-law this autumn?" "Ha, chicks?" "Have you noticed, Doka - what a beauty that Zone is?" "True, Persa." "I just took a better look at 'er now." "I'm gonna take 'er for my son Manulach..." "Holy Heavens!" "White as a lily, her eyes like sapphire, her face and neck like ivory!" "And the mouth!" ""Night in night out he smashes up the inn." "No craftsman he is, that gambler, that dissolute rake"..." " Who's no craftsman?" "It says here, read" " Mane!" " Ha!" "Some craftsman you are yourself." ""That yo-bo is drinking and making a mess eve-ry night"..." "Ah!" "Not our Mane?" " "Was-ting good money on mu-sic play-ers and dan-cers"..." " What a shame!" "You, bitches!" "We gather'd here b'cause of that shameful..." " Without me?" "Why so, pray?" " This is serious business." " So I'm not seriuos?" "You aren't!" "You drink, smoke... - 'nd I c'n give you a nice cytek, I'll beat you up!" " Come, come, women, sit down." "Help you'selves." "Let's put our heads t'gether and see what we c'n do with our little donkey." " We should make 'im get married." "'Ts not gonna be easy, but there are plenty of girls..." "Frosina..." "Lenche..." "Done..." "Kalina..." "Jone..." "All pretty, yes." "B't when I saw her in the hammam, that Zamfir-Zone!" "When I saw her slender waist, the white marble breasts, like two fildzan coffee-cups." "What a way to speak!" "You sh'd be ashamed!" "Phew, what a way to speak!" "Shame, shame on you!" "Go home, you wretched woman!" " Go home?" "!" "Me?" "!" "And when it comes t' tough 'n' rough, who fights for our" "Mancha's sake?" "Doka does!" "You don't!" "Ah!" "Ah!" "Go home!" "You should talk to him, Jevda, tell 'im 'bout those lasses." "'Bout Frosina, Timche, Dika, Lenche, Done..." "Tell 'im 'bout one girl only!" "'Bout Zone." "'Bout Zamfir-Zone!" "All right." "Go home, take a nap." " Come to the bath with me, to see Zone!" " Right." "Go now, your feet up, take a nap." "Zamfir-Zone!" "What's going on here?" "What a crowd!" " It's St. John' Day - the busiest day in Nish." " Everybody's here!" "But first of all - there are boys and girls, both chorbaci and lowly; there are merchants' agents from the capital, insurance agents, merchants from Vienna and Constantinopole, small-scale merchants, thin junior clerks and fat dealers." "What village are you from, child?" " From Vrtishte." "Ah, that old bone!" "This might as well be his own daughter!" "Who's your mother, sweet?" " Bela." " Bela!" ""Bela!" Grey hair he's got, but still he visits his chiftchi-women in the villages!" "Ah, ah!" "Mane and Kalina're just made f'r each other!" "Like a blue hyacinth and a green daffodil." "Who the hack's that?" "His neighbour, Kalina." " What do I care?" "Poor people, lowly..." " I couldn't care less!" "I'm goin' into the oro." " Zone!" " Don't say a word t' home." "Stop!" "Come over here!" "Wrong tactics altogether!" "Look, she's laughing at you!" "Now go over there and talk to Kalina!" "Zone, take this!" "Zone!" " I'm right here." "Take the popcorn, still warm." "Vaska, go over to... what's 'er name?" " Kalina." "Tell 'er that Zamfir-Zone wants to speak to 'er." "Take some popcorn." " Go away, Manulach!" "I don't want any!" "Why did ya want t' see me, Zone?" "You are poor..." "If you eat f'r lunch, there's nothin' f'r dinner." "Vaska's getting' married." "You c'n work f'r us as a maid." "I won't be a servant but at me mama's home." "And at your husband's?" "If God would let me, I'll serve me husband too." " Mane, you mean?" "You lowly nobody!" "What's that you said?" "!" "So, you will not be my maid?" " No." "I'm not good enough for your house!" " But good 'nough for the oro, you are?" "Don't listen to her, Kalina, go away." "Zone sends her greetings to you!" " Ha?" "Vaska, right?" "What's that she said?" ""Zone sends 'er greeting's"!" "Mane, hey!" "Papa!" " Mancha, eh, you ass!" "He lights a cigarette only once a year!" " Only when we make a good deal!" "This looks like some love-affair." "Zone, here he comes!" "Strolling 'round vineyards all day, the gun on his shoulder!" "And all night long Gypsies're dancin' for him." "A sweetheart in every street!" "Zone, Zone!" "Woe to me!" "She danced with him in the oro!" " Nothing happened." "He just danced next to me in the oro." " And what was a chorbaci-daughter doin' in the oro?" " You advised me well the other day - to hang myself!" " Lf he were a merchant at least!" "But he's a nobody!" " It'd be all right that he's poor, if only he were a modest and humble boy like Manulach!" "Like father, like son - he's Djordjija's blood..." "A rascal!" "Stanika is lying sick, oh, oh, lying in her bed" "Stanika is lying sick, oh, oh, sick with grief," "sick with love, oh, oh, sick with love." "Vaska..." "I'm dying." "Hullo to you, young master-Mane." " Oh, hallo Vaska..." "Come, sit down." "Are you well?" " I am..." "Take it, that's for you." " Oh, no, I couldn't..." "C'me on, take it, I know you're gettin' married." " Thank you." "And..." "Zone?" "Zone... she's sick with grief." " Why so?" "Well, how sh'll I say..." "She's cryin' all the time." "Vaska, aren't you lying t' me?" " So 'elp me God, Mane, I'm not." "She's crying and cryin'..." " Crying?" "And 'bout me, what does she say?" " Don't you understand?" "She's so very keen on you..." "Aha!" "You ass!" "What am I to you?" "Ha?" "You haven't told your auntie!" " Told yo 'bout what?" "'Bout the chorbaci, about Zamfir-Zone!" "Auntie, please don't let the word leak..." " Why hide it?" "I couldn't ask..." " Couldn't?" "Why?" " You know who they are!" "You know who we are!" " You just drowse away here," "I'll do the job for you." "'Ts gonna be easy!" " Aunt Doka!" "You know your craft, I know mine!" "Just sit back and watch me work." " Doka!" "Woe to you if we end up in some trouble!" "Calm down, I'm not some stupid peasant-woman." "I'll get on politely, like a politician." "Jevda!" "Our Mancha knows what's real worth." "He's a goldsmith, he knows the gold's worth!" " What gold, you sillly?" "!" "Zamfir's gold!" "Mane and Zone are in love!" " Doka, you crazy woman, stop talking nonsense!" " Ah, how 'andsome they are!" "What 'andsome children they'll have when they get married!" "And you, granny, will dance th'm on your lap!" " Stop babbling." "The likes of us have no business with the likes of them!" "I'll see to that business!" " Auntie!" "Don't you worry." "I'll beat 'bout the bush f'r a while, and it'll come out neat, like an eng'neer's plan!" "Mama!" "She'll make a mess, a scandal!" " Crazy she is, outright crazy!" "I wonder..." "nobody to call on us..." "Not even Aglajica..." "nor Hristina." "Not even Zujche to cast cards for our fortune." " Strange..." "Hadji-mistress, she's at home?" " Hush!" "She's at home, but the hadji-master is asleep." " So let 'im sleep!" "I don't wish to see him, but the hadji-mistress." "Didya notice how she shut the door b'hind her?" " I did!" "That means she's here on marriage business!" "Eh, how d'ya know?" "!" " That's a custom, adet - it means - 'May the enemies' mouths be shut up like this'!" "Howdy, howdy, are you well?" "What're you doin'?" " Nothin'." "Sittin'..." "Drowsin' away, you mean, like cats by the hearth..." "Eh, you're always the same old Doka..." "I wouldn't bother t' come but I have a problem." " What problem?" "Why're you standin' here like that?" "!" "Go out!" "I can sip me coffee without you!" "Eh?" "Why don't you give away that little lassie, Tashana?" "What little lass?" " Your Zone, that's what..." "All in due time!" "As they say, when you have gold, it's easy t' find a good goldsmith." " You silly women, that's just what" "I'm talking 'bout!" "It's 'bout the goldsmith I'm telling you, 'bout our Mancha." " What's that said?" "!" " Why don't you give 'er to our Mancha?" "They are in love!" " Who told you that?" "!" "The whole town knows that!" "Now, I'm askin' you, are you willing to give the girl to him?" " No, we aren't!" "It's not for you to say - I'm askin' Tashana!" "If you are lookin' for a good match." " You're late, we've already found a match!" " A clerk seeks a clerk's match, and so does an officer." "Each rank seeks a match of its own standing." "It's not proper for her to marry Mane." " Not proper?" "Why?" " He's got no pants of his own!" "He's hanging out with music players." "Very well!" "Give 'er to Manulach that chorbaci-Jordan's fool!" "But you'll be sorry when she starts sending love-massages, shefteli-scarves, to other lads!" " What didya say, you wretched nobody, what?" "!" "Shame on you!" "Oh, God forbid!" "Quiet, women!" "Calm down!" "Yelling's unbecoming!" "Tell me, hadji, why aren't we a proper match - aren't we of the same Christian faith?" " Come, come, let's part in peace." "Says she "chorbaci-house, chorbaci-daughter"." "Mind you, nobody's candle c'n burn all night long!" " Enough, now!" "You came here, tried to fix Ajde a marriage, b't you failed." "Now go home - you can't do anythin' by force." "Ah, don't we know 'bout you." "What w's your grandfather?" "A trough-maker!" "And your father?" "And now - "Chorbaci we are!"" "Enough, I said!" "You're climbing down the ladder, and my Mane is climbing up yet!" "Don't you say!" "A dog pictured h'mself wearing breeches 'nd ran t' dance in the oro..." "A dog in the breeches?" "You wretched chorbaci-nobody!" "Who is a dog?" "Just you wait 'till I take my slippers off," "I'll have them t' your head!" "I'll bomb you like the Serbs bombed Mitad-Pasha on Vinik-hill!" "You wretched trough-marker!" "You are a guest in my home!" "What am I to do to you?" "I'll fight you in the middle of the street f'r what you said" ""a dog in the breeches"!" "Oh, Lord Almighty!" " We'll have a good fight!" "Zone, my daughter!" "You invited this one t' my home?" "!" "You took care of my face" "Very well!" "You wish to b'come related to crazy Doka!" "Mane you wish to marry?" "Girlfried in each street he has!" "Enough!" " Them he needs for fun, and our girl just to to get into a chorbaci-family!" " Hush, Taske!" "This you shall remember!" "If I hear a bad word 'bout you once again, I'll bury you here!" "You won't see daylight ever again!" "Nobody in Nish will know that hadji-Zamfir has a daughter in his home." "Und'rstood?" "!" " Und'rstood." "Wait a minute, Mane!" "Don't be angry with me, don't be sorry, a tiniest bit." "They didn't want t' give you this girl - so what?" "There're plenty of girls, as many girls as you wish." " Oh, auntie!" "My Mancha - a dog in the breeches?" "But I told them back a few things, I did..." "They will never..." " Enough now, auntie!" "'Your Mane is a dog in the breeches', said master to her." "And you, bitch, are about to get a nice cytek!" "Ah, ah!" "Vaska, Vasilia, watch out!" "Zone!" " What d'you want of me?" "That Doka, nobody sent 'er." "Don't you listen to what she said..." " So, what she said isn't true?" " No, it is true, but she shouldn't have..." " Why are you telling me this, why should I care?" "I can't sleep..." " Ah, ah..." "I'm just wandering about, like an ox when he eats honeysuckle." "I've gone completely mad, Zone..." " Let me pass!" "I'm a master-craftsman." "I can support a wife..." "The town is swarming with girls." "Become a Muslim and take a dozen wives if you wish!" " But there's only one I want!" " Let me go!" "I'll cover you with sterling silver and gold, you'll shine like Saint Mother of God, The Three-handed!" "I'll work just for you from daybreak to sunset." " What will you eat if you don't sell anything?" " I'll do whatever you want." "When you say 'go away', I will..." " So go away." "Let me go." "Zone, I know everything." "Your folks won't let you marry me." " No." "I'll take you away by force, if only you say 'yes'." " No!" "Who are you 'fraid of?" "No!" " Why?" "We are not a proper match for each other..." " So, you have a better match?" "Manulach?" " Who knows?" "There are plenty..." "Zone, listen!" " Leave me alone!" "That's what you want?" " That's what I want!" "Eh, you chorbaci-bitch." "You'll long remember your own words - 'a dog in the breeches'!" "'A dog in the breeches' - who can that be?" "!" "And so he was left there, desperate like Adam driven away from heaven, standing in front of the Eden gate." "Didn' get a word of that!" "B't sounds right!" "I've heard he proposed to Zamfir's Zona?" " 'You are just a dog in breeches', said hadji to him." " A dog in the breeches!" "Are you sorry you're getting married?" "D'you grieve for your mother Tashana?" "You won't sleep at your mama's ever again..." "C'me on, play some music, don't stop!" "People, let's jump 'n' dance!" "Dog in the breeches!" "Dog in the breeches!" "Let's hang a tendzera-pot on his tail and set him off to run in the streets in his breeches!" "Hey, are you blind?" "It's not a dog." "It's Mane, the goldsmith!" "He's already been shamed enough, you don't need to hang a tendzera on him!" " The bitch is lying!" "That is not Mane, I am Mane, and that's a dog!" "Let's be honest - you are thinking about her?" "Ah, friend, I'm thinking 'bout getting me revenge, getting even with that chorbaci-bitch!" "If you need anything - we are here for you..." "Through thick and thin!" "Auntie's nephie!" " Auntie, you got me into a nice fix with your marriage-arranging." " Who, me?" " That's why you'll help me now." "If we are to fight it out - my fists are ready!" "Oh, no." "This business's gonna be crazy as you are, auntie." "Sit over here." " Waiter-boy!" "A mastic-brandy!" "Here's my plan..." "Aferim!" "Great!" "You are your auntie's nephie!" " Such a slur on their good name won't fade 'way easily..." " That suits me fine!" "Chorbaci-mules!" "Conspiracy!" " Mastic-brandy!" " For this business we'll have t' find a young lass, thin and tall." "Here am I!" " Not that thin." "All right, you used to be..." "I bet I c'n jump over that fence better th'n you!" " Quiet!" "Conspiracy!" " What's that word anyway?" "!" " Hush!" "Aha, hush-hush!" "Master, a customer's waiting..." " Let 'im wait." "This is the lass." " Lass, come sit here." " I'm no lass..." "We'll also need a coachman." " There's Stavra The Kid." "I'll go ask 'im." " I'm no lass." " Quiet!" " Aunt-Doka will fix you, you'll come out a regular beauty." " Mane!" "If you say so," "I'll take 'er away together with all her aunts!" " Hush!" "Discretion, men!" " Discretion!" "Waiter, where's that mastic-brandy?" "Oh, quiet, silly!" "Oho!" "What was that?" "!" "Hey, people, what can this be?" "!" "?" "Aaahhh!" "Zamfir's lassie's eloped!" "Who the hack took 'er away?" "Rumours, rumours!" "Who could give us some facts about the last night's event?" " I can!" "I saw it all!" "Zone eloped with a lad!" "Ran away and took all her things!" "Yes, but who with, who!" "?" "Where's your master, boys?" "Hasn't showed up 't all." "Interesting!" " Howdy!" "Good morning!" "How are you?" "He's stalking with a gun in his hand!" " Be careful he's dangerous." "Danger is the name of my occupation, gentlemen." "You sh'd give up your scribbling." "'Cause you might stumble o'er some cytek in the dark." "I thought he was a man of the world..." "Poor jackdaw!" "If Zone really eloped, look for 'er at Manulach's." "Woe to you, Taska!" "Why did your Zone lose face like that?" " What?" "Your Zone's eloped!" "Why didn't you give 'er away with blessing?" "Why this shame and scandal?" " Did you see it with your own eyes?" " Plenty saw." " Who took her away?" "!" "Mane came with a coach, knocked 'n the gate, she ran out 'n jumped into the carriage!" " Not only did she jump in!" "She took all 'er things, too - 'er quilt, 'er pillows, the cradle..." " Howdy to you, Taska!" "Shut up, you bitch!" " What's new at your relatives'?" "Anybody getting' married?" " Why squabble with a fool?" "Send my regards to the chorbaci-family!" "Sir, could I speak to your son?" " 'F course, why not." "Manulach, my son, c'me out f'r a minute!" " Congratulations, you brave young man!" "Can I see the bride?" " What bride, what!" "?" "Zona, of course!" "I'd like a word with her, too..." " Zone?" "What are you talking about, ha?" " Go away!" "This is a respectful house!" "Go away!" "This is a respectful house!" "Much water will have run under the Nishava bridge before they become aware of the importance of press." "Zone!" "Where's your Zone?" " She's home, why?" "Is that true?" "She's here, she is!" "Why are you staring at me like that!" "?" "Listen here!" "This is how it happened." "We were positioned over there by the drinking-fountain;" "then we heard a loud bang and turned round." "We saw:" "Zone, together with an unidentified man, jumped into a coach and drove off, destination unknown." " So, Zone's eloped." "Aha!" "Where is your Zone, where?" "!" "Eloped, eloped..." "Is the press allowed in?" "Get lost!" "Go away!" "That's very kind of you." "Here's Zone!" "You fools, haven't you heard the rumour?" "!" "Oh, dear me, what is it?" " That Zone eloped!" "We've lost face in the whole town!" " That Zone eloped with that rascal Mancha!" " But how c'n that be when she's at home!" "?" "That beats me, Tashana!" " May the Lord be their judge!" "Tryin' to ruin a girl's happiness!" " That crazy Doka must've spread the rumour!" "May she drop dead with plague!" "May she be shaking in fever from St Dimitrije's to St George's Day!" "Sergeant, sir, they say there's been some shooting..." "Possible..." "And that hadji-Zamfir's been wounded?" " No, that's not true." "He's out in the country." " With his chiftchi-women." "What a shame - a grandpapa!" "Sergeant, sir, could that be your 'unidentified man'?" "Ah, by no means." " God forbid..." "Why this mob 'n front of me gate?" "!" "Hallo, what's new?" "Who's getting' married?" "Gentlemen, I have the right heading for my paper:" ""Parents, take good care of your daughters!"" "Zone, my dear daughter..." "See the front gate over there?" "That's exactly how far you c'n go without your elders!" "C'mon now, have somethin' to eat..." " No, we can't eat." "She's eloped and she's at home!" "?" "How c'n that be!" "?" "Somebody framed us, fixed us up." " But who could've done that?" "Taska b'lieves it w's crazy Doka that set the rumour going..." "But, why?" "!" " 'Cause we wouldn't let our Zone marry Mane." " Eh!" "?" "And for those words of yours 'a dog in the breeches'." " Eh?" "!" "Never mind who framed us - we can't let it go on like this." "Women, what are we t' do?" "Taska, c'me on, you can think quickest..." "Tomorrow we must take our little Zone out - into the promenade." "She must be seen with us." "We'll take 'er to the hammam and through all the town-streets!" "We'll see what they'll say when they see Zone." "So be it." "I hope to God it turns out right." "God help us!" "Zone, come sit down." "Vaska, it's all my fault..." "Oh, don't say that Zone." "I acted up too proud, Vaska..." ""I'll cover you with gold!" "You'll shine like Saint Mother of God, The Three-handed", he said, and I told him off and ran 'im down..." "Eh, come, come, dear, don't say that..." "Look, that's Zone!" "Zone!" "Look well, you short-sighted fools! "Zone's eloped"?" "You liars!" "Did you call gendarmes to bring her back?" "Taska, where didya find 'er?" " Shut up, bitch!" "Eloped!" "Who took you?" "How didya manage t' bring 'er back so quick?" "Eloped!" "Eloped!" "Taska, Zone's now just like a used stamp!" " Away, bitch!" "Plague on you!" "Hallo to you, Manulach!" "Your folks at home?" "They are, aunt-Taska." "Three army officers asked for our Zone's hand..." "Three officers fr'm the acad'my and two active ones." " Nice..." "But we say, why send 'er far away when there're honest merchants here 't home..." "What is it, Manulach, master-Zamfir's folks came to ask for your hand?" " Aha!" "Aferim!" "Great!" "But Taska, dear, our child's not yet of age t' marry." "Why not, say!" "?" " We may send him off to study in Gratz." "He's an old horse for s'hool!" "And what 'bout Mane?" "Such a modest boy..." "And I've heard that he and Zone..." "Mama, why?" "!" " Nobody fr'm our fam'ly has ever, thank God, married an eloped girl!" "Sergeant, that case remains unsolved, full of contradictions..." " Ah, what can we do..." "Could I ask your friend a few questions?" " You'd better not." "One did yesterday and got beaten up." "Stop!" "Let's sing a new song, about Zone!" "I can't understand a word." "I'll read, you play:" "Little Zamfir-Zone is sitting at her front gate, there comes young lad Manulach..." " But I didn't!" "I didn't..." ""Hallo to you, Zone what are your folks at home doing?"" ""They are all fine, all doing quite nicely," "My aunts keep calling on to see me in my room," "Keep asking me, all day long, Are you still at home, Zone?"" "'Morrow morning we'll send 'er to Leskovac, she c'n stay with our son-in-law 'till the dust settles." "In Leskovac, too, already, isn't it!" " Yes, arrived before you yourself did..." "Here in Pirot, that awful song is sung by duets, triplets, quartets and even choirs!" "I could stay at Done's in Vranje for a while?" " I told them that you were here." "But they wrote back that you shouldn't be sent over there, 'till some wretched song 'bout you gets hushed down." "My poor child!" "It's been a whole year!" "What she's been through since she w's slandered to h've eloped!" " Her heart only knows." "She's bound to b'come a spinster, that's for sure..." "Oh, c'me on!" "She's only seventeen!" "In our time, girls got married 't fifteen." "There was a nightingale, but I wouldn't listen." "If you would allow me just a few..." "Ah, very kind of you!" "Hi, cute!" "Don't stand up, keep on working..." "What c'n I do for you, hadji..." "This cigarette-holder - its ring went off..." "It'll be done in no time, hadji." "I'll wait here, then." "I have dozens of holders 't home, but this one's special." "If I were to lose it, I'd quit smokweakest altogether." "Why is that so?" "It's the same with children." "One c'n have dozens, all healthy and handsome, but there's one the smallest one, the weakest but Papa loves it above all others." "Why should that be so?" "And what are you doing?" "You're wasting your youth, Mancha..." "You should get married." "Well, I will." " Have you asked for some lass?" "No." "I haven't..." " Who would turn you down?" "Is there such a man in Nish?" "!" "They say - a rake, a skirt-chaser..." "Why should I ask when I know they won't give me the girl?" "Have you come to ask me to arrange a marriage for you, with a merchant's daughter?" "You haven't!" "How much?" "Nothing." " Thanks, Mancha." "And if you decide to get married, you come to me." "Look there!" "How much did you pay for that Wertheim's safe-box?" "Six hundred the big one and two small ones - fifty each." "Eh, you have three of them!" "?" "No button-maker are you - you are s goldsmith, a jeweller!" "And one of us!" "They're playing a different tune now!" "As I see it, the business is done." " Done?" "What - the hadji throws a bone, and the dog in the breeches jumps for it?" "That will not be!" "There, there child..." "Either you'll be my mama this autumn, or I'll be lying in me grave this spring..." "Come, come, what a thing to say..." "What is it, Mama?" "You are a merciless brute, you don't fear God!" " Me?" "!" "Why?" "You've ruined a girl's happiness!" "Not me, mama, I haven't..." " Yes, you have." "I know you" "Very well." "What do you want - to get married, and leave her cursing you?" " I'm not getting married, mama." "A slandered girl's curse - beware son!" "Come to your senses!" "Mane!" "Don't you recognise me?" "Easy!" "I'm no outlaw-robber!" "Vaska, is that you, girl?" "!" " Ah, I'm not a girl any more." "I married Gmitrach, the pott'ry-maker." "Hallo, there!" " Howdy." "I have a message f'r you." "Wait!" "Zone sends you her regards." "D'you hear me?" "She says she can't live without you." "That I've heard before." "She fooled me once - she won't once again." "She sent these flowers f'r you." "Not the roses of May, she says, but neither's she what she used t' be." " It's good this dog's got a belt on his breeches so he c'n put the flow'rs in it." " C'me on!" "You are a dog in the breeches 'nd Zone has eloped - so what?" "She could do it for real!" "Just come and take 'er away." "A lowly nobody to marry a chorbaci-daughter?" "!" "Why are you so spiteful!" "?" "You stubborn silly!" "Give this to 'im, Zone said..." "What is it?" "!" "A shefteli-scarf!" "Shefteli?" "!" "Zone sent it for me!" "?" " Take this to him, Zone said, and ask 'im if he's ever heard th't a girl sent such a message to a boy before." " You are lying to me." " I swear I'm not." "If you b'lieve in God, you'll understand how painfully her soul's suff'ring." ""I'll do this", said Zone, "and he c'n do what he pleases"." "What shall I tell 'er?" "You'll get a good cytek, I promise you!" " Quiet!" "Taska!" "This business would be finished easily, if only some of us went for a walk..." " Doka!" "Me!" "?" "Me?" " Go out!" "Taska!" " Why me, now!" "?" "Ah, now we'll have a good fight!" "Away, I'll pull your hair out." "Hadji..." "It's 'papa' for you..." "Papa, I'm asking you to give me your Zone's hand." "You shouldn't give her any dowry." " Oh, not so, my son." "I'll give you a house and five hundred gold coins!" "I'll give as much." "To cover my bride with gold!" "She'll shine like Saint Mother of God, The Three-handed." "Young master-Mane!" "Here's Manulach." " Your dever, the bride's best man." "I don't want him." " Why?" " He's got no shape for a dever." "But his shape was fine when for your bridegroom, ha?" "There, there, it was just a nightmare I had " "Manulach was your bridegroom." "C'me on, you won't be crying fr'm now on!" " Mane!" "My dear dever!" " Not me." "I can't be your dever." " Why now?" "Papa sends me to collect money from our debtors." "I'll buy you a golden earring, papa's precious!" "No, no, it can't be..." "I'll buy you patent-leather shoes, too!" " No, it can't be." "'Cause money's worth a lot today, it's recess'on." "A, don't you say!" "So, that's that?" " That's that." "Good bye to you." "This bridegroom you dreamt for me, ha?" "!" "Why, I dreamt of myself as a dog in the breeches, too." "I was at your wedding, and the dog headed the oro, but then you shouted "Are you blind?" "That's no dog, that's Mane, Mane the goldsmith!"" "You are my dog in the breeches." "And you are my eloped girl." "Come on, play some music, men, don't stop!" "It's a wedding!" "Let's all jump 'n' dance!" "Will you be my kum, my groom's best man?" " And, my dever?" "Kum and dever I won't be!" "The bridegroom" " I will!" "Hey, Taska!" "Why are you still angry?" "Look at them!" "Just like a blue hyacinth and a green daffodil!" "Quiet, please!" "May I have a moment of your attention." "Look here..." "Say 'cheese'!" "Let me ask you somethin', my son-in-law..." " Yes, papa." "But, tell me the truth." " I will, papa." "It was you, wasn't it, that cooked up all that mess?" "It wasn't me, papa." " Neither me, hadji." "I know it wasn't you, Manulach." "Nobody could've done that but a son of Djordjia!" "I can swear I didn't do it." " So, do swear, come on, ela..." "Look over here one, two, three..." "Done!" "Let's hear what Mane's got to say..." "I didn't do it, papa, so help me St. Evstatie, the hunters' patron-saint..." "I didn't, on my hunter's luck." "If you don't believe me - ask my aunt Doka!" "It wasn't us, God forbid!" "Ah, you scallywag!" "I forgive you!" "And now you can make a statement for the public." " What?" "To give this story a happy-ending." "Mind your own business!" "Get lost!" "Pan Franchishek!" "Play my song!" "I'm taking my bride home now!" "Gentlemen, let's play "The Girls of Nish"!" "What a crowd!" "Everyone wishes to be an eye-witness of Mane's victory." "A witness of an event which will long be remembered in Nish." "But the best witness is - a writer!"