"SLEEP SWEET, MY DARLING" "Will you go with me?" "I must be off right away..." "Must ride into the storm." "Girl!" "Have you gone mad?" "Leaving into such a night?" "Three men in the dark" "Grandad!" "Grandad!" "I woke up!" " Where are you?" "Grandad!" " Here, here I am!" "Line up soldier!" "Atten-tion!" "There we go." "Let's see." "Keep this up, and you won't be needing a ladder to pick cherries." "Grandad, can I take this one down?" "It's yesterday's." "This is Mum." "Grandma says she wasn't always messed up like this." "It began when my little sis was sent to the angels in a shoebox." "Auntie Nadica has a great ear for languages." "She's learned as many foreign ones as there had been armies in Zagreb." "The little bastard!" "He almost bit my finger off." "Well, my dear." "You could've stuck your nose in there." "I'd say, missus." "You haven't heard the last of it." "Just you mutter." "Mum says Grandma is kind, but Grandad is quite cracked." "I know how it feels." "There was a crack in the loo once and I fell through it." "River Soca Went a-rushing" "This is the loo." "The hole is widened in front because Grandad has a large one." "Tomek?" "Tomek!" "Here I am!" " Where've you been?" " Drinking white coffee." ""Drinking white coffee." Line up!" "On the double!" "Ever since a rat bit Grandads balls, he can't crap if I don't stand guard." " Anything?" " Nothing." "You?" "Plenty, plenty" "Tomica, what are you doing?" "I can't speak to you." "I'm on strict sentinel duty." " Well, you're moving." " You move away." "Why'd you scream at night?" "There was something wet and wriggling under my duvet." " Tomek, who're you talking to?" " Tonka." "She's wet her bed." "No I didn't." "The cat had kittens in my bed." "Tonka, breakfast is ready!" "She's putting something yucky in my palenta." "Here, Auntie!" "Sonny..." "Come Round the flowers now, my heart" "Let them not take us apart" "Those tricks and lies" "Come Let's abandon this harsh life" "Journey far from all the strife" "To bright new skies" "Such a life is sheer delight" "Beneath blue heavens" "And of all the maidens" "You are my darling" "Joy's a gift from up on high" "A flight in freedom" "O'er the forest kingdom" "Fly like a Starling" "You little brat, you are smart." "Ah, ah Now I kiss this little fountain" "Burbling merry on the mountain Like the minstrels used to do" "You won't do well in life, boy." "Ah, ah Every flower makes me glad" "Now my living won't be sad My woes are through" "Such a life is sheer delight" "Beneath blue heavens" "And you, my maiden Bring me my song " "Beggin' your pardon, can I help?" "Sonny, I'm off to the market to check on Grandma." "You watch the house." "There." "Tomica!" "If the flyers are pink, like so, you can go read them." " Uh-huh." " You can't read!" "Uh-uh." " Come!" "Let's see who got hit." " Can't!" "I must watch the house." "Come on!" "Everyone's going, you'll be the only one left." " You coming too?" " Auntie won't let me." ""Auntie won't let me."" "The worst thing they throw are those pens that blow up." " Where?" " In your fingers, Funnyface." "They blow up your hand and head." "And just for unscrewing the lid." "They won't get me." "I can't write." " Look, I have one like that." " Don't play with it." " Why not?" "It's fun." " I'm off." " Wait!" " Let go!" "Oh, calm down!" "Let me go!" "I wanna go home!" "Lie down!" "Ah, I need to push it at the back." "Let me go!" "Mommy!" "Mommy!" "Tomica!" "Look at you!" " Grandma, they hit the dog." " You rascal, where've you been?" " Why don't we have a dog?" " Because we couldn't feed it." "Have you ever seen a dog here in Abyssinia?" " Let me help you, Mrs. Glazar." " Thank you." "Grandma, why are you so cross?" "Everything is falling apart." "God knows what will happen to us." "All!" "Up!" "To arms now!" "No more discussions" "Bomb now, bomb now Bomb now the Russians" "The English are bombing loos!" "They're bombing loos!" "The English are bombing loos!" "The English are bombing loos!" "White sand, white wash!" "White sand, white wash!" "Just you be naughty, and you'll get spanked." "Grandad, why do they call our neighbourhood "Abyssinia"?" "Named it after people even poorer than us." "Grandad, have you really been a bell-ringer once?" "What bell-ringer?" "What nonsense is that?" " Who told you that?" " I'm just asking." "I was a bell-caster once, and a right good one, I was." "How come you just cast spritzers down your throat nowadays?" "What?" "That's from Grandma, huh?" "Here, let's see if they're sharp." "Lice!" "We'll try petroleum first." "If that doesn't work, we'll use mercury paste." "That's for crabs." "You know what crabs are?" "Well." "If that doesn't help, you're going under the razor." "Tomica, come, don't be naughty!" " Come, get over here!" " Don't want to!" "I'll get you silk candy!" "Come, get over here." "Jesus." "Dad!" "Get him over here!" "Get this devil off of me!" "Get it off of me!" "Let him go, let him go!" "Tomica!" "You murderers!" "Dad!" "Oh no, my rooster!" "He's alive!" "Come, take his knapsack off of him." "Everything will be all right now." "You'll see." "Here, Grandma!" "Plenty for all today." "Tomek, come to the table!" "Let him be, let him play." "Cheers!" "Cheers!" "Well, now that I'm back, I promise we'll live like lords." "Eating the best Mardesic sardines every day..." "That's nice." "Good boy." "So, are you marrying soon?" "Is there anyone?" "Oh, there sure is." " An Italian POW knocked her up." " Dad!" "What a lout you are." " And a lout you always will be." " What?" " I sure didn't get knocked up." " There, there!" "One rooster's dead, but the other one came back." "You know, I thought of you often." "When I showed your photo to the guys, they couldn't believe it." "They thought you were some American movie star." "So, how did you do without me?" "Things will be better with you around." "And you're prettier too." "An Italian, huh?" "A prisoner of war." "Daddy, will you let me have the gun?" "I'll slap you across the face if you so much as touch it." "So, are there no news here?" "Hasn't anyone come back?" "Yeah." "Lojzek's kid has, but his gangrene was so bad that his leg had to be..." "And you?" "How come they let you off?" "My appendix." "I need surgery, and right away, too." "Pass the wine, please." "Tomica, I just thought of something." "Look what I've brought you." "Thanks, Dad." "Go play over there." "Mira, we could have another kid." "To keep this one company." "How about it?" "Poor thing." "Tomica, I said, sit at the table." "Daddy, d'you know that a rat bit Grandads balls?" "I'll get your balls, little rascal." "I sure know that's true." "So what's so funny about it?" "He bit me, so what?" "Across the rooftops Pale moon was swinging" "This little tune here I was a-singing" "And like two cooing doves" "We used to be glowing" "Here, sonny." "Get another bottle of seltzer." "Here's the money." "Get yourself some candy with the change." "And hurry up." "And like two cooing doves" "We used to be glowing" "Drinking from a single cup" "The love overflowing" "Mira?" " Mira!" " What is it?" " Someone's in the attic." " It's Nadica." "I know, but there's someone else." " That's Mario." " What bloody Mario?" " The Italian." " The prisoner of war?" "In our attic?" "He ran away as they were taking him to Germany." "You're all nuts." "The Glazars, all of you." "We'll all be shot if they find out." "Quiet down!" "Let us sleep!" "What's wrong with you?" "Oh, it's nothing, Stef." "Just screwups in the attic." "The Zagreb Court Martial sentenced to death by firing squad:" "Franjo Fabijancic, 33, son of Matija and Selena." "The execution was carried out in due course." " And that's it." " Is that what it really says?" "I wouldn't lie to you." "Mrs. Hiizak tells me that they make soap bars out of children." "I knew you were lying." "You've been gypping me all along." " You have no idea." " Janja!" " What, Grandad?" "Don't read that." "It's not for kids." " Come, let's go home." " Okay, Grandad." "Bye, Tomek." "Just take a full bucket, get washed up properly." "You could take a hundred and you'd still be what you are." " And what might that be?" " A ﬂoozy." " A what?" "What you are, a ﬂoozy." "Having fun with kids." "Like I don't know what you did to Brankec." " That's so true, Micika." " Oh, so he's yours?" "He's good, he'll amount to something." " He's only fifteen, for shame!" " Look, what can I do?" " All your husbands are away, fighting." " Leave him alone!" "Don't worry, he'll find a lass easily, now that he knows how it's done." " You ﬂoozy!" "I'll cool you down right now!" "Micika, what are you doing?" "Are you out of your mind?" "And what are you laughing at, you dirty sow?" "Another round, boss." "Darkec, come, have a drink." "Who knows, it might be your last one." "Just you play" " Watch out for the narcosis." " You might never wake up." "Tell me something, guys." "Who did you screw around with while I was down in Bosnia?" " There's always someone." "If you keep on stalling, they'll brand you a deserter." "I told you I'd go." "Guys, you know what true suffering is?" "Sliding down a razor and falling into a barrel of iodine." "That's enough now!" "I said I'd go." "Don't go messing with me." "The war will be over by then." "I've been listening to Radio London." " That's forbidden." "Better think of what you'll do when they come from the forest." "Nothing to it!" "You'll testify to that I was only doing my duty." "And I was lenient to everyone." "Including you, Ckaric!" "See, it's quite possible I married the wrong sister." "I cast them like that." "One light as a bluebell, another heavy as a church bell." "Get it?" "So, then, you're really not going back?" "To Bosnia?" "No way in hell." "You know, we found a dozen Domobrans in a forest once." "Their dicks were sticking out of their mouths." " How so?" " Their own dicks." "Oh, the sons of bitches." "The beast fay obediently at his feet like a hound." "From then on, the wolf followed the boy like a faithful dog." "Sit!" " No, no, roll around!" " I won't!" "I'm not your dog!" "Then I won't read to you..." "And what are you looking at?" "Nothing." "He's a good boy." "Why are you harassing him?" " He's my boy." " Then you should love him." "I do!" "Look!" "Why'd you do that?" "Don't go staring at others when I say that you're mine!" "That Tonka is a fool, and you're a funnyface who can't even read." "Here, read it for yourself." "I won't read at all, I'll draw." "Like this, just like this." "Tomica, remember when I read you Treasure Island?" "There's treasure here, too." "By the Sava..." "Wanna see?" "Come, are you scared?" "See, I told you." "Who does it all belong to?" "The Jews." "Wow, lucky them." "C'mon, let's go!" "Run, you fool!" "It's just kids!" "It's not typhoid, but we have to get his fever down." "Or he's done for." "Fill a barrel full of water." "You, Darkec, go to Bacani's place and get some ice." "Come on, Darkec, come on!" "It'll be all right!" "We've got to do this." "Easy now." "It's for your own good." "Mommy!" "The Kneipp Method is the best there is." "You'll see." " How long must he be inside?" " Until I say so." "God shall pay you." "If something happens to him too, Mira will kill herself." "Tomica, be still." "I'll make you a scooter." "Spare something for the Red Help?" "Of course, as always." "Mommy!" "That's fine now." "Take him out and light up the stove." "Three blankets, and he'll be as good as new in three days." "When down a starry night sky" "Silver moonbeams start to descend" "Every heart to heaven ascends" " It was you!" " And the peculiar, passionate longings" " Wasn't!" " Enter the mind" " Was too!" "You broke it!" "Playing guitar on my boat I drink in the loving you give" "All around us pearly seas live The song keeps us entwined" "Tonight I'll whisper to you Tender and loving words" "Tonight I have to give you My love in gentle chords" "This gorgeous night God gave us just for sweet lovemaking" "So let us dream while waking Before the hours of light" "I wish we had had cream and cheese instead." "Go, catch it with the trowel." "Save what can be saved." "Catch it!" "What are you waiting for!" "Won't be drafty anymore." "It won't!" "It won't!" "Tonka, why are you always alone?" " I'm not." "I have lots of friends." " Where are they?" " Here's one." " It's just a bug." "No, it's a fair black steed pulling a royal carriage." "You have to look with better eyes than these." "Come, I'll show you something." "Where are we going?" "Swear on the Black Gypsy that you won't tell anyone about my hideaway." "May the Black Gypsy take me away if I do." "Look, this is Karlo." "Dad caught him in Africa." "Don't be scared." "When the war's over, Dad will come and get me." "And we'll go see the whole world from his plane." "Come along with us." "Tonka, where are you hiding?" " We gotta go." " Is she really a witch?" " Yeah." " So how does she do it?" "Uses her eyes and tea." "She was jealous of Mum." "Mum sang beautiful arias, and so now she can't walk." "And she turned my brother into a garden gnome." "Did you have a brother?" "Uh-huh, he's always there." "If you look at him long enough you'll see that he's alive." "It's all right, he can come to the table." "O Lord, bless this food and us who shall eat it." "In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, amen." "Cheers!" "What, you want some too?" "You so reek of the attic ham." "For the whole family!" "Prost!" "What's he saying?" "Says "cheers"." "Tomica, let's knock 'em." "I've forgotten how it's done." "Take an Easter egg and hit mine with it." " Is this a normal onion?" " Yes, quite normal." "Bitte." "I'd like to stay here forever." "I've never had a better time than up here, in your attic." " What's he saying?" " He likes it up in our attic." "What's the matter now?" "What if the Nazi starts yapping about the Italian in our house?" "Don't worry, he'll keep mum." "As soon the war is over, we'll have a wedding." " What's he saying?" " He'll get married." " I believe so, but to whom?" " Mum!" "I am not a Zagorec Who would sell his own wine" "I would rather drink it all With this kin of mine" "Let us drink, let us drink" "Happy Easter!" "Oh, don't sing lying down." "Come, come, get him up!" "Nicely raised threshold." " Come, sit down!" " I will!" "You are gut, it's all gonna be gut, you'll sehen." "We should get some more wine." "Blasted threshold!" "It's just a routine operation." "It'll be all right." "You know, like in the song." "To war, to war Draw your swords from scabbards" "Ban, let the foes See the way we die" "Where did you get the crayons?" "Dad bought them for me before he went to tinsmith's." "Tinsmith's, you say." "Grandma said to finish her off if she gets really ill." "Yeah, grandma's quite right." "Just stay away from the doctors." "Let me see." "You little devil, you really draw nicely." "I don't." "It's a spitting image." "What?" "The yellow go yelling, and the red get ahead." " We've got him!" " What is it, a goldfinch?" "It's Ferdinand!" "We've caught Ferdinand!" "Yuck." "I'm off." "You'll lose your head for this." "I'll do all the judging." "What did you guys catch?" "Good that you're here, lass." "You'll be his defence attorney." "Tomek!" "On my mark, raise the box so that it runs towards me." " It'll bite me!" " Be a man, will you!" "NOW!" "Ow, son of a bitch!" "Blasted snotty brats, one of them'll get hurt some day." "Oh, we used to do that too." "Let the kids have some fun." "You jumped first." "That means I'm the winner!" "No you aren't, we jumped at the same time." " Lies!" "Wanna do it again?" " Yep." "We'll count this time." "You jump before ten, you're yellow." "I have to be home at ten." "When I count to ten, silly." "There's a freighter coming." "Come, start counting." "Not yet, on my mark." "One, two..." "Three, four..." "Ferdo, follow me!" "Scram!" "This way, Ferdo!" "Hurry up!" "What!" "Are you running after our local kids from Tresnjevka?" "What kids?" "What's with you, people?" " Who are you chasing, then?" " Nobody, pal!" "The Partisans are in Dubrava!" "And you're having a picnic here!" "Ferdo, come!" "Leave the train and these fools, save your head!" " Well, this changes everything." " How so?" "In what way?" "Like so." "These ones left, those ones aren't here yet." "We don't know what's in store for us." "Still, no use waiting to find out on an empty stomach." "Get it?" "Plenty for all!" "Plenty for all!" "Come, folks." "What!" "I saw it first!" "It's mine!" " Shouldn't you be keeping order?" " Yeah, I will." "Put three dozen drinks here." "I'm retired as of today." "They're here!" "We're free!" "Do you hear me, people?" "I just saw them!" " They're here!" " Who's here?" "Our army, Mr. Pepek!" "Our army has come." "As far as I know, our army just left." "Watch your tongue." "The cards are reshufiled now." "Oh, dear God!" "Do you see anything?" " Girls, away from the window." " Okay." "Did you hear that?" "Oh, it's nothing." "Play!" "O Marijana My sweet little Marijana" "Mr. Bartolic, go home and change into civilian clothes." "Are you crazy!" "It's simply not done." " Want some?" " All right." "You like it?" "So what next, Mrs. Ckreblin?" "Now the people will rule." "We, the poor and the workers!" "We'll get electricity." "And running water!" "Thank you very much." "I prefer wine." " And what about our boys?" " Nothing." "They'll be all right." "Long live the rule of the people!" "Long live!" "It'll all be better now." "I dreamt that it would be so." "Sing, sing, you son of a bitch!" " Let's go play." " Don't want to." " Why all the merrymaking?" " Shut up and drink." "Anyone up for a song?" "Let's do it." "Our volunteers Thunderously roam" "At the Russian Frontline Fighting for their home" "Through their feats of valour Our voice is heard" " Stop that!" "Hush!" " You're just asking for trouble!" " My cup of wine" " My cup of wine" " My cup of wine" " My cup of wine" "Greet the sweet Darling of mine" "For her I drink Your drops sublime" "Even if it is" "My last time" " Mrs. Skrinjar?" " Yes?" "Jesus Christ!" "The cut's a bit high for appendicitis." "Darkec?" " Hush." "I'm dead." " How come, if you're alive?" "Do explain." "I just don't get it." "The Partisans came last night and took all the wounded away." "There was nothing anyone could do, neither doctors nor nurses." "I got riﬂe-butted." "They took them all away in lorries." "What'll Mira do now?" "She'd give anything to see him alive again." "You'll wake up the whole morgue!" "Go, go home now." "No, Tonka, not like that!" "I told you a hundred times!" "Again!" "Lift your fingers!" "Wrong, Tonka, wrong!" "Why are you so mean to me?" "I don't want to anymore!" "Tonka, here's your scrapbook." "This is for you, look." "Let me see." " Who are the empty pages for?" " Dad." " Is he coming back, then?" " Yes." "When he fixes the plane." "We'll move to his castle." "Since we don't belong here." "Why did Janja cry like that?" "Because of her grandad, something happened to him." " She likes you a lot, you know." " Yeah, I'll marry her." "I shall never marry." " Why?" " Aunt Blanka says all men are pigs." "See that one over there..." "That was Aunt Blanka's fiancée." "Tonkica!" "Come back to practice!" "How could you leave like that!" "Why didn't your mum let me in?" "Oh, forget it..." "She thought it was contagious." " Measles?" " No, Funnyface." "I was just sad." " And that's contagious?" " I don't know..." "Might be." " And why are you so merry?" " My Dad is back." "From the camp?" "From the attic." "Mrs. Ckreblin got him his papers." "And yours?" " Mine's dead." " No he isn't." "Is too, Mum says he's dead to us." "He'd hooked up with some woman." " Where?" " In the forest." "Here, that's it." "Go on, fish." "Beware of the Sava." "The river's dangerous, you know?" "You want to swim, go to the pool at the City Bathing Resort." "OK?" "Yes." "It'll be OK." "I might get a job at the People's Restaurant." "And if you do want to swim here, don't go diving into the Sava." "There's pillars and rocks here, all kinds of nasty things." "You're a good boy." "Damned money." "Dad, I can set up bowling pins at the Sparkasse." "No." "You deserve better." "I don't feel good at all." "Damned surgery." "I deserve better, too." "Should jump the fence." "What fence, Dad?" "You're too little to understand." "The fence of FNR Yugoslavia." "Oh, come on, pick one and go away!" "All my thoughts are sailing softly To that country far away" "Over hills and over oceans To where I'll stay" "All my hopes are sailing softly To that country far away" "Over hills and over oceans On moonshine's ray" "All my thoughts are sailing softly To the homeland far away" "Where there's someone who Thinks of me even today" "Worry not, O darling mine And don't you pine" "Lidija, will you sing to me?" "What song would you like, Mr. Pepak?" " The one about swallows." " Sure." "You small birdies, So ﬂeet of wing," "Go now ﬂying in the air..." "It was at the garage last week." "It was a spark plug." "How are you, Funnyface?" "Someone filled out, all right." "Dad, that's Janja Bartoliceva." "Everyone fancies her." " So what are you waiting for?" " She won't go out with plebes." "For hundred miles you go a-searchin'" "No beauty has her fame" "She's the old fishmonger's urchin, and Janja is her name" "Those were the bad years." "In wintertime, I'd spend time in the warm British Library." "Or I'd collect coals along the railway." "Dad got two years in prison for attempting to ﬂee the country." "And Mom..." "Mom just kept mum." "Not even chicken soup could help Grandad that last time." "He got such a fever that we could roast chestnuts on him." "And then he got completely could." "His willy was so big, they had to wash it in a separate basin." "Grandma couldn't live without him." "She got so thin." "Had only 40 kg when the tram ran her over." "I didn't see the girl!" "People, I didn't see her!" "You are a real man!" "I love only you." "Mom, the stew is on the table." "Dad." "Did you run away?" "I'm through with that." "They let me off two months early." "So..." "How was it?" "Fine." " How was it for you?" " Cold." "Have a cigarette?" "You just do your work." "I'm off to the Sparkasse." "To remind them who's the king of blackjack in Tresnjevka." "So how did you get two years?" "Nacek's cousin got three months." "Yeah, but it was my third time." "They caught me at the Soca, where your dad was in wartime." "A meter from the border!" "I could almost see your Italian guy." " He never contacted her." " The whoring bastard." "Mamma, Mamma." "What?" "A year for my third escape attempt, and a year for blabbing." "I told them openly." "Darko Skrinjar will never be fine with the Communist regime, period." " Very nice." "And you're okay with your wife and son living like this." " Well, I did it for them." " Oh, come on, come on!" "I was gonna put some money aside and then get them to come over." "They would have starved to death but for Auntie Nadica." " The Red Cross helped out, too." " Shut up, you!" "Yeah, Nadica came through." "Flour, sugar, jam and oil." "You'd been drinking." "Well, everyone was buying." "Mira, I'm important around here." "You're an idiot." "Playing with your family's fate like that." "Oh, come on, Nada, it'll be all right now." "And your guy, what, is he really tending to monkeys at the Zoo?" "Yeah, he's a good man." "Likes animals." "Reeks a bit of the bears when he comes to bed, but he's kind." " What are you laughing at?" " That's nice." "I don't even remember the last time we had veal." "I asked them in writing to let Tomica into high school." "We'll find a contact there." "I'm important around here." "And we'll pull you out of that Sport Heruc place, too." "My God, my wife won't be a cleaning lady." "I need to grab some shuteye." "ls the attic occupied?" "No." "See, things are shaping up." "I'm telling you, Mira." "One day, you'll have eight doors in your house." "And we'll marry Tomica off, too, to that lass, what's her name?" "Janja Jambrovic." "And I'll dig up a pool in the backyard." "I'll breed dolphins in it." "And your husband will feed them the Mardesic sardines." "Hold him!" "It'll be all right." "It'll... be... all right." " Take this home." " Is that Tonka playing?" "Yeah." "She's cheered up since her mom died." "Or she fell in love." "I'm off to see a movie." "Janja." "Janja, I love you." "All right, Funnyface, all right." "That's nice." "You're, like, really in love, eh?" "Look, Tomica." "We're not kids anymore." "I want out of this shithole." "D'you know how much he got when they beat FC Partizan?" " No." "Four meters of tweed, and buttons." "He'll get an apartment, too." "In the projects." "I have my O Levels now." "I have a little O, too, now." "Everyone's like whoa about it." "Run away, Funnyface, he's jealous!" "That's pure erotica." "The bun by itself, and then a wiener inside it." "Is that your kid?" "Yes, Tomica." "He's brought all you asked for." "There, nothing to worry about." "Don't be so stiff." "Let's see." "Darkec, fix us three more seltzer wines." " These are just..." " Okay, okay." "Admit it, you didn't do them, you had help." "I didn't." "You know that weirdo, Maurovic?" "No." "But I've seen all his work." "Undoubtedly, undoubtedly." "It's all so..." "Well, it is, you can't deny it." "The dames are good." "You like dames, huh?" "All right, I'll put you into the Graphics School." "I guess you'll make a fine lithographer." "What's that?" "Good morning." "Come, I'll buy you a drink for that great scoring on Sunday." "Thanks, I have practice later." "Two blackberry juices." "Why play with amateurs, someone'll break your leg." "Those are my home boys, I'm having a good time." "I'll catch your ball on my volley once, kid." "Hey, Tonka!" "This is my fourth play, and there's still no audience." "I don't even know why I bother." "Listen, Comrade Janekovic, let's be a little ﬂexible here." "I'm being ﬂexible!" "Has there ever been theatre here!" "No!" "But the audience isn't coming." "And who can blame them?" "Who'd watch a play entitled" "Dear Comrade Commander, We Caught Ourselves a Chetnik." "Well, yes." "The title might be a tad long." " What do you suggest, then?" " Something for kids." " Say, Nazor was a Partisan." " He was." "A good man." "Well, this Nazor fellow wrote the Red Riding Hood." " As a Partisan?" " No." "I don't know." "Probably before that." "But it just goes to show that he's always been a bit red." "Tell me more, you've piqued my curiosity." "Tell you more about what?" "This Red Riding Hood." " So, the forest stays?" " You be quiet." "Auntie Nadica says you've changed." "And you have." "What happened?" " Guess." " You fancy someone?" "Ugh, that's so vulgar and glib." "Then what is it?" "It's deep, sensitive and noble." "For a while, I thought it could be you." "Could be what?" "Nothing, that was before." "And it's all right." "I was playing Schumann, the andante." "And he stood behind me." "And suddenly, he said, dolce, Tonka." "Actually, he said, dolce, Tonka, dolce." " That Truman fellow?" "It's Schumann." "And no, my piano teacher, Mr. Laszlo!" "Then he lifted my hair and kissed my neck." "I shivered all over." " How old is he?" " Schumann?" "What does it matter?" "He's thirty." "He's married, but he'll divorce her." "He said he'll devote himself just to me and my career." "He's wonderful." "Has such soft, long fingers." "Oh, God, you're totally bonkers about him!" "LITHOGRAPHY" "Listen up, bozos." "You're a bunch of morons, but I'll make masters out of you yet." "Right now, as of this Monday at 9.15 AM, you're entering the world of art." "Write it down for your biography." "Lithos!" "In Greek, that means stone!" "Stone is the basis of this technique, this art form, the lithography." "Have you met with it before?" "I have a hereditary talent for stonework." " Yeah?" " My dad was at the Goli Otok Penitentiary." "Incidentally, wisecrackers usually ﬂunk this class." "Unless they crack very wisely." "Honore Daumier, who drew like God, ended up in prison for six months, for making a lithographic caricature depicting King Louis Philippe." "Toulouse-Lautrec made posters using the lithographic method." "One time, he came back from a brothel." "Those were the days, boys, those were the brothels." "The courtesans were brilliant, unlike our piss-poor hallway hookers." "The white meat behind red garters, those corsets." "Unlaced by the damn petit-bourgeois, with pince-nez on their noses, leaning over those powdered, ever so slightly raised buttocks." "Right." "What's he doing in there?" "The idiot, we said two dances." "There he is!" "Where are you, Miha, you dork." "Skrinjar, come on." "It's a bit wet there." "I have a newspaper." "Here." "I'll do it." "Wait, wait, wait." "I'll do it." "Listen, I'm sorry if it was." "If it wasn't..." "Well, forget it." "What, was it your first time?" "Nice." "Have another one." "It's good for your blood." "Give it to me, I'll throw it away." "It's normal." "It's what happens." "See, you're stiff all over, except where you should be." " No more, I've had five already." " Come, come, just eat it whole." "And relax." "It's twitching already." "I knew you were from an upstanding family." "Give me that hand, don't be shy." "No one ever left this bed unhappy, you know?" "Atta boy." "There." "Right there!" "See, you can do it." "That's right." "Good job." "Bite, bite." "Yes, yes, yes." "Tonka!" "What is it, Tonka?" "It hurts here, it hurts so much." "What is it, the professor?" "I have dad's pistol in the attic." "Come, Tonka, don't be a fool." "So he knocked you up, so what?" "Let go, I hate you!" "Go on, hate me." "I won't let go." "We're in this together." "You got a knife?" "I'll kill myself first, and then I'll kill him." "Did he knock you up?" " Are you pregnant?" " I'm not..." "It hurts here too." "Hurts so much!" "Let go!" "Kill me, smite me with a rock!" "I can't live without him, can't!" "Tomica..." "Why are we so unlucky?" "Well, we're not unlucky, we just have no luck in love." "And that's chic, you know." "You still in love with Janja?" "It'll be easier now." " We'll go back by tram." "If they still operate by then." " Who knows, we might not even go back together." " Why?" " Maybe some girl bogarts me?" " As if no one would want me." "You're out of luck." "There's no one over thirty there." " You bastard!" "Did you see him?" "He makes good passes here too." "Shit, you know that his picture is on the chocolate cards?" "And his broad is fine, too." "Boring again today." "Think something up, Suhi." "I want a good fight!" "Roll it down, I need petrol." "Beli?" " Your dame is winking at that dweeb there." " What?" " Gimme an autograph?" " No, what was the first thing?" "She was winking at that guy." " You were winking?" " I got something in my eye." " Excuse me." " You did that on purpose." "Right, I saw it." "Gimme tickets for Sunday?" "Buzz off." "You know who I am?" "My face's on a chocolate card." "I know." "I collect Animal Kingdom." "I only need Ape to complete it." "Gimme your autographed picture?" "Hey, baby, watch out!" "Wait." "How's this?" "I'm sorry." "They really hit you proper, you know." "Here, too." "Where?" "Not again, not again!" "What's your problem?" "You crazy?" "I almost ran you over." "Mrs. Bacani!" "Are you all right?" " Come on, hag, move it!" " Leave her alone!" "Two years ago, I ran over an old lady with a cart, right here." "Thought it was a little girl, too." "What?" "Well, I really like it." "Kids, the tree is nice." "But we'll all be sorry if they find out I got it." "Tonka, why didn't you bring Auntie over, too?" "Oh, you know her." "Now that you're with us, tell me if your dad really was noble." "He was." "I have my family tree." "Then my grandson will be noble." "Alojzije, that's a good name." ""Aloisius von Barutanski und Razdrti."" " What's Razdrti?" " My home country." "Tuhelj." "Actually, I know nothing about you." "Neither do I." "We didn't have a family tree, just an apricot tree." "It's for the little otter." "He really loves animals." "Feeds the baby baboon milk from a bottle, imagine that." "Well, then you have to adopt it." "When it grows up, it'll have a nice red arse and the otter can." "Very funny." " What is it, Dad?" " It's nothing." "Did you choke?" "No, Croatia isn't fallen as long as we live" "Tall and mighty it'll stand up new hope shall it give" "Darko, please, not so loud." "There could be a raid." "Let there be a raid!" "A true Croat's not afraid!" "Over there!" "My heart skipped." "Mira?" "Iron my trousers neatly." "I can't do it anymore." "Hi." "This is for you." "What is it?" "Merry Christmas." "Thank you!" "Sit down, Mrs. Ckreblin." "Pour the lady a glass." "Thank you." "And since when have you been celebrating, Mrs. Ckreblin?" "Since they outlawed it." "What has it all come to?" "I can't believe it." "Didn't imagine it this way." "Didn't!" "Six, five, four..." "Three, two, one..." "Happy New Year!" "Cheers!" "Every drop a new year brings" "Save us, Lord, from fortune's slings" "Every drop a new year brings" "Save us, Lord," "From fortune's slings" "I can't, thank you." "Sing the praises of our host" "Let us raise another toast" "It's all right, you shouldn't." "Zdenko, you're extremely talented." "Friends!" "It's finders-keepers!" "Catch!" "Get it!" "Oh, he was the quickest, gotta admit that." "Bravo!" "Did you see that!" "A pro!" "Let's drink it, drink it, drink it" "Let's drink another cup" "Lets drink the rosy red wine Let's drink it, bottoms up!" "Let's drink it, drink it, drink it" "Let's drink another cup" "Let's drink the rosy red wine" "Let's drink it, bottoms up!" "You did this here, at the Graphics School?" "Here, at the Graph, yes." "Not bad..." "For a piece of art." "The sheep are a tad too large, but it's fine." "This bit is bad, however." "The local branch of the Party demands that I throw you out." "Too bad, you do have talent." "Max, come on, stop it." "Vlado, if you'll permit me..." "This is actually an allegory." " Is it?" " Here's what it is." "In a naive way, resembling a reactionary religious motif, therefore, admittedly using inappropriate means, this young man was expressing the fundamentals of revolution, of our socialist ideals, brotherhood and unity, etc." "Look more closely at the Magi." "They only look like the Magi." "But they're Marx, Engels, and Lenin." "Behind them, there are farmers, herders, the working class in general, and cattle, of course." "And the babe in the manger represents a new era." "A birth of a social, socialist idea, as advocated by Comrade Jesus." "He's watched over by the Party." "Here, due to circumstances, depicted as Mary." "And Joseph is alongside her." "Joseph, the patron of workers!" "Besides, the Star has five points, as you can see." "It's all perfectly obvious." "Look, Max, do you really think that I'm an idiot?" "No, but admit it, my elucidation was ingenious." "And besides, I have six reports on you here in my desk." "All alleging seduction of female pupils." "Only six?" "Did you hear that, Skrinjar?" "I'm being insulted here." "This time, I'll let you off the hook." "But if it happens again, you are out of here!" "Is that clear?" "Come on, quit grinning." "Hey, give them back!" "When we join our two plots, they'll make a nice big one." "We just have to go back for the chest of drawers." " Stop the car." " What for?" "Wanna get laid today?" " Sure." " Stop it, then." "Watch how you're stopping, this is not a ball game!" "So long, Funnyface." "No hard feelings." "So long, Mrs. Mira." "Just shut up and drive." "Everyone's giving me a runaround." "First it's an ulcer, then a complicated ulcer..." "Then my pancreas, then liver..." " They're clueless." " You won't go under the knife." "Dad..." "What?" "Nothing." "You look good." "Everything will be all right once I'm back home, you'll see." "My mom was a Sister of Mercy in the Great War." "She helped the wounded, and one time she helped too much." "His name was Joza Poljanec, he got blown up afterwards." "He was my real daddy." "No one knew I was a bastard son." "I could read and write, I wore nice clothes." "I could play a mean card, and I did my share of whoring." "I was the prettiest piccolo at the Esplanade Hotel." "I got mad when these fools put up the signs after the turnover saying, A TIP OFFENDS THE WORKER." "Oh, they used to offend me so much back in the day..." "Best time of my life, son." "Did you bring it?" "Let me have some." "You'll know better with your kids." "Look, I can't take it." "I can't take it." "You know what I'd like?" "Ice cream." "Do get me an ice cream." "Sonny..." "Just a single ball." "Here, dad." "I used to write ballads And garlands I'd weave" "And all joy I had once Away did I give" "And sorrow forever My heart hidden kept" "When no one consoled me Alone have I wept." "But deep inside my heart Tears I do not feel" "And even in hardships My ballads there pea!" "And if I'm a poor man Away all I'll give" "My ballads and my heart As long as I live" "Listen here..." "What's that black ribbon for?" "My dad died two weeks ago, Mr. Maurovic." "Nothing to it." "He'll come back, in one form or another." "In this way or that, eventually." "I believe in reincarnation." "And in metaphysics." "This is what happened when my father died." "Just a day before I ended up in bed with a bout of pneumonia." "So I lie there, and suddenly, a glass shatters next to me." "Ask Karmen, my first wife." "An empty glass, with just a spoon in it." "And it explodes like a cannon." "I check the time, it's 5 o'clock sharp." "The next day I get a telegram saying my dad died in Kocevje." "And exactly at 5 PM." "You want one?" "No, thank you." "I've believed in metaphysics ever since." "And in petroleum." "My mom greased her hair with it, and I drink it." "So, tell me." "What's this lecture about?" "Comics." "The goddamn comics!" "You all keep going on about them." "I'm a painter!" "This, this is who I am!" "Those comics just drove me away from painting." "See..." "I care for nothing in this life anymore." "Except for painting." "Not even for sex." "I ended up with a student here the other day, alone." "I look at her, she looks at me, so I ask her," ""Are you looking at me as a painter, or as a man?"" ""Both," she says." "Want some?" ""All right," I tell her, "let's give it a shot."" "So we both get undressed, and we get into bed." "And my organ jumps up like a young lad's." "But then!" "I just get up, and get dressed." "I tell my student, "Sorry, but I don't want to waste it."" ""I'm working, I'm painting."" " Why are you poking me?" " They poked St. Sebastian, too." "Look, you have to start shaping yourself up." "I'm shaping you up now." " Have you ever read Flaubert?" " No." "No!" "How about Turgenev?" "So who do you like?" "The Rabus hot dogs." "And?" "The Samobor kielbasas." "And?" "Well, and you." "From now on, you have to read one book each week." "Or find yourself another model." "Tomica..." "Mmm?" "..." "Just a minute." "I got my scholarship." "Jesus!" "Dad once told me why the Mardesic sardines taste so good." "Why?" "They catch them just before Christmas, when they're fattest." "Tenderest women clean them up, steadiest men weld the cans." "Oh, stop it." "D'you know who had the first bikini in Abyssinia?" "My Auntie Nadica." "When she got it, she paraded it down the whole length of Bocacka." "She was quite merry, huh?" "Yeah." "And your Aunt Blanka isn't a witch at all." "No." "She's just..." "You know, the women in my family have always been unhappy." "What, all of them?" "I'll grease your skin, so you don't get sunburnt." "Not there." "There's no one around..." "Praise the Lord." "Seen my missus, perhaps?" "So, where were we?" "Not there." "Come on, there's no one here." "And half of Abyssinia was made here, in the bushes by the Sava." "How many kids will we have?" "Five..." "Three?" "Praise the Lord!" "Seen my cow, perhaps?" "Are you mine?" "Just mine?" "Praise the Lord!" "It's crowded here." "I'll go for a swim." " Daddy, daddy!" " What is it?" " Can I sit up front?" " You can't sit up front." " Can I sit in the back?" " You may." "Where's Mommy?" "There, see her go." "Come, hold my stuff." "Hand me that juice." "Tonka, Tonka!" "Tomica, would you like some sour lung stew?" "You like that." "Thanks, Mum." "No, thanks." "I like visiting you, too." "I know." "Mrs. Blanka takes good care of her." "Poor Tonka, she's just as before." "There's no improvement." "She's non-responsive..." "She doesn't understand anything." "Neither do I, Mum." "Twilight is upon us" "Cold night shortly will fall" "With the light of morning" "I shall hear journeys lonely call" "Sleep sweet, o my darling" "Sleep sweet, darling, now" "I waited for you so long..." "My cheeks are pale with tears." "Your cheeks will be red as dawn." "On the day we live together." "SLEEP SWEET, MY DARLING"