Yeckorus pa ankairoben, kon i manushia nanei lavia, o boro Duvel jas
pirian. Sa si asar? Shun miri chavi, me givellis tute:--
Buti beshia kedivrus kenna
Adre o tem ankairoben,
O boro Duvel jas 'vri aja,
Ta dikk i mushia miraben.
Sa yuv pirridas, dikkdas trin mushia pash o dromescro rikk, hatchin keti
chomano mush te vel de lendis navia, te len putcherde o boro Duvel ta
navver lende. Dordi, o yeckto mush sos pano, te o boro Duvel pukkerdas
kavodoi, "Gorgio." Te yuv sikkerdas leste kokero keti dovo, te suderdas
leste buti kameli sa jewries, te rinkeni rudaben, te jas _gorgeous_. Te
o wavescro geero sos kalo sa skunya, te o boro Duvel pendas, "Nigger!" te
yuv _nikkeredas_ adrom, sa sujery te muzhili, te yuv se _nikkerin_ sarja
keti kenna, adre o kamescro dud, te yuv's kalo-kalo ta kair butsi, nanei
tu serbers leste keti lis, te tazzers lis. Te o trinto mush sos brauuo,
te yuv beshdas pukeno, tuvin leste's swagler, keti o boro Duvel
rakkerdas, "Rom!" te adenna o mush hatchedas apre, te pendas buti kamelo,
"Parraco Rya tiro kushtaben; me te vel mishto piav tiro sastopen!" Te
jas romeli a _roamin_ langs i lescro romni, te kekker dukkerdas lester
kokerus, ne kesserdas pa chichi fon adennadoi keti kenna, te jas adral o
sweti, te kekker hatchedas pukenus, te nanei hudder ta keravit ket' o
boro Duvel penell' o lav. Tacho adovo se sa tiri yakka, miri kamli.
GORGIO, {319a} BLACK MAN, AND GYPSY.
Once in the creation, when men had no names, the Lord went walking. How
was that? Listen, my child, I will sing it to you:--
Many a year has passed away
Since the world was first begun,
That the great Lord went out one day
To see how men's lives went on.
As he walked along he saw three men by the roadside, waiting till some
man would give them names; and they asked the Lord to name them. See!
the first man was white, and the Lord called him Gorgio. Then he adapted
himself to that name, and adorned himself with jewelry and fine clothes,
and went _gorgeous_. And the other man was black and the Lord called him
Nigger, and he lounged away [_nikker_, to lounge, loiter; an attempted
pun], so idle and foul; and he is always lounging till now in the
sunshine, and he is too lazy [_kalo-kalo_, black-black, or lazy-lazy,
that is, too black or too lazy] to work unless you compel and punish him.
And the third man was brown, and he sat quiet, smoking his pipe, till the
Lord said, Rom! [gypsy, or "roam"]; and then that man arose and said,
very politely, "Thank you, Lord, for your kindness. I'd be glad to drink
your health." And he went, Romany fashion, a-roaming {319b} with his
romni [wife], and never troubled himself about anything from that time
till to-day, and went through the world, and never rested and never
wished to until the Lord speaks the word. That is all as true as your
eyes, my dear!
YAG-BAR TE SASTER.
SA O KAM SOS ANKERDO.
"Pen mandy a waver gudlo trustal o ankairoben!"
Ne shomas adoi, awer shundom buti apa lis fon miro babus. Foki pende
mengy sa o chollo-tem {320} sos kerdo fon o kam, awer i Romany chalia
savo keren sar chingernes, pen o kam sos kerdo fon o boro tem. Wafedo
gry se adovo te nestis ja sigan te anpali o kushto drom. Yeckorus 'dre o
puro chirus, te kenna, sos a bori pureni chovihani te kerdas sirini
covvas, te jivdas sar akonyo adre o heb adre o ratti. Yeck divvus yoi
latchedas yag-bar adre o puv, te tilldas es apre te pukkeredas lestes nav
pale, "Yag-bar." Te pash a bittus yoi latchedas a bitto kushto-saster,
te haderdas lis apre te putchedas lestis nav, te lis rakkerdas apopli,
"Saster." Chivdasi dui 'dre lakis putsi, te pendas Yag-bar, "Tu sosti
rummer o rye, Saster!" Te yan kerdavit, awer yeck divvus i dui ankairede
ta chinger, te Saster des lestis juva Yag-bar a tatto-yek adre o yakk, te
kairedas i chingari ta mukker avri, te hotcher i puri juva's putsi. Sa
yoi wusserdas hotcherni putsi adre o hev, te pendas lis ta kessur adrom
keti avenna o mush sari juva kun kekker chingerd chichi. I chingari shan
staria, te dovo yag se o kam, te lis nanei jillo avri keti kenna, te lis
tevel hotcher anduro buti beshia pa sar jinova me keti chingerben. Tacho
si? Ne shomas adoi.
FLINT AND STEEL.
OR HOW THE SUN WAS CREATED.
"Tell me another story about the creation!"
I was not there at the time, but I heard a great deal about it from my
grandfather. All he did there was to turn the wheel. People tell me
that the world was made from the sun, but gypsies, who do everything all
contrary, say that the sun was made from the earth. A bad horse is that
which will not travel either way on a road. Once in the old time, as
[there may be] now, was a great old witch, who made enchantments, and
lived all alone in the sky in the night. One day she found a flint in a
field, and picked her up, and the stone told her that her name was Flint.
And after a bit she found a small piece of steel, and picked him up, and
asked his name, and he replied, "Steel" [iron]. She put the two in her
pocket, and said to Flint, "You must marry Master Steel." So they did,
but one day the two began to quarrel, and Steel gave his wife Flint a hot
one [a severe blow] in the eye, and made sparks fly, and set fire to the
old woman's pocket. So she threw the burning pocket up into the sky, and
told it to stay there until a man and his wife who had never quarreled
should come there. The sparks [from Flint's eye] are the stars, and the
fire is the sun, and it has not gone out as yet, and it will burn on many
a year, for all I know to the contrary. Is it true? I was not there.