Translation:The High Mountains/12

The sun is very high. The cicadas are singing wholeheartedly. But nobody wants to get out of bed. They turn from one side to the other.

—Come on, get up, says Andreas going round the huts; We've got work to do.

—What work? moaned Dimitrakis, rubbing one eye.

—We have to eat, now we're settled in.

—Oh good, that's work, is it?

—We'll soon see, once you're up.

Dimitrakis needed the basin so he could get washed. He still hadn't understood where it was. He followed the others who made fun of him and, after a few steps, they arrived at the fountain. The water stung their ears.

One child, Panos, said to Dimitrakis while he was getting washed “Gosh, it's cold!” and kept Dimitrakis' head under the fountain. Dimitrakis cried like a kid. Panos let go of him and then put his own head under the fountain. He let the cold water run over the nape of his neck, onto his chest.

When they'd finished getting washed, Mr Stephan came to see them. The good man who had accompanied them here had to go to the village on business. When he was leaving he said this to them:

“For twenty-six people to live in the mountains, they must manage to do things with their own hands. Make bread, fetch water, prepare the meals.

“You are twenty-six companions and you are going to have to live together; you have the same problems and the same assets. So you make a community. How can you live without shops, without mills, without anything?

“One of you must become a baker, another grocer, another miller. Everything you need for living you have to find for yourselves, like the shepherds, the Vlachs and the woodcutters. Are you going to eat today or not?

—We're going to eat! replied Foudoulis.

—We'll soon see if you're going to eat. For today you have a chef : Andreas. He has learnt to prepare ratatouille from the woodcutters. Today he's your cook. Now you're all going to help prepare the meal.”

Georgeakis, Alekos and Dimitrakis took to peeling the potatoes, Dimos and Kaloyannis to cutting up the beans and tomatoes. Others to cleaning the onions and others lit the fire.

“And those who are left, what will they bring to the community?” asked Costakis

—Our appetite, they replied laughing.

—Ok, we've got that too, said Andreas. But in fact there's work for you to do.

There was, in fact, really quite a lot of work for them. They had to go round the huts, in the community, in order to find the place, the trees and decide where to install the small kitchen, the shop, the shelves.

The others had to check if they had everything necessary to make a meal. Perhaps they were missing spoons or pans, since in fact they were missing a frying pan and had to go and ask the woodcutters for one.

Still others had to go and see the Vlachs to see which food they could take back with them, if needed. And finally they had to find out if there was a village in the vicinity, and how far it was.