Translation:The High Mountains/26

How black the goats are!

How the herd keeps moving, close together, very quickly, all hurrying along! He is black and he shines in the sun; all his goats are black, like tar. Only the dog's fur and the shepherd's clothes stand out in this darkness.

But what a small shepherd to lead such a big herd! Is it Lambros? It is.

“Well, the wild child, said Phanis. Lets go out and meet him”.

The herd wasn't all that near. However Phanis and Dimos wanted to see the young Vlach, Aphrodo's brother. They went to talk to him. Would he even reply to them? Or would we just have some “ye” or “'n”?

They moved quickly and came up in front of him. At this hour the herd was scattered and grazing. The goats were chewing: thyme, thorns, herbs or small branches. Lambros called “Tsep! Tsep! Tsep!”, throwing stones and rounding them up.

—You see that, my poor Dimos! said Phanis, a child of ten who's in charge of such a big herd! Could you do the same? I couldn't.

—Me neither, said Dimos.

They were right. Is is easy to look after two hundred goats? Even just throwing stones here and there as Lambros does, calling, whistling, running to round up those recalcitrant animals, that would exhaust even an adult.

And in addition Lambros walks alone in the night; could Phanis do as much? To stay like that for hours, alone with the shadows of the trees and rocks, and in the dark? Only a young Vlach knows how to do these things well.

Dimos and Phanis came up to Lambros while he was standing up with his stick very straight. This young Vlach with black eyes they now saw him equal to a man.

—Hallo Lambros, they said to him.

Lambros replied to them after having looked them up and down:

—'llo!

It's good, he said a word.

—How's Aphrodo? And your grandfather?

—Fine, 'say hallo!

—Already four words. Dimos and Phanis sat down.