Translation:The High Mountains/32

On leaving old Athanase left another present: his young dog, Gkeka.

Gkeka came with him, but now he's not leaving. He wants to stay with the children. He followed old Athanase to the trees, then he came back. Old Athanase called him, once again Gkeka went forward up to there, but once again came back.

After having turned around the two-three cabins and having sniffed them well, he stopped near Dimitrakis and Costakis and he looked at them wagging his tail as if to say: “Let's play?”.

Before they could reply he started to jump about. He ran without anyone chasing him. In other words: “if you don't play with me, I'll play by myself anyway”.

The children burst out laughing. What a stubborn dog!

Gkeka himself was born a sheepdog. He has erect pointed ears and a long thick coat. He's white with a grey patch on his back, on his paws and on his side. He seems to be a dog born this year, a puppy.

Ah, but he can't stand the Vlach life any longer. Old Athanase is a very rough sort. The day before yesterday, as Gkeka had chewed his kilt a little bit, he got a stroke of the stick. He's not one to play.

But the grandchildren don't play either; they go with the herd. Even small, Lambros leads two hundred goats. And that's not enough for him, now he reads a paper.

Does he at least play with the sheep? These don't play, they just graze. So Gkeka rebelled in order to come to the children. They can always shoo him away, but he's not leaving here.

After having jumped around for a while without anyone chasing him, he started turning and jumping again at times near one, at times near the other. It was as if he wanted to say: “Aren't you going to teach me a game?”

In the end he caught Foudoulis' towel between his teeth and he twirled it wildly in the air.

Then in between the laughs and shouts all the children chased him around the cabins. While running he slipped, fell, barked, whistled and growled gently, as if something important had happened. But something serious had really happened; Gkeka had managed to get himself run after. That's just what he wanted! Why then would he go back to old Athanase now?

Children go with children.