The Fratricides by Nikos Kazantzakis

Author:Nikos Kazantzakis [Kazantzakis, Nikos]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: nepalifiction, TPB
Publisher: nepalifiction
Published: 0101-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

“So, that’s it,” old Mandras said and looked at the coppersmith through narrowed eyes. “Now I see why they call you a bolshevik.”

Andreas laughed. “They won’t call me a bolshevik any longer; they’ll call me an irregular verb! God bless Kyriákos for showing me the light.”

Old Hadjis, who still sat on the ledge, looked through dim eyes at his fellow villagers who were shouting and gesturing; he could not understand what the commotion was all about. He could not hear; only a sound reached his brain, like that of turtles fighting and clashing shells.

“What’s going on, friends?” he asked every now and then, his’saliva running down his chin.

He would be silent, and then again: “What’s going on, men?” But no one bothered to reply.

Finally Panágos the barber, tired of listening to him, walked over and boomed in his ear: “They say they want to open up your coffers, old man! Open up your coffers, you hear? They want to see how much money you’ve got hoarded away.”

The old man’s arms and legs went limp; his flesh almost jumped out of its skin.

“Eh? Who? Who do you say?” he managed to gasp, and saliva rained on his shirtfront.

“The poor!” the barber shouted in his ear, “the poor people, the hungry, the shoeless!”

The old landowner giggled; his heart settled back in its place.

“The poor?” he replied. “The hell they will! There’s a God in heaven!”

The barber leaned over the old man and shouted in his ear again. “But the poor have a God, too, and He’s barefooted, too, and He’s hungry; and He keeps a record, they say, and marks a red cross alongside the name of every wealthy man. And they say He’s marked a red cross beside your name, too, Hadjis!”

The old man began to tremble again; he tried to speak, but his tongue became twisted.

Stelianos, feeling sorry for Hadjis, turned to the barber. “Leave the old man alone before he has a stroke,” he said.

Old Mandras was furious. “You lousy barber,” he shouted, “who canonizes these blasphemies you spout? Is it the teacher? Or is it that priest with the red cap?”

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.