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Exuviae

excerpt REGNUM PUERILE I was pondering, among other things, about the ways of ogres and dragons, as people were wont to talk about them so much. They were bad, they were mad, they were downright evil – and frightening, though not existing in point of fact. This must

What I Did In The Summer Holidays

excerpt  Then on another day I didnt get up to much apart from loafing around the house aimlessly and especially up in the apricot tree where dad didnt know I could climb and get away with it because what does he know? He comes home in the evening and if he plays with

Sweet Holiday Camp

School always began on September 1st and ended on the last day of May. September 1st was the first day of school and it started off with an impressive festivity. All of us, dressed-up and with flowers in our hands, went to the official square where the first bell was rung.

Porojan

excerpts Mirceşti, 1880 Dear friend, These days I've lost a childhood friend, whose name resembled more of a person who lives in a tent than of a gentleman, for his name was Porojan! He was one of our slaves, a gypsy, and baker by trade. I confess having felt a

I Once Was A Child: School

Between September 15 and June 15, every child's life was hijacked by school. School was the children's only officially-sanctioned pursuit. Their only obligation. None of us got any thrill out of getting up early, eyes heavy with sleep, and trudging all the way

A Detail

END OF THE LAST TRIMESTER. Shortly before holidays, Radu and Dan are learning. To be precisely: they study. Even more precisely: they study zoology. With his head between his hands, balancing on the front feet of his chair, Radu reads aloud: The camel is a vertebrate mammal,

Dreamer Of A Thousand Dreams

This boy's a first-class dreamer, yes indeed…His thoughts take off at supersonic speed,And he is wont to let them freely soarT'wards what the glorious future holds in store.  This boy is sometimes dreaming wide awakeThat he's a writer blessed with world-wide

Cismigiu & Co.

excerpt  Among our scholarly workmates three or four quickly distinguished themselves, and they would compete against each other for first place in our class. Our former prize winning classmate, Motas Constantin, had moved to a science class. Now two pupils, Ciurea Constantin

Master Vucea

excerpts Master Vucea had no servants. Apart from his cook, we were his only servants. Those of us who were poor and were not dressed German style figured on his purchase list. When he needed to decide who would go to the market place and who to the grocer's he called

Investigation Among Minors

excerpts THREE KM. FROM A. , A BEND IN THE ROAD… N. R. 6 (National Road 6) goes exactly through the centre of the small town of A. Three kilometers from the railway gate, after going over the railway tracks which unite this part of the country with Bucharest (distance:

Party With Mom

excerpt The children used to fill a long, silky, women's stocking with sand, they used to tie it up really tight, then they used to hang a thin, nylon thread to it. In the evening, they hid the stocking in the rose bush, opposite to the sidewalk, and then they waited

Musics And Tricks

excerpt AAAGH, WHAT A NIGHTMARE! I jumped up and forgot it was Sunday. I was just about to get dressed and go to school, to find out if Hari had come to any harm; I was like one of those old biddies who dream I don't know what, a black pond or something, and then think