Translation:The High Mountains/45
About the miller of this mill, one says that he never sobered up. His name is Father-Coukis.
—Father-Coukis, said Costakis to him, we've come so you can grind two bags of wheat.
—Unll... gri... went the miller.
That's to say: “unload it so we can grind it”.
He is drunk again!
The children untied the load and put down the two bags. Panos asked the miller:
“What time will it be ready, just to know?” The miller didn't reply. He had drunk as much as was necessary to hear only a very little. Maybe he heard, but probably his tongue is tangled up!
From time to time he sneezed and then said to himself: “ble'syoo”, that's to say: “bless you”.
Later however he remembered the question they had posed, and replied:
“do... time...coms...” that means: “we'll do it when the time comes”.
To get the job done, the miller's wife came to take the bags. She is very efficient. It's her who runs the mill. But she is so ashamed of her bad husband, that she keeps her head down in front of strangers.
She threw a look at the drunkard and another at the children, as if to say: “look at what a man is reduced to because of wine!” And she carried on with her work.
Father-Coukis tried to put on his jacket without managing; He was wearing it inside out. He also tried to sing a song without success; he forgot it and sneezed.
Despite all, he wanted to put on his jacket, and finish the song. He began again:
This land that we trample on,
we're all going to return to
He sneezed five times, but he continued; he never lost courage. Then he looked at the bags, the millstones and the sieve, turned around and said to these things:
“If I drink another drop, everyone call me a drunk.” Not one drop, but four hundred drops he'll drink!... in the afternoon when he goes to the pub.