Read Online YANNIS (Cretan Saga Book 1) by Beryl Darby - Free Book Online Page B

them, but not to damage the young shoots. He also explained how to look for parasites that could blight a crop overnight, or moulds that would make the plant whither and die.
    ‘I don’t think I want to marry a farmer,’ she groaned as she straightened up. ‘Yannis, what are you doing?’
    ‘I found this.’
    ‘It’s only a broken pot. I expect someone threw it away.’
    Yannis ignored her and stuffed the pieces into his pocket. He began to look for more shards until Annita lost interest and walked away. Yannis searched around the area, but no more pieces came to light. He straightened up and decided to search systematically along each row, bending to examine more closely the small stones, which were mixed with the red-brown earth. He was on the verge of giving up when he saw another piece sticking out of the ground, far larger than anything he had found earlier. He tried to pull it out, but met with resistance. With eager fingers he scraped away at the soil and tugged again. He wriggled it in the earth and dug a little deeper. The shard gave, and to his surprise the piece he had been pulling at was the base of a pot, with at least half of one side still attached. The boy fingered it curiously, brushing away the earth and rubbing it against his trousers. He looked into the hole it had left and found another small slither.
    ‘Have you lost your bone?’ Maria’s voice sounded behind him.
    He looked up and smiled. ‘I’ve found some pottery.’
    ‘I should think Pappa would be quite pleased to have his fields cleared. You could take the stones as well.’
    ‘Don’t you find it interesting?’
    Maria shook her head. ‘It’s just useless pieces of a broken pot. No good to anyone, so they’ve been thrown away.’
    ‘You’re probably right,’ admitted her brother. ‘What have you been doing?’
    Maria produced a pad of paper. ‘Drawing.’
    Yannis took the proffered pad. ‘Maria, these are good.’ There was surprise and respect in his voice as he looked at the sketches of the family working or resting and finally one of him, walking, his head bent as he examined the ground. ‘When did you do that?’
    ‘I was sitting higher up the hill and could see you. It isn’t very good.’
    Yannis examined the drawings with their bold lines again. ‘I think they’re marvellous, so life-like. How do you do it?’
    ‘They’re easy. You just copy people. Come on, we ought to go. Pappa has packed up and the others are going with him.’ Maria retrieved her pad from Yannis and they began to walk down the hill, Yannis cradling his precious pieces of pottery.
    ‘Do you like Annita and Andreas?’ Yannis asked his elder sister.
    ‘I like Annita. I’m not sure about Andreas. Is he always so quiet, or is he just a bit shy at the moment?’
    Yannis grinned. ‘He’s the same in Aghios Nikolaos. Annita and I talk and argue, but Andreas just sits and doesn’t say a word. He doesn’t even seem to be listening.’
    ‘What does Mr Pavlakis say about him? Is he clever?’
    ‘He’s never mentioned him to me. We only talk about people in history. What about you? Does Father Theodorakis think you’re clever?’
    Maria shrugged. ‘I can read and write now, but I don’t think he likes me.’
    ‘Why not?’
    ‘I drew a picture of him and he saw it. He said I should be doing my lessons, not wasting my time drawing pictures.’
    ‘Was it rude?’
    Maria shook her head indignantly. ‘No, it just showed what a little, fat man he is, with his glasses perched on the end of his nose and the wart on his chin.’
    Yannis laughed uproariously. ‘No wonder he doesn’t like you!’
    The days passed happily for the children. Having helped with the work in the fields, Maria would sit and draw, whilst Annita chattered to her and Yannis wandered off to search for pieces of pottery. His collection was growing, and he found himself fascinated by their different textures and thickness. Babbis from the neighbouring farm was a frequent