Gypsies

Around this time I was taking piano lessons with the same teacher that gave lessons to my sister and cousins. My grandmother Elizabeth played piano well, without effort. I thought this was something beautiful, to be able to play without sheet music.

I have always enjoyed music, but was a little too sensitive... When the teacher, who was quite strict, called my attention when I made mistakes, I was mortified and soon would tell my mother that I didn't want to take lessons any more. Later on, when I heard my sister and cousins playing, I felt I wished to have lessons again...

One day, when I left the teacher's house, I saw that many people were coming and going to a large plot of land where sometimes a circus would present shows. This plot of land belonged to a lady who was a farmer, but also had many properties in the city. Curious, I decided to see what was going on. To my surprise, I saw it was a gypsy camp!

I walked in that direction, wide-eyed, finding everything very exciting: the gypsy women with their long skirts and braids, gold hoop earrings in their ears, speaking a strange tongue... There was an older couple who seemed to hold authority over the others. There were hammocks, a circular tent where they took showers, children and animals running all over the place.

The older woman, who must have been married to the chief, saw me standing there, with my piano methods in my hands, and soon got a bucket, pointed to the neighbor's house and said: _ Fetch some water. I didn't know what to do, so I obeyed... But the bucket was heavy and I was still quite small, I couldn't carry it. As I walked, the water fell on my shoes and socks, the piano books were forgotten on the wall of the neighbor's house

The chief soon realized what was happening and came to my rescue. A young gypsy man who was indolently resting in a hammock asked me:

_ Would you like to be a gypsy?

I answered that I thought the gypsy women very pretty, with their exotic clothes.

_ If you wish, you can be a gypsy too.

_ How?

_ You just have to marry my son.

I asked:

_ Who?

He showed me a little boy who seemed to be around 3 years old, who was running all over the camp, barefoot, wearing just a T-shirt, with a runny nose and mud everywhere. I thought I would better hurry home.

My mother only heard about this story when I was already a teacher...