A Gypsy Song (The Eye of the Crystal Ball - The Wolfboy Chronicles) Read Free Page B

the best hiding place. Then Settela explained.
    “Yes, sweetheart, of course you would think so. But the thing is … during the war being a Romani was really difficult. Some people tried to have us all killed. And a lot were killed. So we decided to hide you from those people and gave you to the Schneider family. But we always knew we would come and get you back one day.”
    “But you didn’t hide those other kids?”
    “They are not daughters of the great Moeselman. They are not going to be leader of the tribe one day. You are, since you are Moeselman’s first and only child. You are going to be the first woman to lead this tribe.”
    Sara ate greedily.
    “What does that mean?” she asked with her mouth full.
    Moeselman looked like he could burst with pride.
    “It means you are very special,” Settela said with a smile while she put her arm around Sara.
    Sara got up and stood in front of them. Moeselman, who was not used to this kind of audacity in his presence, uttered a deep guttural sound.
    “What if I don’t want to?” Sara said.
    Moeselman got up from the ground too. He stood big and mighty in front of her like he would do to anyone trying to defy him.
    “You will!” he said.
    Sara snorted. She did not like it when anyone tried to tell her what she was supposed to do or not. She never cared for what anyone thought of her, not her teachers, not her classmates and she had never obeyed many of her parents’ rules. She was not about to change that now. No one told her what she should or shouldn’t do.
    “No, I won’t,” she said and felt the dangerous feeling of anger rising from deep inside of her.
    “That is not your decision to make,” he said and looked at Settela. “Tell her she has to obey!”
    “Well, I am not going to,” Sara said and stomped her feet with her arms crossed in front of her chest.
    She hardly finished the last word before everybody in the clearing got quiet. The music stopped and the people who were dancing froze in the middle of a movement.
    They all stared at Sara and her plate that was hanging from the air in front of her face.
    “Moeselman, look,” Settela said and pointed at the plate.
    In that instant Moeselman changed his expression and apparently forgot all about their fight. He smiled with great pride and ran towards Sara. He picked her up and held her high up in the air.
    “This is my daughter, Sara,” he roared to the rest of the tribe. “She truly is The Mighty One!”
    As he did, a wave of cheers and rejoicing went through the people. Music was playing again and women danced with fluttering skirts.
     
    As Sara soon would find out for herself, Gypsies or Romanies are an amazing and very unique people—the only group of people living in every corner of the earth without the benefits of power, money, armies, or ever fighting a war. Wherever you travel, to the plains of Hungary, the steppes of Siberia, the gates of Marrakesh, the highlands of Guatemala, or the frozen tundra of Alaska, everywhere you'll find Romanies. They are always on the move and have an ever abiding need for freedom and independence. Where did they come from, you might ask? Some believe they are the last survivors of Atlantis. Others suggest that their ancestors are the people of the biblical town of Babel. To the Romanies it does not matter. They readily learn the language of their host country, but no government and no monarch has been able to break the Romani spirit, not with gifts of land and seed and not with brutal persecution.
    Romanies have a deep and abiding respect for creation—for Mother Earth, and for life everywhere, in all its variety. Therefore, they gather only those leaves and flowers or only those portions of a root, bark or fruit that is really needed. If every part of the plant is needed, they will leave some portion in the ground to ensure its new growth. And they will always make sure to thank the plant for the gift it has given and for its efforts to keep our planet