Mioritza (The little Lamb)

translated from Romanian by Iulian Robu





  • "That is, one is from the valley of Moldova river, one from Vranchea [south-west of Moldova region--t.n.] and one from Transylvania. Because of ignorance, our people oftentimes mix up the names of Transylvanian and Hungarian for it hasn't yet come to the knowledge of the stretch of the land inhabited by Romanians. It doesn't know that beyond all the borders of Moldova and Valahia, beyond the Carpathians and up to Tisa, across the Danube and into the center of Macedonia, across the streamlets of Milcov and Molna and across the river of Prut, live its brothers, with the same costume, the same customs; the same beliefs, the same language, the same past of glory and suffering, as well as the same future!"





  • "Coming from Bârsa, a region in NW Romania





  • "The Romanian has a great bent towards believing in fate! He divides his life in good days and bad days, which bring happiness or misfortune. Thus the happenings of this world always find him ready to receive their blows, for he draws strength in the soothing belief that that was his part! that was his fate! that was to be! etc."





  • "Death! She reigns as a queen over humanity and is always the world's bride. Every man is engaged to Death from the minute he steps into this world. The Romanian likes poetical images, for example: A good man is as good as the mother's breast, or he is good to be put over a wound; a Prince Charming is a wild Peacock; a young man with white hair is snowed upon in the month of May; the beautiful woman is as if taken from the sun. . . ,etc."





  • "The stars have a great influence on the Romanian's imagination. He thinks that every man has a star in heavens, that is strongly linked to his fate. Thus the man's star darkens when he is threatened by a snare, and falls in the air when he approaches the finish of his life. For him, when an important person is born he is marked by a star on his forehead. There are stars which, according to the peoples' belief, appear as signs of great events on earth, as well as some red stars, as if of blood, appear before the start of wars. . . , etc."





  • "The wedding wreath whereby the bride and groom are crowned during the wedding ceremony. The Sun and the Moon play here the role of the wedding sponsors."