2. The Printing House

by Kenji Miyazawa

When Giovanni left the school gate, seven or eight classmates, with Campanella in the middle, were gathered under the cherry tree in the corner of the schoolyard. It seemed they were discussing going to pick snake gourds to make blue lights to float down the river for tonight's Star Festival.

However, Giovanni waved his hand widely and strode out of the school gate. In the houses of the town, various preparations were underway for tonight's Galaxy Festival, such as hanging balls of yew leaves and lighting lamps on cypress branches.

Instead of going home, Giovanni turned three corners in town and entered a large printing house. He took off his shoes and went inside, then opened a large door at the end of the hall. Inside, electric lights were on even though it was still daytime, and many rotary presses were clattering away. People, with cloths tied around their heads or wearing lampshades, were busy working, reading or counting something as if singing.

Giovanni immediately went to the person sitting at the third tall desk from the entrance and bowed. After searching a shelf for a while, the person handed him a piece of paper, saying, "Can you pick up just this much?" Giovanni took a small flat box from the foot of that person's desk, squatted in the corner of the wall where many electric lights were, and began picking up typefaces, like millet grains, one after another with small tweezers.

As the person with the blue apron passed behind Giovanni, they called out, "Hey, Mr. Magnifying Glass, good morning." Four or five people nearby laughed coldly without making a sound.

Giovanni continued to pick up typefaces, wiping his eyes repeatedly.

Some time after six o'clock, Giovanni took the box filled with the type he had picked up, compared it with the earlier slip of paper, and then brought it back to the man at the desk. The man silently accepted it and gave a faint nod.

Giovanni bowed and opened the door, heading towards the counting desk. There, a man in a white uniform silently handed Giovanni a small silver coin. Giovanni's face suddenly brightened, and after bowing briskly, he grabbed his satchel from under the counter and dashed outside. Then, whistling cheerfully, he stopped at the bakery, bought a loaf of bread and a bag of sugar cubes, and immediately ran off.