AUNTIE MASHKA AND UNCLE THEMIS
There were another two adults who were close and approachable for us. The repair man, as he was officially called, Uncle Themis – Themistocles, a Greek by nationality; and Auntie Mashka, Mashka Cow Leg was her orphanage nickname.
Uncle Themis could do absolutely everything: building, sawing, planing, woodworking, metalworking, soldering, painting, plastering, sharpening and shoe-making. All the verbs of male activity applied to him. Toad exploited him without mercy. He built a bathhouse for her, renovated the stove in the building, made picture frames, stretched canvases, framed them, and made new doors and furniture. In short, he worked like a slave. Day and night, you could see Themis huddled in the barn store room, where the workbench and little hut with
