Summary

Pages 5 through 10 – Hard-nosed and practical Mama Nadi bickers with traveling salesman Christian, sometimes berating him for not doing his job well and sometimes flirting with him. While explaining / complaining about how difficult it is to transport the goods he brings her through all the combat going on around them, he also teases her into good humor with jokes, some flirting himself, and the lipstick that he brought her. Conversation also refers to an aged, caged grey parrot (that Mama Nadi can’t stand) that was left behind by a local elder (Old Papa) when he died, an elder who, Mama Nadi adds, had some strange ideas about history and legend in the area. Conversation then turns to the last of the items Christian brought. He and Mama negotiate about how many she will take, with her insisting, particularly after she sees what’s...