PaintingsfromLatvia
„Harvesting” 1960 by ĀDOLFS MELNĀRS
„Harvesting” 2012byANDA UZARE (19)
„RakingHay” 1947by ĀDOLFS MELNĀRS
„RakingHay” 2012by ANNA ELĪZA ŠĒNA (13)
„FishermanwithSalomon” 1963 byĀDOLFS MELNĀRS
„FishermanwithSalomon” 2012byAGNESE ĢĒĢERE (14)
By Anda Uzareand Agnese KurčānovaKraģe
Arnold’sEureka
Inthe 19th a man called Arnold, a tall, wellbuilt man withblueeyes, andblondehairwasworkingonthehayfield. Hewasrakingwhensuddenlyherealisedthatthisworkistotallyboring. Hedecided to build a nicewoodenboat.
Arnold organised a hardworkinggroupofworkers, whohelpedhim to buildhis first boat. Theywereworkingdayandnight, buttherewas a smallproblem, whattheydidduringtheday, inthenighteverything got ruinedandhehad to starteverythingfromthebeginning. Hedidnotknowwhat to do, tillonenightwhenhesaw a dreamwhere a codtoldhim, thathemustworkonlysixhours a dayandhehas to givesaltedmakrelsfordinner to hisworkersandthentheboatwillbequicklyready. Hedidlikethefishhadtold to do. SaltedmakrelisstilloneofthetraditionalLatvianfoods, whichisservedwithunpeeledpotatoesandclottedcheese.
Whentheboatwasreadytheypulledtheboatinrivercalled Saka. Theboatlookedniceand it didnotsinkeither. Lateronhestarted to catchfishwiththenet. Thisnetwasmadebyhiswifecalled Māra, a beautifulLatviangirlwithlongplaitsandskinalmostlike a milk.
Actuallyshewasverybadknitterthat’swhyhishusbandrealisedthathecouldtakeherworkanduse it as a net. Hetooksomeofhisworkersandtheystarted to catchfishes.
Onenighthewaswalkingalongthesea, themoonwasshiningbrightlyand stars wereblinkinginthesky. Arnold saton a woodenlogandstarted to thinkhow to cookfishbecausehewassickandtiredoffriedfishandfishsoup. Next to him a couplewassittingaroundfire. Smokewascomingright to him. Hequicklystoodupandrunback to home. Allnighthewasbuildingbuthedidnotknowwhatwhenhefinished it heunderstoodthathehasmade a thingwhere to smokefishes. Hesethisownbusiness. Hestarted to sellfishes to neighboursandothervillagecitizens.
Arnold feltforneed to makenotonlyboatsbutships.
Intheend Arnold becamerichandfamousforsmokingfishandbuildingboats.