The Fourth Estate Read Online Free PDF

depended
not only on the goods you had to sell, but in your ability to convince the
customer of his need for them. It took him only a few days to realize that
those who dealt in colored notes were not only better dressed, but
unquestionably in a stronger position to strike a good bargain.
    When his father
decided the time had come to drag the next two cows to market, the six-year-old
boy was more than ready to take over the haggling. That evening the young
trader once again guided his father home.
    But after the
drunken man had collapsed on the mattress, his mother just stood staring at the
large pile of wares her son placed in front of her.
    Lubji spent over
an hour helping her distribute the goods among the rest of the family, but
didn’t tell her that he still had a piece of colored paper with a “ten” marked
on it. He wanted to find out what else he could purchase with it.
    The following
morning, Lubji did not head straight for the market, but for the first time he
ventured into Schull Street to study what was being sold in the shops his
great-uncle occasionally visited. He stopped outside a baker, a butcher, a
potter, a clothes shop, and finally a jeweler Mr. Lekski – the only
establishment that had a name printed in gold above the door. He stared at a
brooch displayed in the center of the window. It was even more beautiful than
the one his mother wore once a year at Rosh Hashanah, and which she had once
told him was a family heirloom. When he returned home that night, he stood by
the fire while his mother prepared their one-course meal. He informed her that
shops were nothing more than stationary stalls with windows in front of them,
and that when he had Pushed his nose up against the pane of glass, he had seen
that nearly all of the customers inside traded with pieces of paper, and made
no attempt to bargain with the shopkeeper.
    The next day,
Lubji returned to Schull Street. He took the piece of paper out of his pocket
and studied it for some time. He still had no idea what anyone would give him
in exchange for it. After an hour of staring through windows, he marched
confidently into the bakers shop and handed the note to the man behind the
counter. The baker took it and shrugged his shoulders.
    Lubji pointed
hopefully to a loaf of bread on the shelf behind him, which the shop-keeper
passed over. Satisfied with the transaction, the boy turned to leave, but the
shopkeeper shouted after him, “Don’t forget your change.”
    Lubji turned
back, unsure what he meant. He then watched as the shopkeeper deposited the
note in a tin box and extracted some coins, which he handed across the counter.
    Once he was back
on the street, the six-year-old studied the coins with great interest. They had
numbers stamped on one side, and the head of a man he didn’t recognize on the
other.
    Encouraged by
this transaction, he moved on to the potter’s shop, where he purchased a bowl
which he hoped his mother would find some use for in exchange for half his
coins.
    Lubji’s next
stop was at Mr. Lekski’s, the jeweler, where his eyes settled on the beautiful brooch
displayed in the center of the window.
    He pushed open
the door and marched up to the counter, coming face to face with an old man who
wore a suit and tie.
    “And how can I
help you, little one?” Mr. Lekski asked, leaning over to look down at him.
    I want to buy
that brooch for my mother,” he said, pointing back toward the window and hoping
that he sounded confident. He opened his clenched fist to reveal the three
small coins left over from the morning’s bargaining.
    The old man
didn’t laugh, but gently explained to Lubji that he would need many more coins
than that before he could hope to purchase the brooch. Lubji’s cheeks reddened
as he curled up his fingers and quickly turned to leave.
    “But why don’t
you come back tomorrow,” suggested the old man. “Perhaps I’ll be able to find
something for you.” Lubji’s face was so red that he ran onto the