Zacharias Papantoniou

“ He collects things he doesn't need, everything he finds: needles, boxes, little cans and even coins. He takes it all back and hides it in very secret places, like in the roofs of houses; in a hole where no human eye has access. ”

“ He's just got this habit of collecting things. Sometimes he even tries to drag away heavy clothes. And Spyros is busy like the magpie. Of all the things he's got in his box, nothing is of use to him.
Costakis, bent over with a hammer, was trying to nail the shoe with Spyros's five pins. ”

“ Where are the pins?
Spyros showed him five rusty pins.
—In exchange, he said, you give me a goose feather.
Mr Stephan then said to the children:
—Do you know what a magpie is?
—No.
—It's a bird that resembles Spyros. ”