There was a very large barrel against the far wall. Various debris around it-broken wine amphorae, gnawed bones, and a couple of lean-to shacks made out of rough boards?suggested that it was someone's home. And this impression was given some weight by the sign chalked on a board and stuck to the wall over the barrel.
It read:
DIDACTYLOS and Nephew
Practical Philosophers
No Proposition Too Large
“We Can Do Your Thinking For You”
Special Rates after 6 pm
Fresh Axioms Every Day
In front of the barrel, a short man in a toga that must have once been white, in the same way that once all continents must have been joined together, was kicking another one who was on the ground.
“You lazy bugger!”
The younger one sat up.
"Honest, Uncle-
“I turn my back for half an hour and you go to sleep on the job!”
"What job? We haven't had anything since Mr. Piloxi the farmer last week-
“How d'you know? How d'you know? While you were snoring dozens of people could've been goin' past, every one of 'em in need of a pers'nal philosophy!”
“-and he only paid in olives.”
“I shall prob'ly get a good price for them olives!”
“They're rotten, Uncle.”
“Nonsense! You said they were green!”
“Yes, but they're supposed to be black.”
In the shadows, the tortoise's head turned back and forth like a spectator's at a tennis match.
The young man stood up.
“Mrs. Bylaxis came in this morning,” he said. “She said the proverb you did for her last week has stopped working.”
Didactylos scratched his head.
“Which one was that?” he said.
“You gave her `It's always darkest before dawn.' ”
“Nothing wrong with that. Damn good philosophy.”
“She said she didn't feel any better. Anyway, she said she'd stayed up all night because of her bad leg and it was actually quite light just before dawn, so it wasn't true. And her leg still dropped off. So I gave her part exchange on `Still, it does you good to laugh.' ”
Didactylos brightened up a bit.
“Shifted that one, eh?”