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They helped Bai Ganyo1 slough off his heavy, felt Turkish cloak, he donned a nice Belgian frock coat, and everyone said that Bai Ganyo had become a real European.2 2 “C’mon, why don’t we each tell a story about Bai Ganyo.” “Yeah, let’s!” everyone exclaimed. “I’ll tell one.” “Hang on, I know more.” “No, me, you don’t know anything!” An uproar ensued. Finally we agreed that Stati would begin. And so he began. Bai Ganyo Starts Out for Europe  1. Pronounced like English “buy,” bai is an old-fashioned title of intimate respect used for an older man. The effect in Bulgarian can be compared to the use of titles with first names. 2. The allusion is to Bulgaria’s then-recent liberation from Ottoman rule, on the one hand, and to the Belgian constitution, on the other. Belgium’s constitution was synonymous with the European model of liberalism and democracy and served as the exemplar for the Bulgarian one. ...

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