Page:Etta Block - One-act plays from the Yiddish (1923).pdf/68

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The Stranger

Fraidele
Yes, I cried. But only one little tear fell into the bread. (Anxiously.) Won’t it rise now?

The Old Woman
We’ll see. Bring me a pillow and a chopping-knife. (Fraidele does so.) That’s it. Cover the bread with the pillow so it will be warm. (She covers the tub with the pillow.) And put the chopping-knife underneath. How comes a girl to cry into the bread?

Fraidele
Maybe you would like to eat something, bobbe?

The Old Woman
Your own lips look dry, I see. I suppose you haven’t had anything in your own mouth today.

Fraidele
My little brother is sick—very sick!

The Old Woman
Tu-tu, and you have to be the mamma, too! Where is he?

Fraidele
He is in the cradle in the other room. His eyes are open and his little face burns like fire.

(They both go into the other room. The old woman’s voice is heard exclaiming: “Oi, what a baby! Oi, a baby like the shining sun! You—you—you! Open wide your little eyes. That’s it, laugh a little bit. Laugh for the bobbe’she! So! So!” They come back.)

Fraidele
Do you think he’ll get well?

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