The Stranger
Fraidele (bends her head down to the old woman)
I don’t know. I once had little threads in my ears.
The Old Woman (feeling her ears)
Yes, they were pierced once, but—grown together again. M’m—they’ll have to be pierced all over again.
Fraidele (timidly)
Will it hurt?
The Old Woman
Of course, it’ll hurt. But when one wants to wear ear-rings…
Fraidele
I’ll get you a needle and thread.
The Old Woman
It’ll hurt. It may hurt much.
Fraidele
I won’t care.
The Old Woman
Have you a fine needle?
Fraidele
Yes, a very thin needle…Will it hurt much?
The Old Woman
If you’re lively, it won’t hurt.
Fraidele
Then I’ll be lively. A white or a black thread?
The Old Woman
Nu, of course, a white thread. Don’t make a knot, not necessary. But I’ll have to find my spectacles—without spectacles… (She hunts in the sack.) Shah! Here they are! (She dons a
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