told that had actually become crazy and wanted to drive them crazy too by making them believe of a child in the stomach,[119] of a cow that has flown over the roof and has laid an egg. A piece of buck's-horn on the fifteenth day in the month of Shebat is regarded as a fruit that delights the heart. Looking at it they are reminded of Palestine, and they frequently raise their eyes in ecstasy and say with a sigh: "Oh, wessolicheenu kōmmius," lead us, O merciful Father, upwards, yes, upwards indeed, "learzeenu," into our land where goats feed on buck's-horn.... By chance some one brought a date to town. You ought to have seen how people rushed up to see the wonder! They opened the Pentateuch and pointed out that "Tomer," the date, was mentioned in the Bible! Just think of it! The date, that very date grows in Palestine!... Looking at the date it appeared to them that Palestine was before their very eyes, that, behold, they were crossing the Jordan; right there was the cave of Machpelah, Rachel's grave, the western wall; that now they were bathing in the Pool of Tiberias, they were climbing the Olive Mount, they were eating their fill of bucks'-horn and dates, and swelling their pockets with earth of Palestine. Ah, they sighed, and tears filled the eyes of all. "In those days," says Benjamin, "all of Parasiteville, as large as it is, was in Palestine. They talked with zest of Moses; and behold, it is already past noon on God's Friday.... The new police captain who had only lately arrived in town ruled it with a firm hand. He had torn off the skullcaps from the heads of a few Jews, he had lopped off an earlock, had bagged a few men late at night in a side street without passports, had confiscated another man's goat that had eaten up a
strōhenem Dach; un' er is' dermit äuch gewe'n die Ssibe dervun, wās der Komität unter'n Ōwen hāt sich stark geduret mit'n Tōger, ad-mossaj wet der Scharschel-jischmoel asō schōlet sein? Män hāt aufgemischt dem gewoehntlichen Schmues mikōach die Ascheres-haschwotim, wie glücklich see leben dort in jene weite Mekōmes, in Gdule-ōscher un' Kowed; män hāt avürgenummen die rōthe Jüdlech, die Bneemōsche, mit Gusmes Maisses vun sejere Gwures uchdōme; Eldād ha-Dāni, es varstēht sich, hāt äuch getanzt in dermit. Jene Zeit, zum Mēisten, hāb' ich zu vardanken die Nessie meine, wās ich hāb' dernāch gemacht."
[XI]XI. A HARTER BISSEN
(Hausfreund, Vol. II. pp. 22-25)
Beim Breg vun dem Wasser, vun Jāffō bis Tarschisch,
Dort hört sich a Žummen un' Brummen—
Beim Breg vun dem Wasser, vun Jāffō bis Tarschisch,
Is' finster die Nacht āngekummen.
Un' tief aus dem Wasser dort hört sich dās Brummen,
A Kol vun a Wallfisch gār, dacht sich:
"Rabōssai! Heunt hāt mich der Teuwel genummen,
Ich starb' heunt, ich spür' schōn, es macht sich!
"Ich eck' bald! Mein Bauch, oi, mein Bauch mus mir platzen—
Heunt hāb' ich a Nowi verschlungen!
Dā helft mehr kēin Glätten, kēin Reiben, kēin Kratzen—
Bald is' schōn der Bauch mir zusprungen!
"A Nowi, dās is' gār a zu harter Bissen,
Es känn ihm gār Kēiner vertrāgen;
Zu fett is' sein Frummkeit—es soll schōn nit wissen
Vun ihm kēin schum ehrlicher Māgen!
newly laid strawthatch. And it was he that was the cause of the committee's preoccupation with the Mogul, and their discussion of how much longer the Prince of the Ishmaelites would be reigning. They returned to the usual conversation of the Ten Tribes, how happy they lived in those distant lands, enjoying wealth and honor; they recalled the Red Jews, the Sons of Moses, and told a mass of stories of their bravery, etc.; Eldad the Danite was naturally also dished up. I owe it mainly to those times that I later undertook my journey."
XI. A TOUGH MORSEL