the same Busie.
In my eyes she is different, on this bewitching evening. The enchanted
princess runs in my head. But Busie does not leave me time to think.
She drives me off. I go. I turn round to look at the enchanted princess
who is completely merged into the beautiful Passover evening. I stand
like one bewitched. She points to me to go. And I imagine I hear her
saying to me, in the words of the "Song of Songs":

"Make haste, my beloved, and be thou like to a roe or to a young hart
upon the mountains of spices."

Passover in a Village

AN IDYLL

Let winds blow. Let storms rage. Let the world turn upside down. The old
oak, which has been standing since the creation of the world, and whose
roots reach to God-knows-where--what does he care for winds? What are
storms to him?

The old tree is not a symbol--it is a living being, a man whose name is
Nachman Veribivker of Veribivka. He is a tall Jew, broad-shouldered, a
giant. The townspeople are envious of his strength, and make fun of him.
"Peace be unto you. How is a Jew in health?" Nachman knows he is being
made fun of. He bends his shoulders so as to look more Jewish. But, it
is useless. He is too big.

Nachman has lived in the village a long time. "Our 'Lachman,'" the
peasants call him. They look upon him as a good man, with brains. They
like to have a chat with him. They follow his advice. "What are we to do
about bread?" "Lachman" has an almanack, and he knows whether bread will
be cheap or dear this year. He goes to the town, and so knows what is
doing in the world.

It would be hard to imagine Veribivka without Nachman. Not only was his
father, Feitel, born in Veribivka, but his grandfather, Arya. He was a
clever Jew, and a wit. He used to say that the village was called
Veribivka because Arya Veribivker lived in it, because, before Veribivka
was Veribivka, he, Arya Veribivker was already Arya Veribivker. That's
what his grandfather used to say. The Jews of those times!

And do you think Arya Veribivker said this for no reason? Arya was not
an ordinary man who made jokes without reason. He meant that the
catastrophes of his day were Jewish tragedies. At that time they already
talked of driving the Jews out of villages. And not only talked but
drove them out. All the Jews were driven out, excepting Arya Veribivker.
It may be that even the governor of the district could do nothing,
because Arya Veribivker proved that according to the law, he could no