se. His
whole face had an expression of impudence. Nevertheless, I liked his
face, and we became friends the first hour we met.

We met for the first time at "_Cheder_," at the teachers' table. When my
mother took me to "_Cheder_," the teacher was sitting at his table with
the boys, teaching them the book of Genesis. He was a man with thick
eyebrows and a pointed cap. He made no fuss of me. He asked me no
questions, neither did he take my measurements, but said to me--

"Get over there, on that bench, between those two boys."

I got on the bench, between the boys, and was already a pupil. There was
no talk between my mother and the teacher. They had made all
arrangements beforehand.

"Remember to learn as you ought," said my mother from the doorway. She
turned to look at me again, lovingly, joyfully. I understood her look
very well. She was pleased that I was sitting with nice children, and
learning the "_Torah_." And she was pained because she had to part with
me.

I must confess I felt much happier than my mother. I was amongst a crowd
of new friends--may no evil eye harm them! They looked at me, and I
looked at them. But the teacher did not let us idle for long. He shook
himself, and shouted aloud the lesson we had to repeat after him at the
top of our voices.

"Now the serpent was more subtil than any beast of the field."

Boys who sit so close together, though they shake and shout aloud,
cannot help getting to know one another, or exchange a few words. And so
it was.

Benny "_Polkovoi_," who sat crushing me, pinched my leg, and looked into
my eyes. He went on shaking himself, and shouting out the lesson with
the teacher and the other boys. But he threw his own words into the
middle of the sentence we were translating.

"And Adam knew (here are buttons for you) Eve his wife. (Give me a
locust-bean and I will give you a pull of my cigarette.)"

I felt a warm hand in mine, and I had some smooth buttons. I confess I
did not want the buttons, and I had no locust-beans, neither did I smoke
cigarettes. But I liked the idea of the thing. And I replied in the same
tones in which the lesson was being recited:

"And she conceived and bare Cain. (Who told you I have locust-beans?)"

That is how we conversed the whole time, until the teacher suspected
that though I shook myself to and fro, my mind was far from the lesson.
He suddenly put me through an examination.

"Listen, you, whatever your name is, you surely