dd, in such
a voice, and making such a grimace over her words that it was impossible
to keep from laughing. "In Polosya they keep such children in swaddling
clothes. May he suffer instead of my old bones!"

"May I live longer than his head," the teacher put in, after her, and
pulled Getzel's cap down over his ears.

The whole "_Cheder_" laughed. Getzel sat silent. He was sulky, but kept
silent. It was hard to get him into a temper. But, when he did get into
a temper, he was terrible. Even an angry bear could not be fiercer than
he. He used to dance with passion, and bite his own big hands with his
strong white teeth. If he gave one a blow, one felt it--one enjoyed it.
This the boys knew very well. They had tasted his blows, and they were
terribly afraid of him. They did not want to have anything to do with
him. You know that Jewish children have a lot of respect for beatings.
And in order to protect themselves against Getzel, all the ten boys had
to keep united--ten against one. And that was how it came about that
there were two parties at "_Reb_" Yankel's "_Cheder_." On the one side,
all the pupils; on the other, Getzel. The boys kept their wits about
them; Getzel his fists. The boys worked at their lessons; Getzel ate
continually.

* * *

It came to pass that on a holiday the boys got together to play nuts.
Playing nuts is a game like any other, neither better than tops, nor
worse than cards. The game is played in various ways. There are "holes"
and "bank" and "caps." But every game finishes up in the same way. One
boy loses, another wins. And, as always, he who wins is a clever fellow,
a smart fellow, a good fellow. And he who loses is a good-for-nothing, a
fool and a ne'er-do-well; just as it happens in the big cities, at the
clubs, where people sit playing cards night and day.

The ten boys got together in the "_Cheder_" to play nuts. They turned
over a bench, placed a row of nuts on the floor, and began rolling other
nuts downwards. Whoever knocked the most nuts out of the row won the
whole lot. Suddenly the door opened, and Getzel came in, his pockets
loaded with nuts, as usual.

"Welcome art thou--a Jew!" cried one of the boys.

"If you speak of the Messiah," put in a second.

"_Vive_ Haman!" cried a third.

"And Rashi says, 'The devil brought him here.'" cried a fourth.

"What are you playing? Bank? Then I'll play too," said Getzel, to which
he got an immediate reply:

"No, with a little cap."