Page:Yiddish Tales.djvu/362

 358 S. LIBIN

"Well, then, whatever is it, for goodness' sake ! The moon ?" asked Sarah, beginning to lose patience. "What have you been and thought of? Tell me once for all, and have done with it!"

And Shmuel said:

"Sarah, you know, we belong to a lodge."

"Of course I do!" and Sarah gave him a look of mingled astonishment and alarm. "It's not more than a week since you took a whole dollar there, and I'm not likely to have forgotten what it cost you to make it up. What is the matter now ? Do they want another ?"

"Try again!"

"Out with it!"

"I want us, Sarah," stammered Shmuel, "to go for a picnic."

"A picnic!" screamed Sarah. "Is that the only thing you have left to wish for ?"

"Look here, Sarah, we toil and moil the whole year through. It's nothing but trouble and worry, trouble and worry. Call that living! When do we ever have a bit of pleasure ?"

"Well, what's to be done?" said his wife, in a sub- dued tone.

"The summer will soon be over, and we haven't set eyes on a green blade of grass. We sit day and night sweating in the dark."

"True enough!" sighed his wife, and Shmuel spoke louder :

"Let us have an outing, Sarah. Let us enjoy our- selves for once, and give the children a breath of fresh air, let us have a change, if it's only for five minutes !"