.............................................................................................................................................. FERN: [SINGS, SKIPPING] Oranges and Lemons Say the bells of St Clements. You owe me two farthings Say the bells of St Martins. [HAZEL ENTERS] FERN: When will you pay me? Says the bells of Old Bailey. HAZEL: When I get rich Say the bells of Shoreditch. OLAF: [ENTERING] Here comes a candle to light you to bed. Here comes a chopper to chop off your head. [SPOKEN WITH GREAT GUSTO] Chop, chop, chop Last man's head. FERN: Go on, it's your turn to sing, Freidele! FREIDELE: No, you go again, Fern. [CHILDREN PLAY GAME] FERN: London bridges falling down Falling down falling down London bridges falling down My Fair Lady O ALL: Build 'em up with sticks and stones Sticks and stones Sticks and stones Build them up with sticks and stones My Fair Lady-O. [ALL COLLAPSE, LAUGHING] FREIDELE: But how many bridges are there? OLAF: What do you mean? FREIDELE: If the London Bridges're falling down, how many are there? FERN: Two. OLAF: A hundred. HAZEL: Don't be silly. London Bridge IS falling down. It's a contraction. FREIDELE: Oh. OLAF: Yah. Don't be silly, Freidele .... Freidele-Meidelle. Smelly Freidelly. FERN: Don't. My dad says it's not her fault she's a- FREIDELE: I'm a what? .... I'm what? OLAF: Watt died long ago, Pardon took his place. FREIDELE: I beg your pardon? HAZEL: Don't beg, you're big enough to steal. FREIDELE: I just wanted to ask Fern- HAZEL: Ladies and Gentlemen, Take my advice Pull down your pants And slide on the ice. OLAF: Yum, yum pig's bum. FREIDELE: Olaf! You ought to wash your mouth out with soap. OLAF: Same to you, you dirty- HAZEL: I know! Let's play "Black Plague". Freidele's it! [FERN IS RELUCTANT] HAZEL: Come on, Fern .... Come on. Come on! [HAZEL, FERN and OLAF EXIT, GIGGLING] FREIDELE: [CRYING] [PAPA ENTERS] PAPA: Freidele! Freidele! .... Look, I have an Eskimo pie for you. FREIDELE: No thank you, Papa. PAPA: Maybe you want to work the adding machine in the store? FREIDELE: [SHAKES HER HEAD] PAPA: What's the matter, little one? You don't feel well? FREIDELE: I feel fine. PAPA: Freidele [LEANING DOWN TO HER] I know it is not easy: moving, new schools, new people. You must always remember .... A Jew is a wanderer ... and he learns to carry with him what matters .... I know it is not easy, but what you are, in the heart and in the head, no one takes from you..... [SINGS] Under Freidele's little bed A white goat lays his silken head The goat goes tripping down the street To buy raisins and almonds for my sweet, [FREIDELE GRADUALLY IS ENCOURAGED TO JOIN IN] Raisins and almonds are tasty food Freidele will be healthy and good [PAPA EXITS SLOWLY, MAMA ENTERS, AND JOINS IN] Goodness and health are the best things to own Freidele will read Torah when she is grown. [THE YOUNG GIRL FREIDELE TURNS INTO THE ADULT FREDELLE] FREDELLE: For some reason that song, with its image of the white goat shopping for raisins and almonds, always made me sad. [FREDELLE MOVES KITCHEN TABLE ONTO STAGE] We were baking in the steamy kitchen, my mother and I- [MAMA ENTERS] -or rather, she was baking while I watched. First, the warm ball of dough, no larger than my mother's hand. Slap, punch, bang - again and again she lifted the dough and smacked it down on the board. [MAMA MIMES] FREDELLE: Then came the moment I loved. Over the kitchen table, over its patterned oilcloth, came a damask cloth; and over this, in turn, a cloud of flour. My mother paused, her hair bound in muslin, hands and arms powdered with flour .... Then, like a dancer, she tossed the dough high in the air, catching it with a little stretching motion, again and again, until the strudel was as large as the tablecloth. And as she tossed, she sang: MAMA: Unter Freidele's vegele Ligt eyn groys veys tsigele FREDELLE: One Christmas, when I was seven, my father swung open the storm door, and stood, stamping and jingling on the icy mat. MAMA: Boris, look how you track in the snow. PAPA: [KISSING HER] I'm sorry, my love .... I have just seen the preacher .... MAMA: Reverend Pederson? PAPA: Yes, Reverend Pederson! And he wants Freidele to recite at the Christmas concert! MAMA: He wants Freidele! PAPA: Yes! .... [FREIDELE LOOKS DOWN STUBBORNLY] Sweetheart ... dear one .... You'll do it .... I should tell him it's all right? FREIDELE: No. PAPA: No? FREIDELE: No. MAMA: But why ... why Freidele? .... You like those concerts. FREIDELE: No, No I don't. I hate those concerts! Everybody but me gets presents and nobody ever calls out "Freidele Bruser". Even Santa Claus knows I'm jewish. PAPA: But, little one, presents. What presents? A bag of candy, an orange? Tell me, who has such toys as you have? Who else has a doll like your Rachel .... An Eaton's Beauty! MAMA: What is this "Santa Claus". You know we have our own holiday - Hannukkah. That is our holiday. FREIDELE: Yes, I know. But- PAPA: But what, little one? FREIDELE: But what is gelt, what is Hannukkah, when Hazel, and Fern have Christmas tree, and presents, and they get to sing Christmas carols. PAPA: [SHOCKED] What is gelt! MAMA: First she wants to marry Edward the Prince of Wales .... FREIDELE: He's a prince. MAMA: He isn't jewish ... and now .... FREIDELE: And now the girls laugh at me at school. And the boys- [STARTS TO CRY] No, Papa, I don't want to go. I don't want to go. MAMA: But Reverend Pederson .... PAPA: Don't cry ... don't cry. You don't want to go .... You don't have to .... I tell them you have a sore throat ... yes? MAMA: No. Boris, listen .... She goes, or she doesn't, it's not such a big thing. But so close to Christmas, we shouldn't let them down. Freidele, look at me .... Go this one time ... for my sake. You'll see, it won't be so bad. FREIDELE: And if I don't like it? MAMA: If you don't like it - pffff, no more! All right? All right? FREIDELE: All right. MAMA: All right. Now dry your eyes. Come help me with the raisins.... [SINGS] Tsigele iz geforen handlen Rozinkes mit mandlen .... [SCENE: CHURCH CHRISTMAS CONCERT] FREDELLE: For the most part, in Birch Hills, we made our own entertainment. No one seemed to mind that the offerings at the church concerts were repetitive. Hazel Morse always sang "Little Brown Jug" ... [HAZEL ENTERS; HER 'HA-HA-HA' SHOULD BE DELIVERED, AS ONE'S TEACHER WOULD SAY, WITH GREAT FEELING] HAZEL: Ha ha ha you and me little brown jug how I love thee ha ha ha you and me little brown jug how I love thee! [BOWS ELABORATELY] [POLITE APPLAUSE, THE AUDIENCE IS ENCOURAGED TO JOIN IN] FREDELLE: Olaf Swenson did his Al Jolson imitation ... [OLAF ENTERS] OLAF: [SINGS] Mammie ... how I love ya How I love ya My dear old Mammie I'd walk a mile to see .... [APPLAUSE, HOOTS] FREDELLE: My sister Cecely would play accompaniment ... [PAINFUL PIANO INTRO, OFF STAGE, TO 'SIDEWALKS OF NEW YORK'] ... and my best friend Fern would tap out "The Sidewalks of New York". FERN: [TAPS FLAMBOYANTLY AND BADLY, ENDING WITH A FLOURISH] [AUDIENCE APPLAUSE] FERN: [COMES ON FOR ENCORE] FREDELLE: [MOVING DOWN STAGE, CENTRE] As the town's most accomplished elocutionist, I was regularly invited to perform. Usually my offering was comic or purely secular - SANTA'S MISTAKE, THE NIGHT BEFORE CHRISTMAS, a scene from A CHRISTMAS CAROL. Because I had taken elocution lessons with a real teacher in Winnipeg, I knew more "pieces" than most, but audiences were so familiar with my material that they could - and did - correct me when I left out a verse. When I stood on the church dais, the Christmas tree glittering and shimmering behind me, it was with a familiar feeling of strangeness. I looked out over the audience- congregation, and began: "A letter came on Christmas day" WOMAN IN AUDIENCE: "Morn". FREIDELE: "A letter came on Christmas morn In which the Lord did say 'Behold my star shines in the east And I shall come today. Make bright thy hearth .... '" FREDELLE: The words tripped without thought or effort. I knew them by heart, every nuance and gesture, down to the modest curtsey [CURTSIES] and the properly solemn pace with which I returned to my seat. [SITS] REVEREND PEDERSON : [STANDS, LEADS THE APPLAUSE] Come back, Freidele .... Freidele Bruser, Ladies and Gentlemen. FREIDELE: Thank you, Reverend Pederson. PAPA: Beautiful, Beautiful. REVEREND PEDERSON: Come on back up here ... everyone .... [ALL THE CHILDREN COME ON STAGE, REVEREND PEDERSON LEADS APPLAUSE] REVEREND PEDERSON: And REVEREND PEDERSON, the Choir-Mistress ... Where are you? .... Come on up here, Mrs Olsen .... Don't be shy .... MRS OLSEN: [COMES UP FROM AUDIENCE, MODESTLY] Thank you .... Thank you .... REVEREND PEDERSON: Now let's all sing one last Carol, while we wait for Santa Claus to arrive. Mrs Olsen. MRS OLSEN: Thank you. [CLAPS HER HANDS TO GET EVERYONE'S ATTENTION] [LEADS AUDIENCE IN 'O COME ALL YE FAITHFUL"; CONDUCTING WITH GREAT ENERGY] [DURING THE CAROL, REVEREND PEDERSON EXITS TO CHANGE INTO HIS SANTA COSTUME] [FREIDELE LOOKS UNCOMFORTABLE AS SHE SINGS, FINALLY STOPS SINGING AT CHORUS, AND STANDS OFF TO ONE SIDE, EYES DOWN] [CAROL ENDS] MRS OLSEN: Excellent. Excellent. [LOOKING AROUND FOR "SANTA"] And now Santa will hand out the presents .... [LOOKING AROUND; NO SANTA. LOUDER] And now Santa will hand out the presents ---- [SMOOTHLY] After we sing our next carol. "Hark the Herald Angels sing". [ADULTS SING PROPER WORDS] CHILDREN: "Hark the herald angels sing Beecham pills are just the thing Peace on earth and mercy mild One for adult two for child. REVEREND PEDERSON: [DRESSED AS SANTA, ENTERS] Ho Ho Ho Ho Ho Ho Ho Merry Christmas .... Merry Christmas! [AS HE HANDS OUT GIFTS, FREIDELE GOES SLOWLY BACK TO HER TABLE TO SIT WITH HER PARENTS] SANTA: And we have four very special gifts today, for four young people who have been especially good this year .... Fern Dahl! SANTA: Olaf Swenson! SANTA: Hazel Morse! SANTA: At last, but not least, Freidele Bruser. FREIDELE: Me! Santa has a present for me! MAMA: Go on .... Go on! PAPA: Look, he calls you! SANTA: [COMING TO FREIDELE] Miss Freidele Bruser? Age Seven and a Quarter? FREIDELE: Yes. SANTA: Have you been a very good girl this year, Freidele? FREIDELE: Yes ... oh yes .... SANTA: Are you quite sure? FREIDELE: Yes ... oh yes, yes, yes! SANTA: Then this must be for you ... yes I think it must be. For Miss Freidele Bruser, age seven and a quarter, Birch Hills. [DRAWS OUT INGRID, EATON'S BEAUTY DOLL, DRESSED IN CHRISTENING GOWN AND CAP] FREIDELE: For me! SANTA: Ho, Ho, Ho .... Merry Christmas. FREIDELE: For me, Mama ... how can that be .... And look ... she's just like Rachel! She could be a twin .... And just the right size, isn't she .... She can wear all Rachel's clothes .... And I'll take them for walks ... her and Rachel ... Rachel and -- Ingrid! Ingrid Eaton's Beauty Doll! MAMA But look. Look at the dress . See the petticoat. see you carefully it's stitched! FREIDELE: I know. She's beautiful .... Oh Mama .... I love her .... I love my Ingrid Eaton's Beauty Doll .... Papa, this is the best Christmas of my life! PAPA: Well, maybe we should be getting home, Freidele ... you know, the stove will go out, if we stay much longer. FREIDELE: [CALLING] Good-bye Fern! .... Good-bye Santa .... See you next year, Hazel! [SCENE SHIFT TO OUTSIDE WALK HOME] MAMA: It's so cold, Boris .... maybe you should have brought another scarf. PAPA: But look .... Northern Lights .... Beautiful! MAMA: Very beautiful .... All colours tonight. PAPA: Listen! You can hear them singing! .... And you had a good time, yes? MAMA: Well, yes. PAPA: And you? FREIDELE: Mmmmmmm.... And so did Ingrid, didn't you? .... I can hardly wait to get her home. Just think! Ingrid and Rachel side by side in the crib! MAMA: Boris, maybe we should -- PAPA: Shh. time enough. Time enough. FREIDELE: It was just like a real Christmas, wasn't it! With the Tree and the Carols and everything! [SINGS] "It came upon a midnight clear ...." PAPA: You shouldn't even want to sing the Carols. You are a Jew. FREIDELE: I'm sorry, Papa .... It's just so beautiful. And I got the best present of anybody, didn't I? Nobody else deserved an Ingrid Eaton's Beauty Doll. Nobody else was that good! MAMA: Here we are. Home at last .... A cup of hot cocoa? Popcorn? .... Boris, don't track into the house. Freidele, where are you going. FREIDELE: I have to get Rachel and Ingrid ready for bed! MAMA: Boris -- PAPA: It will be all right. FREIDELE: I can hardly wait to see them sleeping side by side .... Rachel and Ingrid Eaton's Beauty Doll ... sisters. No, twins! And they'll do everything together, won't they? [FREIDELE EXITS] MAMA: Boris, please .... PAPA: I'll help with the cocoa ... you start the popcorn .... FREIDELE: [CALLING FROM OFF-STAGE] Mama! Where's Rachel? Mama, have you seen Rachel? She's not in her crib! Mama? [FREIDELE ENTERS] FREIDELLE: [QUIETLY] Mama. where's Rachel. MAMA: Freidele, I'm sorry .... we thought -- we thought - [CLOSE TO TEARS] Here's your cocoa. PAPA: Freidele- [FREIDELE SHRUGS OFF HIS EMBRACE] FREIDELE: She's not Ingrid Eaton's Beauty Doll, is she. She's not Ingrid at all. She's just Rachel dressed up in new clothes. MAMA: Freidele .... Freidele ... your cocoa ... please.... FREIDELE: Well, I don't care .... It doesn't matter .... It doesn't matter at all. PAPA: Try to understand .... Freidele ... dear one ... my heart .... We did not think .... We could not know- FREIDELE: But why? Why did you dress Rachel in new clothes? Why? PAPA: We wanted you to be happy with the others. We wanted you to- .... Look- Look! Your Mama worked every night on the clothes ... every night ... and look- see the embroidery ... the lace ... the ribbons .... See the little diaper she made .... And the booties ... and the mittens ... and the cap .... Look! Freidele we love you. We so much love you! FREIDELE: And I love you .... I love you too! [FREDELLE STEPS OUT OF SCENE] FREDELLE: Outside my window, the snow lay deep and crisp and even. I heard the shouts and songs of neighbours returning from the concert. And it seemed to me, at that moment, that I was a part of the songs. "Joy To The World" they sang. "Let Earth Receive Her King." [SINGS] "Let every heart prepare him room And heaven and Freidele sing And heaven and Freidele sing And heaven and heaven And Freidele sing! [SPOKEN] And best of all, we'd had Hanukkah as well! [PAPA AND MAMA EXIT] FREDELLE: Hanukkah, Valentine's Day, April Fools, Easter. But Summer was the lovely season. It was what we waited for, all through the long months when dark came early, and the cold shut us indoors. May Day brought promise; we raced from door to door with crepe paper candy baskets. Then Victoria Day. And on the last day of June we burst out the school doors: [OLAF, HAZEL AND FERN BURST ONTO STAGE] OLAF: No more pencils No more books No more teacher's Dirty looks! FERN: But Olaf - where are you going? OLAF: To my uncle's Farm. For the summer. See ya. THE OTHERS: See ya. HAZEL: What should we do? FERN: I don't know. HAZEL: I don't care. FERN: Let's collect rocks. HAZEL: Nah .... Let's go down to the train tracks. FERN: Nah .... I know - Daisy-chains! CHILDREN: [PAUSE, THEN TOGETHER] Nah. FREIDELLE ENTERS HAZEL: Okay, put your left foot in. [TO FREIDELE] You too, dummy! Eenie Meenie Minnie Moe Catch a nigger by the toe If he hollars let him go Eenie meenie minnie moe O.U.T. spells out And you are not it. [HAZEL ISN'T IT. SHE DOES THE CHANT QUICKLY AGAIN, BETWEEN FERN AND FREIDELE] Eenie Meenie Minnie Moe Catch a nigger by the toe If he hollars let him go Eenie meenie minnie moe O.U.T. spells out And you are not it. [FERN IS IT] FERN: It's too hot for tag, Hazel .... I know! Let's study bugs. HAZEL: Study? In summer? FERN: Come on ... it's fun ... look ... first you catch a fly .... [CHILDREN LOOK FOR FLY, MIME ONE, AS EACH ACTOR TRIES TO CATCH IT, THEY TAKE OVER THE ZZZing SOUND] FREIDELE: [CATCHING IT] Now what? FERN: Now ... squish it! FREIDELE: Squish it? FERN: Squish it. FREIDELE: Nah .... [ABOUT TO OPEN HER HAND] FERN: Wait! Let me have it. You have to squish it for the blood .... FREIDELE: Flies don't have blood. FERN: Yes they do ... look! [CHILDREN LEAN OVER] FREIDELE: That's disgusting. HAZEL: It's all white and green and .... FREIDELE: It looks like- HAZEL: It looks like snot! CHILDREN: [SHOUTING] BUT IT'S 'NOT! FERN: That's fly blood, that is ... and now ... we wait for the ants. HAZEL: Forget it. Right, Freidele? FREIDELE: [RELUCTANTLY] Right. HAZEL: We're going to play hop-scotch. Right Freidele? FERN: Just wait ... you'll see ... [HAZEL AND FREIDELE DRAW HOP-SCOTCH AND START TO PLAY] [FERN CLOSELY OBSERVES FLY] FERN: You're missing it .... Look! HAZEL: What? FERN: Look at the ants! FREIDELE: Where? FERN: There! HAZEL: There's a whole line of them! FERN: Just like in Africa. FREIDELE: And they're carrying away the fly! FERN: Let's do it again! HAZEL: Nah .... I'm tired of it. [HAZEL STOMPS ON COLUMN OF ANTS] FREIDELE: [SHOCKED] Hazel ... you killed them! HAZEL: No I didn't! FREIDELE: Yes you did ... look ... all over the sidewalk .... HAZEL: [CARELESSLY] They wanted to be dead .... FERN: What should we do now? [TIME INTERVAL - IT'S NOW LATE AFTERNOON] FERN: What should we do now? HAZEL: I know ... let's go down to the new Chinaman's Cafe. FERN: It's not open yet. HAZEL: Sure it is ... it's got to be. FERN: I don't know ... have you ever seen a real Chinaman, Freidele? FREIDELE: No ... have you? FERN: Sure, lots of times .... In Winnipeg ... my dad says they eat rotten eggs. And when we went to Winnipeg we saw them - they were eating rotten eggs and bandaging their feet and shaving all their heads. FREIDELE: How many heads do they have? HAZEL: Oh, Freidele ... don't be silly. They all shave their heads-- FERN: --Except for their pigtail. My dad said they use that to stir the soup .... HAZEL [CHANTS] Chinky chinky Chinaman .... Say, do you think there are ChinaWOMEN? FERN: Of course there are. HAZEL: But if there are ChinaWOMEN ... [LAUGHS] FERN: Yes? HAZEL: If there are ChinaWOMEN ... FREIDELE: What? HAZEL: IF there are Chinawomen, then the Chinamen must be able to -- must be able to-- [CHORTLES] FERN: [IMPATIENT] Must be able to do what, Hazel? HAZEL: [WHISPERS] Must be able to do the other thing! FERN: Hazel, you're bad! .... Do you think so? .... You mean like real people? .... We could go see .... I bet we could see through those back windows. FREIDELE: No, let's not .... Let's go to my Dad's, and get some bananas. HAZEL: No, let's go to the Chinaman's and get some candy! FREIDELE: We can get candy at my Dad's store. HAZEL: No. We're going to the Chinaman's. FERN: But Hazel, we don't have any money. HAZEL: So what. He's not going to know till he gives us the candy. FREIDELE: But won't he tell? HAZEL: How's he going to know who we are? FERN: But Hazel ... HAZEL: Shh .... No names, ok? .... Unless you're chicken .... FERN: N-no. HAZEL: Are you, Freidele? FREIDELE: Of course not. HAZEL: Good. Because Fern and me can't be friends with a chicken, you know .... Now come on! .... LOOK! The Chinaman! Okay.... MAN: [SWEEPING IN FRONT OF HIS CAFE] HAZEL: Hey, mister, me and my friends want to buy some candy. MAN: Yes? [SMILES] Tomorrow .... Grand Opening. You come tomorrow, ok? We open tomorrow. HAZEL: No, we want it now! FERN: Yah. Hazel wants some candy now. HAZEL: Shut up .... [WHISPERS] We said no names, remember? .... [TO MAN] Pleeease. MAN: Some candy? .... Just candy? .... Ok. FERN: Oh look! ....  Snow balls! HAZEL: And nigger babies! FREIDELE: And nigger toes! FERN: And peanut brittle! MAN: You want? FERN: [QUICKLY] No. HAZEL: Yes. How much. FREIDELE: But Hazel- HAZEL: Shh. How much? MAN: You show me the kind. I tell you. HAZEL: That. The raspberry drops. Five cents worth. MAN: Five? HAZEL: Five cents. Five pennies. Five. [MAN WEIGHS RASPBERRY DROPS] MAN: One nickel please. HAZEL: In this country, we get to sample the goods first .... [SAMPLES] Hmmm .... No, I've changed my mind. [TO FERN ] what would you like, Fern? FERN: Hazel! You're not supposed to use our names! How many licorice pipes, please, for a nickel? MAN: Five cents? FERN: That's right. [MAN MEASURES] HAZEL: [SAMPLES AS WELL AS FERN] Too few. How many English toffees? [HE MEASURES] How many jujubes? [HE MEASURES] How many lemon sours [HE MEASURES] [PAUSE. THE TRUMP CARD] How much peanut brittle. FERN: [SHOCKED] No! FREIDELE: You can't! He has to crack it! HAZEL: So what? He has to crack it sometime. [TO MAN] How much peanut brittle? FREIDELE: You're going to get us into trouble. HAZEL: No I'm not. [SAMPLES PEANUT BRITTLE] Oh, dear. Too many nuts, I'm afraid. MAN: You want? HAZEL: No .... Do we? .... No.... Just a minute please. [CHILDREN DISCUSS TOGETHER] FREIDELE: You made him crack it with the silver hammer! FERN: Let's go, before we get into trouble. HAZEL: No. [To FREIDELE] You tell him you want a dollar's worth of those mints with the writing on them. FREIDELE: A dollar's worth! FERN: Freidele's right. He'll know she doesn't have a dollar. HAZEL: How do you know. She could have a million. FREIDELE: [SHAKING HEAD] But a dollar! HAZEL: CHICKEN. CHICKEN LIVER. BABY. FREIDELE: I'm not .... [TO MAN] I'd like a dollar's worth, please. Sweetheart mints. MAN: A Dollar. One dollar? FREIDELE: Yes, please. MAN: You say One Dollar. FREIDELE: Yes. My Daddy has the big store and Fern's Daddy is the preacher and Hazel's daddy is very very very rich-- MAN: Ok. One Dollar. FREDELLE: And the man smiled. It wasn't like the way he smiled when he saw us the first time. This was an old, crumpled smile, pale as a moth's wing. As if we weren't strangers after all, but people he knew. He didn't believe I had a dollar - I knew that. But I knew something else that even Hazel didn't know. He was scared of us - three little girls with sticky hands. He was scared of us. FERN: [TUGS FREDELLE BACK INTO SCENE] He's doing it! FREIDELE: [WHISPERS] I knew he would. FERN: [WHISPERS] Look at all those mints. FREIDELE: [WHISPERS] I think I can make him give them to us for a nickel. HAZEL: [WHISPERS] No, I have a better idea .... [SHOUTS] EXCUSE ME, MY GOOD SIR, HOW MUCH ARE THOSE? [HAZEL BANGS THE CANDY SCALE, MAKING THE MINTS GO ALL OVER THE STAGE] HAZEL: Cheese it! FERN: Let's peel! [THE C HILDREN RUN OUT] HAZEL: Did you see the look on that Chink's face! FERN: He was so funny .... And when you --- HAZEL: Well, what about when you--- FERN: And then Freidele -- FREIDELE: And he knew he was being gyped, didn't he! HAZEL: Well, so what, the dirty Indian-giver! Asking for the samples back. FERN: I never thought we'd get off scot-free,though. FREIDELE: Of course we would. Especially when I said your Dad was the Preacher. FERN: [WORRIED] You shouldn't have said that. HAZEL: I though I was going to die laughing! .... And then, when Freidele said she was going to jew him down--- FREIDELE: I didn't say that. FERN: Yes you did. You said- HAZEL: Hey, "jew him down" -- My dad say's your Dad's Jewish. So no wonder you tried to - Hey! Hey, what's wrong? Hey, Freidele ... where are you going? FREIDELE: I have to go home now .... it's time for dinner. HAZEL: You mean supper, don't you. FERN: No, Freidele's mom always makes her dinner at suppertime. HAZEL: What does she make? Soup? FERN: Sandwiches. HAZEL: I bet she makes Bacon and eggs. [LAUGHING] Do you eat bacon and eggs for dinner, Freidele? FREIDELE: No. FERN: She can't, can you. [TO HAZEL] They don't eat bacon. But what do you eat? I mean, if you don't have supper. FREIDELE: It is supper, really. She just calls it dinner. I don't know why. HAZEL: Then what do you have for dinner? Real dinner. At noon. FREIDELE: Lunch. FERN: But it's still early. Are you sure you have to go? .... You can eat over at my place, you know ... if you like .... FREIDELE: No thank you. FERN: Okay .... See you tomorrow. FREIDELE: Okay. See you. FERN: Okay. [HAZEL LINKS ARMS WITH FERN, THEY START TO EXIT, BEST OF FRIENDS] HAZEL: [MIMICKING CHINAMAN] Ok. What you want? Flied lice? FERN: "Flied lice". What's that? HAZEL: That's "fried rice" in chinese! [LIGHTS DIM, THEN FAINTLY UP ON MAN, SLOWLY SWEEPING MINTS WITH BROOM] HAZEL: [CALLS FROM OFF STAGE] Bye, Freidele! FREDELLE: Bye Hazel! Bye Fern! See you tomorrow Fern! Ok! .... Ok? .... [NO ANSWER] [AS SHE WATCHES MAN SWEEP] FREDELLE: I admired Hazel, but I loved Fern, and I used to think sometimes that if Hazel moved away, Fern and I could be best friends, just the two of us. At Christmas, Fern asked me over to see her tree, and for my birthday, she gave me a picture of herself, sitting with one leg tucked under her accordion pleated skirt, her face lit by a dazzling smile. With her cheeks flushed like that, she reminded me of the doll I saw once in Eaton's toy department that Mama said we couldn't afford. But I always had the feeling that there was a glass wall between us, and if I ever forgot, if I ever tried to get through .... [MAN FINISHES SWEEPING, EXITS] FREDELLE: [TURNS AWAY, SHRUGS] .... Everything considered, I was lucky to be included at all. FERN: [OFF-STAGE RIGHT] [CALLING] Freidele! Freidele! MAMA: [OFF-STAGE LEFT] [CALLING] Freidele! Freidele! [FREIDELE STANDS, UNABLE TO DECIDE WHO TO GO TO] [FINALLY] FREIDELE: Yes, Mama ... coming. [MAMA AND PAPA ENTER, IN TRAVELLING CLOTHES] PAPA: [SADLY] Freidele ... come. FREIDELE: What is it? Where are we going? PAPA: [TO MAMA] I'm sorry ... my love ... MAMA: I know ... I know. [MAMA, PAPA AND FREIDELE STAND, AS THE AUCTIONEER AUCTIONS THE HOUSEHOLD GOODS. CHOOSE BETWEEN: PIANO, HOUSEHOLD SILVER, CUT GLASS BOWLS. THE LAST THING AUCTIONED IS FREIDELE'S DOLL]. FREDELLE: [STEPPING OUT OF SCENE] We left Birch Hills for Winnipeg the day of the first snow. Why did I feel like crying? I wanted to go. RAILWAY CONDUCTOR: [CALLING] Watrous, Melville, Esterhazy, Brandon, Portage la Prairie, Oakville, Winnipeg .... All aboard! [MAMA AND PAPA SIT] FREDELLE: Ever since I could remember, Winnipeg had been the golden city. Winnipeg was streetcars and cement sidewalks and stores and libraries where you could take out five books at once and never pay anything as long as you returned them on time. Whenever I heard "Oh Dem Golden Slippers" I thought of Winnipeg. [SLIPPING INTO FREIDELE] [BRAVELY, NEAR TEARS, SKIPPING DOWN TRAIN AISLE] Golden slippers I'm going to have To walk de golden streets! PAPA: Shh, Freidele ... your Mama has a headache. MAMA: It's all right, Boris ... it's just the clatter of the train ... it makes me a little dizzy. PAPA: Maybe you should lie down. I'll get a pillow for you, Rona-My-Love. MAMA: No, no ... your coat will be fine ... Maybe -- PAPA: Yes? MAMA: Maybe a glass of water ... PAPA: Of course ... of course ... FREIDELE: Let me go! .... I can go! Let me! [SKIPPING DOWN "TRAIN AISLE"] [CHANTING] Passengers will please refrain From using toilets on the train While the train is standing In the Sta-a-tion. Passengers will please refrain From using toilets on the train-- RAILWAY CONDUCTOR: [CALLING] WINNIPEG ... WINNIPEG ... WINNIPEG ... LAST STOP, WINNIPEG [MAMA AND PAPA EXIT] MAN: All Aboard, please ... Oakville, Portage la Prairie, Brandon, Esterhazy, Melville, Watrous, Saskatoon .... All aboard! FREDELLE: Winnipeg ... 1931 ... was not the golden city after all. [PUTS ON SCHOOLGIRL'S HAT] SCENE - SCHOOLYARD. END OF THE FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL [BIG BOYS 1, 2, 3 ENTER] BIG BOY3: Hey, she's on the Boy's Side! She must be new. BIG BOY1: Hey Porky, you new? FREIDELE: [NODS SHYLY] BIG BOY1: Where're you from? FREIDELE: [CLEARING THROAT] Birch Hills. BIG BOY 1: Where? FREIDELE: Birch Hills, Saskatchewan. BIG BOY3: No, he means where're you from. BIG BOY2: Where're your folks from. BIG BOY3: What country? FREIDELE: [AMAZED] Canada. Why? What country are you from? BIG BOY1: [LAUGHING, AS THOUGH FREIDELE HAS MADE A JOKE] Canada! BIG BOY2: [MOCKING] "Why? What country are you from?" BIG BOY3: We know Canada, Porky ... we're all Canada. But what are you really. FREIDELE: What am I really? BIG BOY2: Yah ... are you Italian? BIG BOY1: Not with that hair. BIG BOY2: French? BIG BOY3: I know, I bet she's a- FREIDELE: I'm Jewish ... well, Jewish-Russian ... well, Jewish-Russian from the Ukraine. BIG BOY3: I knew it! She's a hebe. BIG BOY1: Jeez.... I never seen one before. BIG BOY3: And she don't smell at all ... [HOLDING HIS NOSE] ... much. BIG BOY2: [SINGS] Jakey, Isaac, Abraham We're the boys that don't eat ham BIG BOY3: [POKING FREIDELE] Yum, Yum Pig's Bum. BIG BOY1: Twinkle Twinkle little kike [GRABS FREIDELE'S HAT] FREIDELE: Hey, give that back! BIG BOY3: What's the matter, Porky? BIG BOY2: Ah, gee, guys ... she wants her widdle hat back... BIG BOY1: Ahh ... BIG BOY3: Poor widdle kikey-wikey ... say, Porky [CARICATURE OF A LEER] We'll give it back if you give me a f-f-f-f ... FREIDELE: Let me go! BIG BOY3: But can't I just have a f-f-f-f-? FREIDELE: I said Let me go. BIG BOY3: But can't I have just a- FREIDELE: [BREAKING AWAY] You should have your mouth washed out with soap! BIG BOY3: Why, Porky ... shame on you .... I was just asking if I could have a f-f-f-few matches! BIG BOY2: Maybe we should wash her mouth out! BIG BOY1: Yah .... I bet she thought Johnnie was asking for a Fu-fu-fu- ... [FREIDELE BREAKS AWAY FROM THE BOYS AND SITS, UPSTAGE RIGHT] BIG BOY1: Fu-FULL BOX! [BOYS LAUGH, EXIT] FREIDELE: [CRYING, RUBS TEARS AWAY WITH THE BACK OF HER HAND] PAPA: [ENTERING, QUIETLY, LEFT] Freidele ... how did school go? .... Freidele? [TOUCHING HER SHOULDER] FREIDELE: [TURNS TO PAPA, EMBRACES HIM, CRIES INTO HIS SHOULDER] Oh Papa! PAPA: Shh .... Shh ... there, there ... there, there, little one ... always remember: a Jew is a wanderer .... What you are ... in the heart and in the head ... no one can take from you ... no one. FREIDELE: Oh Papa .... I love you .... I love you. [PAPA EXITS] FREDELLE: [RUBBING THE TEARS AWAY] Birch Hills, Winnipeg, Altona, Gretna, Plum Coulee, Neville, Foam Lake, Humboldt, Grandview ... the towns rolled by ... like pages torn from a calendar, they marked the rise and fall of my father's stores. And each carried the name that was at once a talisman and a hope: [PAPA ENTERS, UPSTAGE, WITH SIGN-PAINTER'S PAINTBRUSH. PAPA'S SPACE BECOMES OUTSIDE OF STORE] [MAMA ENTERS. MAMA'S SPACE BECOMES INSIDE OF STORE] PAPA: [PAINTING SIGN, TO MAMA] THE O-KAY STORE ... B. BRUSER, GENERAL MERCHANT .... Well, what do you think? MAMA: It's good ... it's very good. PAPA: [JOYOUSLY, CALLING] Freidele! .... What do you think? FREIDELE: It's beautiful! PAPA: Of course .... I was an artist, you know, when I was young ... and look, across here, I'm going to put: "Grand Opening of the O-Kay Store .... It's our Birthday, but you get the presents." MAMA: Is there room? PAPA: Of course there's room! We'll make room! We'll make it like a letter ... like a letter to the farmers ... and sign it B. Bruser, manager, O-Kay Store chain, Western Canada. FREIDELE: But papa! It's a lie! PAPA: It's not a lie! There's been an O-Kay Store in Gretna [COUNTING ON FINGERS] ... In Altona ... In Birch Hills ... FREIDELE: [LAUGHING] Oh Papa! PAPA: And we'll have Saturday specials .... Big signs in the window ... maybe an ad in the paper. FREIDELE: Oh Papa! Will we? PAPA: Maybe. Maybe yes. MAMA: Maybe no, Boris. PAPA: [AGREEABLY, SHRUGS] Maybe no. WORCHUK: [DRESSED AS FARMER, ENTERS 'DOOR' TO STORE] MAMA: Good morning .... May I help you? WORCHUK: [RUDELY] Them fresh? PAPA: Our first customer! Good morning, Sir. What can we do for you? WORCHUK: I says Them fresh? PAPA: Certainly. Just off the train .... We have our candy shipped in weekly from Winnipeg. WORCHUK: Yah? [TAKES A HANDFUL; POPS IN MOUTH] Where's the boss? PAPA: [EXTENDING HIS HAND] I'm the proprietor .... Boris Bruser. [MAMA EXITS DISCREETLY] WORCHUK: [IGNORING THE HAND; TAKES ANOTHER HANDFUL OF CANDY] Yah? PAPA: And who may I have the honour of addressing? WORCHUK: [SPITTING OUT CANDY] Worchuk. Steve Worchuk. Councillor. PAPA: Oh yes, Mr Worchuk. Have some more candy ... here ... free .... Help yourself. First customer of the day .... And how about some snuff? Here ... just a sample .... Now ... bring your boys in, for school ... overalls, sweaters, overcoats, the works. And don't worry, charge all you like. Steve Worchuk's credit is good at the O-Kay Store. WORCHUK: Not so fast. If I deal here, I've got to sell too. I bring in butter and eggs ... and seneca root. Okay? PAPA: Okay. WORCHUK: And flat rate. No grading. I got good eggs and good butter. So don't try to jew me down. I want full price, or I take my business elsewhere. Okay? PAPA: Okay. WORCHUK: [STARTING TO EXIT; PAUSES] And Bruser - PAPA: Yes, Mr Worchuk? WORCHUK: [POINTS TO FREIDELE] I got a girl, Rosie, same age, not so fat. Any clothes you don't need, we can use. Okay? PAPA:` Okay. [ WORCHUK EXITS] FREIDELE: Papa! How could you? PAPA:` He's a councillor. Where Mr. Worchuk shops, Grandview shops. FREIDELE: But look at the eggs ... they're not even washed ... and look ... they're so stale they smell ... and Mrs. Worchuk's butter - - [HOLDS HER NOSE] PAPA: We have to make a living, little one ... bad butter makes good soap. [WORCHUK ENTERS WITH AN ARMFUL OF PACKAGES] WORCHUK: Bruser! Wrap these up good and send them to Winnipeg. PAPA: Certainly, Mr Worchuk. [TELLING FREIDELE TO WRAP] Freidele? FREIDELE: But Pap - PAPA: Shh .... [TO STEVE] You want something different, or should I just tell them to send you back the money? WORCHUK: Send the money. And write in big letters on the package. E.A.T.E.N.S. so it gets there fast. PAPA: [ACCOMPANYING HIM TO THE DOOR] Certainly, Mr Worchuk. WORCHUK: And Bruser .... I got some more butter for you in the truck. Okay? PAPA: Okay. [WORCHUK AND PAPA EXIT] [FREIDELE WRAPS PACKAGES IN BROWN PAPER] FREDELLE: In the last analysis, the O-kay had just one advantage over Eaton's: everything, even groceries, was to be had "on time". Papa sent out bills regularly, but there was no question of payment before September. Farmers charged from harvest to harvest. Everything depended on crops. [FREDELLE TAKES OUT A NIGHTGOWN, PULLS IT OVER HER CLOTHES] FREDELLE: The first Grandview Christmas came, and then summer. As harvest drew near, a bumper crop seemed certain. Papa started to make plans for improving the store, and Mama put a new coat of whitewash on the privy. "We're staying" I whispered to my sister Cecely. "We're staying". It seemed too good to be true. [CROWD NOISES, EXCITEMENT, OFF-STAGE, ROSIE KNOCKS ON STORE DOOR] ROSIE: Mr Bruser! Mr Bruser! ... open up, Mr Bruser! PAPA: [ENTERING, IN NIGHT CLOTHES] What is it? Who is it? MAMA: [ENTERING, IN NIGHT CLOTHES] Who is it, Boris? PAPA: It's the Worchuk girl, isn't it? [OPENING DOOR] ROSIE: Yes, sir. Dad says to-- ... because --- [STARTS TO CRY] MAMA: There, there ... there, there ... it can't be that bad, little one. ROSIE: [THROUGH TEARS] Dad says to get the -- because Alex - Alex- WORCHUK: [ENTERING] Haven't you got those funeral things yet, Rosie? PAPA: Funeral things? WORCHUK: My boy fell under the tractor. MAMA: Oh no! WORCHUK: We need cloth and yeast. PAPA: Of course, of course. MAMA: Freidele, come help. FREIDELE: But why yeast, mama? MAMA: For the buns .... FREIDELE: What buns? MAMA: For the funeral ... now hurry. WORCHUK: God damn it, Bruser. God damn it! PAPA: I'm so sorry. Alex was a fine boy .... Here, take what you like ... take groceries for the funeral ... free ... here ... I give you a bolt of muslin ... soft as silk ... please ... take it .... WORCHUK: God damn it. ROSIE: [TUGS AT WORCHUK] Mother says don't forget the hat. MAMA: We have only one ... maybe you could take the cherries off ... it's black, at least. It's very good, though. It's a three dollar hat. PAPA: Please, take it for two. Two is enough. WORCHUK: [TAKING HAT] God damn it! .... Thanks. You're a real white man, Bruser. [WORCHUK AND ROSIE EXIT] [PAPA AND MAMA EMBRACE, AND EXIT] FREDELLE: [TAKING OFF HER NIGHTGOWN; AND MOVING TO STORE WINDOW] It was shortly after the Worchuk funeral that we heard the first unsettling rumours. There was going to be a new store in Grandview - modern, self-service, just like in the city. Papa pooh-poohed the reports, but I could see he was worried. [PAPA IN DAY CLOTHES, ENTERS ON LEFT, WITH BROOM, AND CHRISTMAS WREATH, WHICH HE HANGS ON DOOR. SWEEPING] PAPA: Good morning, Freidele .... [CALLING TO MAMA] People don't like to wait on themselves. They come to a store for service .... Anyway, to put up a store takes time .... Look, the ground's frozen- no building this year ... all right ... so they're not going to build, but who would rent to them ... well, yes the Johnson's Hardware is big enough ... but who would put up a store right across the street from the O-Kay ... does that make any sense? And who's going to shop at something called an Emporium .... [WITH DISGUST] THE GRANDVIEW SUPERMARKET EMPORIUM! MAMA: [COMING ON STAGE] Boris, please ... come back and have another cinnamon roll .... The customers aren't breaking down the doors, you know .... PAPA: But they might .... I have to be here. MAMA: But Boris ... we haven't had a customer for days .... PAPA: The roads are bad .. and with all this sickness ... but today is the day Steve brings in his Christmas order, wait and see. And where Steve shops, Grandview shops. FREIDELE: ... isn't that Mr Worchuk? PAPA: See, what did I tell you .... MAMA: [GOING TO WINDOW] Where? FREIDELE: See? Coming out of the Emporium .... Oh Papa! MAMA: [MOVING TO PAPA] It doesn't matter, Boris .... I see in the JEWISH POST there's a nice little business for sale in Churchill. PAPA: I don't understand. Steve is my friend. Something must be wrong. Maybe some misunderstanding .. I should go talk to him .... MAMA: No, Boris .... PAPA: [EXITING THROUGH DOOR] Steve's my friend. No harm in having a little talk .... I'll be right back. FREIDELE: Would we really move to Churchill, Mama? MAMA: If your father wishes. FREIDELE: But isn't that near the north pole? We'll have to eat blubber and wear polar bear coats. MAMA: Hush. No more talk like that in front of your father. PAPA: [ENTERING, PLEASED; BLOWING ON HIS HANDS TO WARM THEM] See? I knew it. Just a mistake. Steve said he will be along with his family in a minute .... [PROUDLY] .... In just a minute. [WORCHUKAND ROSIE ENTER; ROSIE HAS SEVERAL EGG CARTONS, AND THE FUNERAL HAT IN A CRUMPLED BAG] WORCHUK: Put them eggs on the counter, Rosie. ROSIE: Yes, Dad. PAPA: Well. Christmas! .... Christmas so soon, and so much to buy! What will it be, this year, Steve? WORCHUK: Five pounds of sugar, and a plug of chewing tobacco. PAPA: That's everything? that's all I can do for you? WORCHUK: Yah ... and an exchange. PAPA: An exchange. WORCHUK: Yah. Put it on the counter, Rosie. PAPA: Is this a joke, Steve? WORCHUK: What joke? This isn't the kind of hat she wanted. I want my money back. PAPA: [FAINTLY] Your money back. WORCHUK: [ANGRY] Yes god damn it .... I want it back, and I want it back now. PAPA: But Steve ... you charged the hat ... and how can I take it back, looking like that? WORCHUK: That's the way she's always looked .... It was never worn. PAPA: But how can you say that? WORCHUK: It was never worn. And she's never going to wear it. PAPA: But Steve - everyone saw- WORCHUK: Are you calling me a liar, you lousy kike? PAPA: [FORMALLY] Of course not, Mr Worchuk. The customer is always right. Here. [TAKES OUT TWO DOLLARS, HANDS THEM TO WORCHUK] Now I owe you nothing. WORCHUK: [TAKING MONEY] Come on Rosie. [WORCHUK AND ROSIE EXIT; SLAMMING DOOR] [MAMA GOES TO PAPA, EMBRACES HIM] PAPA: [BROKEN] So who needs them? MAMA: Who needs them ... and next year --- who knows: next year will be better for the O-Kay Store. PAPA: Next year in Churchill. MAMA: [LEADING HIM AWAY] Yes. Next year in Churchill. FREDELLE: Snow fell in May the day my father died. He had been a long time dying, and the manner of his going shadowed us all. He seemed an aging actor in a long-run play, weary of the role, producing lines and gestures he could no longer feel. There was never a moment on which you could place your finger ... never a time when you could say "This ... or this ... or this was when he lost touch" Never a clear line crossed. He simply became quieter, less mobile. He would ask again and again for my sister's address. I was impatient. Hadn't he written her to the same house in Toronto for twenty years? "She lives in Alaska" I would say, "She lives in Timbuctu". And he would smile. [PAPA ENTERS IN DRESSING GOWN] PAPA: [OLD] "This I know, Freidele. But in Timbuctu what street?" FREDELLE: The shreds of memory clung, like smoke, to a distant landscape. We found a nursing home -- PAPA: Where is Mama going? FREDELLE: [NEAR TEARS] Shopping .... Eaton's has a sale, Papa. PAPA: [NODS VAGUELY] Of course, of course. FREDELLE: To know what one really feels is a lifetime's learning. His passing was a relief. I had been waiting for death to give me back my father. Snow fell in May the day he died, and six young men who had never known him, carried the coffin to the grave's edge. But for me- [JOYCE, FREDELLE's YOUNG DAUGHTER CALLS] JOYCE: Mommy! Mommy! FREDELLE: I'm here, Joyce, in the spare room. [JOYCE EMBRACES HER] You should be in bed, young lady. JOYCE: Mommy, tell me a story. FREDELLE: What sort of story would you like? JOYCE: About when you were little. FREDELLE: How little? JOYCE: As old as me. FREDELLE: Well, when I was as old as you, my sister Cecely- JOYCE: You mean Auntie Cecely? FREDELLE: Yes, Auntie Cecely, took music lessons. Every day she would sit there, and practise something called Swans on the Lake. [FAINTLY, INEXPERT PIANO PLAYING SOUNDS, OFF STAGE] And Baba and Zayde would listen devoutly ... [MAMA AND PAPA COME ON STAGE AND LISTEN APPRECIATIVELY] ... and talk about how Cecely was going to be a concert pianist ... and not pay any attention to me at all .... So, one day, I heard Mama reading a poem from the Star Phoenix- MAMA: Look, Boris ... a nine year old child ... and she writes Poetry! PAPA: Good poetry? MAMA: Very good .... Listen: "Meet things always with a smile, You're sure to find it worth while. Later on you may be glad For being happy instead of sad." Isn't that beautiful? And only nine years old! She must be a genius! [PIANO PLAYING BEGINS AGAIN] FREDELLE: So the next day, I told Mama: MAMA: [HAVING BEEN TOLD] Boris, Boris ... come quick .... Freidele is having an inspiration for a poem! PAPA: Cecely, please ... no more noise at the piano. Your sister writes! FREDELLE: And that was the end of Cecely's concert career and the start of my career as a writer! JOYCE: And what did you write? FREDELLE: Oh, you know, rhyming poems ... poems to my parents: "To me you are millions in silver and gold, Diamonds and rubies and riches untold." And my Papa ... your zayde ... would copy out each poem on vellum stationery and send it to the Star Phoenix. "By Freidele Bruser age 7. By Freidele Bruser age 8. By Freidele Bruser age 9. Certified original, B. Bruser, Father." And that's the story. Now to bed. JOYCE: [LAUGHS] Tell me another story ... one about Baba. FREDELLE: Well, your Baba is a wonderful cook. In those little towns, nobody baked like your Baba. Other women would make flat, pale, sugar cookies, and cakes like mashed potatoes, but Mama made meringues the colour of toasted almonds, and crumbly rich shortbread ... tortes layered with nut creams and Turkish delight ... and pillows of puff paste dusted with sugar .... And the ladies would always ask for the recipes, but the recipes would never turn out. At first, Mama was worried, and she would check: MAMA: You used a cup of chopped dates? FREDELLE: "Well, I used raisins" the women would say. MAMA: And three cups of butter. FREDELLE: "Oh yes ... well, no. Not exactly. Not Butter, Mrs. Bruser, butter's too dear. But I used lard. It's just as good." MAMA: Apricot and cherry jam? FREDELLE: [SHAKING HEAD] Dried apples. MAMA: Brazil nuts? FREDELLE: Puffed wheat. Until finally, Mama stopped giving out recipes. MAMA: What is the use? They don't have the feeling ... puffed wheat for nuts ... lard for butter .... There is no joy in them ... little one ... they have ... a goyish tam. FREDELLE AND JOYCE: [SAID WITH MAMA, DELIGHTED] A goyish tam. FREDELLE: And as she baked, she sang: [MAMA AND FREDELLE SING, MAMA IN YIDDISH, FREDELLE IN ENGLISH] MAMA: Unter Freidele's vegele Ligt eyn groys veys tsigele Tsigele iz geforen handlen Rozinkes mit mandlen FREDELLE: Under Freidele's little bed, A white goat lays his silken head. The goat goes tripping down the street To buy raisins and almonds for my sweet. JOYCE: [SLEEPILY] Mommy ... when I grow up ... can I be a writer too? FREDELLE: You can be anything you want, Joyce. JOYCE: Even a writer? FREDELLE: Especially a writer. Now go to sleep, little one. JOYCE: Good night, Mommy. FREDELLE: Good night. [JOYCE SLEEPS] FREDELLE: Sometimes, even now, a memory draws me back ... HAZEL SINGS: Oranges and lemons FREDELLE ... and I see Birch Hills, always in the dusky lavender light. Fireflies wink and fade and I smell crushed grass and clover and white, niteblooming tobacco .... OLAF SINGS: When I get rich FREDELLE: Someone calls "Run, quick!" All the others have made it, across no-man's land, to the safety of home, and in the sudden dark I hear the leader's cry: [ALL ACTORS JOIN HANDS ON ONE SIDE OF STAGE TO PLAY RED ROVER] HAZEL : Red rover, red rover We call Freidele over! FREDELLE: And I must go. Good night .... Good night. THE END

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