Droozy
met Miss Freedman on the street. Miss Freedman was a friend of the Abner family,
a very genteel, kind and friendly lady who had a genuine liking for children.
Miss Freedman had a brother in the United States of whom she told many
interesting stories, especially about his adventures in the foreign land in
which he was residing. “How
would you like to own an American calendar?” asked the spinster of Droozy. It
was one that her brother had sent her with authentic English writing on it. This
was very exciting for the little girl and she nodded her head shyly, indicating
that she would be only too happy to have it. Miss Freedman opened her oversized
purse and there, folded in half, was the calendar which she generously handed
over. Droozy thanked the lady profusely and skipped merrily home. At
last Droozy had something that no one else in the family owned. She decided to
show it only to her favorite family members and would omit her sister, of whom
she was terribly jealous. First she very fleetingly showed it to her mother,
half covering it with her hand in order to avoid unwanted onlookers. She next
took aside her beloved father, who assured the girl that he would place it into
safekeeping for her. He would hide it on top of the high wooden cabinet in the
bedroom, thus keeping sister Fanny from seeing it. Father went into the bedroom
and Fanny followed him. Through the keyhole Droozy could see that he was showing
her precious possession to Fanny. Papa had betrayed her trust. Droozy screamed
and shouted, jumped up and down with anger and had a full fledged temper
tantrum. Her father cautioned her to stop this, but to no avail. The anger
persisted and Droozy continued to misbehave. Finally Mr. Abner took his daughter
by the scruff of the neck, dragged her up the stairs to the attic and walloped
her with a board, which was handily standing in a corner. Droozy’s hand had
gotten in the way and was soon swelling from a heavy blow which had landed
there. Her father left her there to scream and closed the door behind her. By
this time Droozy was so enraged that she tore the clothing from the line, which
her mother had hung up there to dry. From
below, Droozy could hear the songs of the Sabbath meal, which was in progress.
When the meal had been carried to the table her mother called out: “All right,
fat head, come down to eat.” Droozy had a difficult time doing this but after
some time had passed she slowly dragged one foot after another down the stairs,
and with a tear-stained face she sat lopsidedly down on a chair. She was totally
uninterested in the noodle soup and chicken which usually tasted so good. No one
at the table spoke to her and she was treated like “air”. Droozy sat quietly
sobbing, reluctantly “slurping” her soup, which seemed flavorless to her.
What hurt Droozy more than anything was that her father, whom she loved so much,
had disappointed and betrayed her. |
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