The
odor from Mrs. Burkert’s apartment was tantalizing. Droozy leaped up the
stairs two and three at a time. At the door Mrs. Burkert stood rotund and jolly
with a big broad grin on her chubby face. She ushered her young visitor into the
apartment and sat her down in front of the large table which was covered with
flour, a rolling pin and a big round ball of dough. She divided the dough in
half, placing one part on a wooden board. This she cut into finger sized pieces
and placed them into a frying pan which was sizzling with lard. It was fun
watching these horn shaped portions come out crispy brown and delicious. Droozy
hungrily passed her tongue over her lips, making a smacking noise as she did so
- “mmmm”,
it smelled so good. When the kind lady offered the little one a morsel of these
tempting dumplings, Droozy forgot all about her very religious kosher upbringing
and the fact that she was forbidden foods prepared with pork products. Greedily
she gobbled up the cook’s gift and stood ready for more scrapings from the
pan. From
downstairs she heard her mother’s voice calling her. It was nearing the dinner
hour and it was time to run. With her mouth still stuffed, she took leave of her
hostess and ran back down the stairs. “What on earth are you eating?” came
the angry insistent voice of mother. With that, daughter suddenly remembered
that she had disobeyed and tasted of the forbidden food. The “necessary”
punishment immediately followed and Droozy had a difficult time sitting through
dinner that evening. Needless to say, she never tasted pork dumplings again. |
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