My friend Simone and I run to see. The soldiers came in big silver trailers. We watch them unload … beds and tables that unfold, shiny lanterns and stoves. The soldiers have boxes and boxes of food. They offer us candy. “Don’t take it!” adults have always warned us. “It might be poison.” But Simone and I take the sweets anyway. We almost never get candy, so we are willing to take a chance on being poisoned. I hide my candy from my mother and eat it alone. Anyway, I think people here worry too much about poisons, curses, and sickness. They protect themselves with herbs and leeches. Leeches are slimy worms. The villagers use them to suck out bad blood. The peasants also think that Jews bring bad luck. I try not to think about that. What would happen to us if they found out Mama and I are Jews? Maybe if I do more good deeds the saints will be on my side. God will send me a sign that everything will be all right. What happens next does not seem like a good sign. Kittens are born in our village.
