312
PARTISAN REVIEW
I saw in a dream, at once, Elka in her shrouds. She called
to
me, "What have you done, Gimpel?"
I said to her, "It's all your fault," and started to cry.
"You fool!" she said. "You fool! Because I was false
is
every–
thing false too? I never deceived anyone but myself. I'm paying for
it
all, Gimpel. They spare you nothing here."
I looked at her face. It was black. I was startled and waked, and
remained sitting dumb. I sensed that everything hung in the balance.
A false step now and I'd lose etemallife. But God gave me His hdp.
I seized the long shovel and took out the loaves, carried them
into
the yard and started to dig a hole in the frozen earth. My apprentice
came back as I wa<; doing it. "What are you doing, boss?" he said,
and grew pale as a corpse.
"I know what I'm doing," I said, and I buried it all under
his
very eyes.
Then I went home, took my hoard from its hiding place, and
divided it among the children.
"I saw your mother tonight," I said. "She's growing very dark,
poor thing."
They were so astounded, they couldn't speak a word.
"Be well," I said, "and forget that such a one as Gimpel ever
existed." I put on my short coat, a pair of boots, took the bag which
held my prayer shawl in one hand, my stick in the other and kissed
the
M essuzah.
When people saw me in the street they were greatly
surprised.
"Where are you going?" they said.
I answered, "Into the world." And so I departed from Frampol.
I wandered over the land, and good people did not neglect me.
After many years I became old and white, I heard a great deal,
many lies and falsehoods, but the longer I lived the more I understood
that there were really no lies. Whatever doesn't really happen
is
dreamed at night. It happens to one if it doesn't happen to another,
tomorrow if not today, or a century hence
if
not next year. What
difference can it make? Often I heard tales of which I said,
"Now
this is a thing that cannot happen." But before a year had elapsed,
I heard that it actually had come to pass somewhere. Even sheer
inventions have their truth.
Going from place to place, eating at strange tables, it often
