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I
AM GIMPEL the fool．I don’t think myself a fool．On the contrary．But
that’S what folks call me．They gave me the name while 1 was stillin
sch001．I had seven names in all：imbecile，
donkey，flax-head，dope，glump，ninny，and f001．The last name stuck．What did
my foolishness consist of?1 was easy to take in．They say，“Gimpel，you
know the rabbi’S wife has been brought to childbed?”So I skipped
sch001．Well，it turned out to be a lie．How was I supposed to know?She
hadn’t a big belly．But I never looked at her belly．Was that really SO
foolish?The gang laughed and heehawed，stomped and danced and chanted a
good-night prayer．And instead of the raisins they give when a woman’S
lying in；they stuffed my hand full of goat turds．1 was no weakling．If I
slapped someone he’d see all the way to Cracow．But I’m really not a
slugger by nature．I think to myself：Let it pass．So they take advantage
of me．
I was coming home from sch
ol and heard a dog barking．I’m
not afraid of dogs，but of course I never want to start up with them．0ne
of them may be mad，and if he bites there’s not a Tartar in the world who
can help you．So I made tracks．Then I looked around and saw the whole
market-place wild with laughter．1 was no dog at all but Wolf Leib the
Thief．How was I supposed to know it was he?It sounded like a howling
bitch．
When the pranksters and leg-pullers found that 1 was easy to fool，every one of them tried his
uck
with me．“Gimpel，the Czar is coming to Frampol；Gimpel，the moon fell down
in Turbeen；Gimpel，little Hodel Furpiece found a treasure behind the
bathhouse．” And I like a golem I believed everyone．In the first
place，everything is possible，as it is written in the Wisdom of the
Fathers．I’ve forgotten Just now．Second，I had to believe when the whole
town came down on me!If I ever dared to say，“Ah，you’re kidding!” there
was trouble．People got angry．“What do you mean!You want to call everyone
a liar?”What was I to do?I believed them，and I hope at least that did
them some good．
