I am Gimpel the Fool.I don't consider myself a fool.Quite the opposite.But people call me a fool.They gave me that nickname when I was in school.I have seven nicknames in total: imbecile, jackass, flaxhead, dork, bitter, chump and fool.The last nickname is fixed.What am I so stupid about?I am gullible.They said, "Gimpel, do you know that the rabbi's wife has children?" So I skipped school once.Alas, it turned out to be a lie, how would I know?Her belly is not big, but I have never paid attention to her belly.Am I really that stupid?The crowd laughed and shouted, stomped and danced, and sang good night prayers.Instead of giving me raisins when a woman gave birth, they stuffed my hands with sheep dung.I'm not weak, and if I punch someone, I'll send him to Krakow.However, I really don't like to beat people by nature.I thought to myself, forget it.So they played tricks on me.

I come home from school and I hear a dog barking, I'm not afraid of dogs, of course I never want to startle them.Maybe one of them is a mad dog, and if it bites you, no Tartar in the world can help you.So, I slipped away.Then I looked back and saw the whole market laughing.There is no dog at all, but Wolf Leib the thief.How do I know it's him?His voice was like a howling bitch. When the pranksters and pranksters saw how gullible I was, every one of them tried his luck on me. "Gimpel, the Tsar is coming to Frampole; Gimpel, the moon has fallen to Thorpin; Gimpel, little Hodel. Phoebes has found a treasure behind the bathhouse." I like A robot trusts everyone.First, everything is possible, just as it is written in "The Wisdom of the Ancestors", but I have forgotten what it said in the book.Second, the whole town treats me like this, so I have to believe it!If I dare say, "Hey, you guys are lying to me!"People will all fly into a rage. "What do you mean? You bite, everyone will be regarded as a lie?" "What should I do?"I believe what they say, and I hope at least it does them a little favor.

I am an orphan.The grandfather who raised me was about to die.So they handed me over to a baker, and what a life I lived there!Every woman or girl who comes to bake a pan of pancakes has tricked me at least once. "Gimpel, there is a bazaar in heaven; Gimpel, the rabbi reared a calf in the seventh month; Gimpel, a cow flew up to the roof and laid many copper eggs." A Judaizer A student from the school once came to buy bread, and he said: "Gimpel, when you were shoveling the pan with your baker's spade, the savior came. The dead have risen." "What are you talking about?" I said, "I didn't hear anyone blowing the shofar!" He said, "Are you deaf?" In her hoarse voice she called out: "Gimpel, your parents have risen from their graves, and they are looking for you."

In truth, I am perfectly aware that nothing of the kind happened; but, while people were talking, I still hurriedly put on my woolen vest and went out.Maybe something happened and I went to see what would be the loss?Well, everyone laughed so hard!I swear I don't believe anything, but that doesn't work either.They confuse me because I can't tell the difference between thick and thin. I went to the rabbi for advice.He said: "It is written in the Holy Book that it is better to be a fool for a lifetime than to be evil for an hour. You are not a fool, they are. For he who dishonors his neighbor will lose heaven himself." However, the rabbis My daughter told me to be fooled.As I was leaving the rabbi's altar, she said, "Have you kissed the wall yet?" I said, "No, what?" She replied, "It's the rule; you must kiss after every visit." Wall." "Well, it didn't seem to do any harm. Then she burst out laughing. It was a good prank, and she did it well, yes.

I'm leaving here for another city.But at this time, everyone was busy making matches for me, and followed me, almost tearing off the hem of my coat.They pinned me to talk and talk, splashing all the saliva on my ears.The woman was not a chaste girl, but they told me she was a pure virgin.She walks with a little limp, and they say it's because she's shy, on purpose.She had an illegitimate child, who they told me was her little brother.I yelled, "You're wasting your time, I'll never marry that bitch." But they said indignantly, "What kind of talk are you doing! Aren't you shy yourself? I can take you to the rabbi Go there, and you'll bring her a bad name, and you'll have to pay a fine." Then I saw that I couldn't get rid of them so easily.I think they were determined to make me their laughing stock.But when married, the husband is the master, and if it is good for her to say that, it is also a pleasure for me.Besides, the fact that you can't live your life without damage is something you don't have to think about.

I went up to her mud house built on the sand, and the group of people shouted and sang and followed me.They behave like jugglers.When they reached the well, they stopped together.They were afraid of dealing with Elka.Her mouth seemed to be on a hinge, eloquent and sharp.I went into the house, and ropes were stretched from wall to wall, and clothes were hanging on the ropes.She stood barefoot beside the tub, washing clothes.She was wearing a tattered old plush gown.Her hair was braided and crossed on top of her head.The stench of his hair almost took my breath away. Apparently she knew who I was, and she looked at me and said, "Look, who's coming! Here he is, the bastard. Sit down."

I told her everything and denied nothing. "Tell me the truth," I said, "I'm really a virgin, and is that naughty Yecher really your little brother? Don't lie to me, for I'm an orphan." "I'm an orphan myself," she replied, "and anyone who tries to play tricks on you will have the tip of his nose crooked. They don't want to take advantage of me. I want a dowry of fifty guilders, and they will give me Raise some money. Otherwise, let them kiss my thing." She was very candid.I said, "It's the bride who pays the dowry, not the groom." So she said, "Don't haggle with me. Just say yes, or no - or you'll go back where you came from."

I thought: You can't bake bread with "this" dough.But our town is not a poor place, and people agree to everything and prepare for the wedding.It happened that dysentery was prevalent at that time.The wedding ceremony took place at the gate of the cemetery, next to the small mortuary.People are getting drunk.When the marriage contract was signed, the most noble and pious rabbi asked, "Is the bride a widow or a divorced woman?" The wife of the synagogue deacon answered for her, "Both a widow and a divorced." This is a bad luck to me. time.But what shall I do, escape from under the wedding canopy?

Singing, dancing, there is an old lady holding a buttered white bread opposite me.The host of the ceremony sang "God Merciful" in honor of the bride's parents.Schoolboys throw burrs as on Temple Day.After the congratulatory address there was a host of presents: a rolling board, a kneading trough, a bucket, brooms, spoons, and many household items.Later, I saw two burly young men come in carrying a crib. "What do we want this for?" I asked.So they said, "Don't worry about that. It's a good thing. It's going to come in handy." I realized I was being lied to.On the other hand, however, what have I to lose?I pondered: Let's see how it turns out.The whole town couldn't be all mad.