"Guess what I can do if I like."
"What can you do?"
"If I like, all your nuts will belong to me."
"Will you win them off me?"
"We shall not even begin to play."
"Then you will take them from me?"
"No, they will come to me of themselves."
She lifts her beautiful blue eyes to me--her beautiful, blue, "Song of
Songs" eyes. I say to her:
"You think I am jesting. Little fool, I know certain magic words."
She opens her eyes still wider. I feel big. I explain myself to her,
like a great man, a hero:
"We boys know everything. There is a boy at school. Sheika the blind
one, we call him. He is blind of one eye. He knows everything in the
world, even '_Kaballa_.' Do you know what '_Kaballa_' is?"
"No. How am I to know?"
I am in the seventh heaven because I can give her a lecture on
"_Kaballa_."
"'_Kaballa_,' little fool, is a thing that is useful. By means of
'_Kaballa_' I can make myself invisible to you, whilst I can see you. By
means of '_Kaballa_' I can draw wine from a stone, and gold from a wall.
By means of '_Kaballa_' I can manage that we two shall rise up into the
clouds, and even higher than the clouds."
* * *
To rise up in the air with Busie, by means of "_Kaballa_," into the
clouds, and higher than the clouds, and fly with her far, far over the
ocean--that was one of my best dreams. There, on the other side of the
ocean, live the dwarfs who are descended from the giants of King David's
time. The dwarfs who are, in reality, good-natured folks. They live on
sweets and the milk of almonds, and play all day on little flutes, and
dance all together in a ring, romping about. They are afraid of nothing,
and are fond of strangers. When a man comes to them from our world, they
give him plenty to eat and drink, dress him in the finest garments, and
load him with gold and silver ornaments. Before he leaves, they fill his
pockets with diamonds and rubies which are to be found in their streets
like mud in ours.
"Like mud in the streets? Well!" said Busie to me when I had told her
all about the dwarfs.
"Do you not believe it?"
"Do you believe it?"
"Why not?"
"Where did you hear it?"
"Where? At school."
"Ah! At school."
The sun sank lower and lower, tinting the sky with red gold. The gold
was reflected in Busie's eyes. They were bathed in gold.
* * *
I want very much to surprise Busie with Sheika's tricks which I can
imitate by means of "_Kaballa_." But they do not surprise her. On the
contrary, I think they amuse her. Why else does she show me her
pearl-white teeth? I am a little annoyed, and I say to her:
"Maybe you do not believe me?"
Busie laughs.
"Maybe you think I am boasting? Or that I am inventing lies out of my
own head?"
Busie laughs louder. Oh, in that case, I must show her. I know how. I
say to her:
"The thing is that you do not know what '_Kaballa_' means. If you knew
what '_Kaballa_' was you would not laugh. By means of '_Kaballa_,' if I
like, I can bring your mother here. Yes, yes! And if you beg hard of me,
I will bring her this very night, riding on a stick."
All at once she stops laughing. A cloud settles on her beautiful face.
And I imagine that the sun has disappeared. No more sun, no more day! I
am afraid I went a little too far. I had no right to pain her--to speak
of her mother. I am sorry for the whole thing. I must wipe it out. I
must ask her forgiveness. I creep close to her. She turns away from me.
I try to take her hand. I wish to say to her in the words of the "Song
of Songs": "'Return, return, O Shulamite!' Busie!" Suddenly a voice
called from the house:
"Shemak! Shemak!"