My Guardian Angel Read Online Free PDF Page A

take Muriel the bracelet she lent me. She wants it back.”
    My clogs clip-clop on the frost-hardened ground. Way up above my head, huge cotton-white clouds chase along, running much faster than I. Where are they going? When I see them race across the sky, I forget that I’m walking in the familiar narrow street of my hometown. I forget how bored I have been all afternoon. It’s as if the clouds are pulling me along after them. I feel as light and joyful as they are. On my wrist I feel Muriel’s bracelet. What an excellent excuse for escaping from the house!

VI
    Elvina is out of breath from running. When she finally bangs on Muriel’s front door, she already knows that something is wrong. The street is deserted and deadly silent, yet it is the middle of the day. Elvina can’t believe her eyes. No old basket weaver, no freshly baked buns, no apothecary, and no little donkey! There is nothing, not even the sound of voices. Doors and shutters are locked, and those that are usually open to display wares are sealed tight. A few dogs scavenge through piles of rubbish, delighted that for once nobody is chasing them away.
    Muriel opens the door. She looks astonished. “Didn’t they tell you not to go outside?” she asks.
    â€œYes, but I got bored. Look, I’ve brought you your bracelet.”
    â€œHow could you dare to leave home? Quick, come inside!”
    As soon as Elvina enters, Muriel hastily bolts the door. She is with her cousins Bella, a plump dark girl of fourteen who thinks of nothing but her approaching wedding, and the twins Naomi and Rachel. The two ten-year-olds are exactly alike, with untidy wisps of curly hair escaping from their thick, dark braids. Their bright eyes sparkle with mischief, reflecting personalities to match. The four girls are busy embroidering belts and munching walnuts.
    Elvina already regrets having come. “The men are all praying and fasting, and you are sitting here embroidering belts?”
    â€œWhat else are we supposed to do?”
    â€œFor one thing, you could try reading this week’s portion of the Torah.”
    Muriel gives Elvina a look that makes her blush with shame. Muriel hardly knows how to read, and her cousins, who live in a tiny village, know even less than she does. Elvina should be criticizing herself, not the other girls! What stopped her from taking out one of her father’s books this morning and reading a passage from the Bible or a psalm? That might have given her some comfort. It would have been better than running to her friend’s house and making spiteful remarks!
    Muriel turns to her cousins. “What did I tell you? Elvina is not satisfied with her lot. She would rather be a boy and spend her life at school. When she was little, her Aunt Rachel would do her chores for her while ‘Lady Elvina’ learned to read and write. So now she’s oh-so-proud of herself! At the synagogue, she understands when they read in Hebrew. She doesn’t need to listen to the translation they read for poor ignorant folk like us. It’s obvious she looks down on us.”
    â€œI don’t look down on you. It’s just that in
my
family women study. That’s all.”
    Muriel is now so close to Elvina that their noses are almost touching. Her eyes narrow with anger. “You are proud, and you
do
look down on us. But you’ll never find a husband. That’s what my mother says.”
    â€œThat depends on what kind of husband, doesn’t it? I shall marry a learned man!”
    â€œWhat you mean is, you won’t be like Bella, who is marrying a tradesman next summer!”
    â€œI mean nothing of the sort!”
    â€œAnd you won’t marry a furrier like my father, either!”
    â€œThat’s not what I mean!”
    â€œYes, it is!”
    Rachel and Naomi are standing on each side of the warring friends, keeping the score.
    â€œWatch out; they’re going to have a