Aunt
Mathilde was Mrs. Abner’s only remaining sister. The two ladies were very
different from one another. Sophie (Mrs. Abner) looked like a real Mama. She was
round, a bit chubby, had curly black hair, which she wore in braids pinned
around her head, and a generally optimistic disposition. Tante Mathilde, as she
was called by the family, was very thin, with almost blond hair, and with a very
pessimistic view. Both ladies were artistic. Mathilde won prizes for her
artwork, her drawings and paintings while Sophie was able to make the violin
sing. Droozy
liked taking walks with her aunt. She enjoyed accompanying her, brother Benjy
and sister Ruth to the park. Sometimes when their mother was along they would
stop at “Linke Hoffmans,” a place where they would get an ice cream cone.
The ice cream was colorful, either yellow like lemon, orange or a mixture. The
ice cream tasted like sherbet and was it delicious. It was served in cones that
looked like ships. Often
Aunt Mathilde would become frugal - very saving. She was afraid that the whole
family would starve to death and there would be no more food for her nieces,
nephew, her sister, or herself. At such times she would be found saving
hard-boiled eggs in a cupboard and would wait until they turned green and
smelled bad before she would bring them out and eat them. She was always saving
for a rainy day. Mathilde rarely enjoyed anything while it was still fresh and
good. One
day while Droozy was watching she saw Aunt Mathilde sink her teeth into a hard
piece of bread. With that bite one of her aunt’s teeth fell out. Droozy bit
the inside of her cheek to keep herself from laughing. She did hope that this
experience would teach Auntie a lesson, that she would eat food while it was
still fresh and good. |
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