Droozy
was sent to boarding school at age nine. This was a Jewish Day School since
Jewish children were not permitted to attend the local public schools any more
in Germany. The
town of Niederstetten was about three hours away from the child’s family.
Droozy was very lonely there, especially since she had to leave her parents and
little brother behind. Sister Fanny was also in Niederstetten but she was
several years older than Droozy and therefore preferred her own friends. Droozy
was forced to sleep alone in a huge bed in the Stern household, while Fanny
slept in a room with another young girl, Lilly. After one night of this, Droozy
could stand it no more. She sobbed and sobbed uncontrollably and was finally
locked into her room, while Lilly and Fanny went strawberry picking with their
boarding parents. That night Droozy lay in bed and suddenly was overcome by a
choking sensation, an inability to swallow. Soon she felt as if she could no
longer breathe. When she cried out Mrs. Stern came rushing into the bedroom and
decided that Droozy would share the room with the other two girls. The twin beds
of Fanny and Lilly were pushed together and Droozy slept in the hollow in the
middle. The choking sensation disappeared, but was soon replaced by a scolding
from sister Fanny: “You nasty
brat, even here you had to follow me and spoil my fun.” The grating shrill
voice of sister was like music to Droozy’s lonely heart, and she exhaustedly
fell asleep. The
next day Fanny guided Droozy to the school principal to tell him that Droozy
wanted to be sent home at once because of her intense loneliness. The principal
comforted her and advised that there was no need to be lonely, as all of the
students of the boarding school were being sent to a Fair, at which the School
would be competing with other schools in races and games. This sounded very
exciting and temporarily Droozy rejoiced. At least she would have the
opportunity to ride with Fanny on the train to Stuttgart where the competition
was to take place. When
the children arrived at their destination, they were separated and placed with
various families who were to be hosts for the three day Fair period. Although
Droozy repeatedly telephoned sister Fanny, she eventually got used to her
temporary quarters, since Susie, the hostess’ child, shared a room with her
and talked with her for hours. At the Fair Droozy ran many races, hopped in a sack with her feet tied and ate nineteen bananas within a few minutes, becoming the banana eating champion of the day. The three days passed quickly and it was time to return to boarding school. Droozy waved farewell to her newly found friend and ascended the train which was headed for Niederstetten. The train was to pass through various small towns along the way, one of them being Droozy’s. When it slowed down in Crailsheim, Droozy hurriedly jumped off, leaving her suitcase behind. She ran all the way to her parents home. What a happy sight it was to see her parents and her brother again, never to return to the boarding school again! |
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