The
small town of Bad Mergentheim in which Droozy was born was as beautiful as a
picture postcard. It had a big park in which you could stroll for hours.
Travelers would come from all over Europe to vacation there and to drink the
healing waters of the sulfur springs. These waters were said to be healthy and
would help people with all sorts of illnesses like stomach, kidney and liver
problems. Droozy would sometimes walk there with her parents on a weekend
afternoon. There
were also many little shops in the town; they were all around Droozy’s house.
There was a bakery which sent wonderful smells of fresh baked rolls and bread
through the air. There was a butcher shop, a candy and ice cream and pastry
place, a pharmacy, a tavern, and many other interesting stores. Of course, there
was the Abners’ shoe store, which sold boots and all kinds of sturdy shoes for
children and adults. Farmers would come from neighboring villages and towns to
buy work boots and shoes for themselves and their families. There was also
another shoe store, “Iggersheimers”, a short distance from the other shops
which was stocked with fancier and more expensive shoes. Some
distance away was the schoolhouse. It was scary. Sister Fanny didn’t mind it. She didn’t seem to care when morning came and it was time to get up,
get ready and go to school. One day Droozy was taken there to attend
kindergarten. With heavy steps she held on to her mothers hand and walked the
short distance to school. She said goodbye to Mama and entered the classroom
where many children were already sitting at desks with chairs attached. Droozy
stood for a time near the door and after a few moments while children were
coming in, she stepped out. She hid behind a wall outside of the classroom. When
the door opened to let some more students in, Droozy quietly mixed with the
crowd and slipped out the door. Once outside and away from the building she ran
as fast as she could away from that hateful place called school. To Droozy it
seemed like a jail, a prison After
leaving the school Droozy went past the pastry shop and breathed in the
delicious aroma of those artfully decorated cakes. What she liked best were the
“marauds”, chocolate covered pastries with mounds of whipped cream peering
out of the top. She could just taste them in her mind’s eye as her mouth
watered. She walked past the colorful stalls with the fresh looking apples,
pears and grapes and past the pharmacy with its large window which contained a
small bronze scale which gleamed in the sunlight. Finally Droozy stopped in
front of the fancy shoe store. There was a display of the most beautiful shoes
she had ever seen, beige and red sandals and a pair of black patent leather
children shoes with straps and a button to close them, not the ugly high tie
shoes which she had on her feet, and which she had gotten from her parents’
store. She stood in front of that window for a long time and when people came by
she would point to all of those elegant shoes and say: Pretty shoes, pretty
shoes! It was not too long before Droozy was hungry. She slowly walked home. Her parents had not noticed her missing because by this time all other children had gone home from school as well. Much later Droozy’s parents learned of their young daughter’s adventures and that she had advertised the shoes of their competitor’s store. |
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