Page 104 - Devil's Arithmetic by Jane Yolen

calling out, "Schnell! Into the next room. You must
have clothes." She turned abruptly, signaling with her
hand. For the first time Hannah noticed that she had
only three fingers on her right hand.
/ wonder how she lost those fingers, Hannah thought.
Was she born that way? Then remembered she was not
going to think. She rose with the others and shuffled
out of the room after them.
For the first time, Hannah allowed herself to feel
hungry. But when she began to wonder about when
they might be fed, the still, small voice reminded her,
Don't think, do. She reached out and found the hand
of one of the children. Silently she squeezed the child's
hand for comfort.
The room they were herded into was a small, low-
ceilinged place with a single window high up under the
eaves. It reminded Hannah of an attic somewhere, she
couldn't remember where. An unadorned light bulb
dangled down over several long wooden tables piled
high with rags.
"Shmattes!" whispered a woman behind Hannah in
a hoarse voice.
"Choose!" bellowed the three-fingered woman in blue.
"Schnell!"
Hannah took her turn at one of the tables and started
to paw through the clothes. They were ragged and worn
and smelled peculiar, with a lingering, dank odor, part
old sweat and part something else Hannah did not even
want to guess at. She hesitated.
"Choose, Jews. You cannot be fancy now." ]
Don't think. Do. Hannah put her hand onto the pile

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