Page 21 - Devil's Arithmetic by Jane Yolen

kitchen table away from the grown-ups. And Grandpa
Will wouldn't be there shouting and making a scene,
only Grandpa Dan. Sweet, gentle, silly Grandpa Dan,
who told stories in between the readings and said things
like "How do I know? I was there!"
Beside her, Aaron was moving restlessly, getting ready
to ask the Second Question. With the yarmulke cov-
ering his fair hair, he looked like a miniature Grandpa
Will. Hannah almost laughed aloud remembering what
Rosemary had asked at her first—and only—holiday
visit: "Why do they wear those beanies?"
Aaron's hands shook and a page in the Haggadah
flipped over by itself. Hannah reached out and smoothed
it back for him and he smiled up at her gratefully. He
has the greatest smile, Hannah thought. He won't need
braces,
"Stop Worrying," she mouthed at him.
At her urging, he plunged into the Second Question,
chanting the Hebrew perfectly because he'd memorized
it. But when he looked down at the book to read the
English translation, he stumbled over the word herb,
pronouncing the h. Uncle Sam snorted and Aaron
stopped, mortified. He looked around the table. Every-
one was smiling at him. It was clear that he'd made
some silly mistake, but he didn't know what it was he'd
done. He turned helplessly to Hannah.
" 'Erb," she corrected with a whisper. "Don't pro-
nounce the h."
He nodded gratefully and started on the English again,
finishing too loudly and in a rush, a sure sign he was
unhappy. "On all other nights we eat vegetables and