We cried and cried, got tired, and finally became still from sheer
exhaustion. Presently a noise reached our ears, something like the
yelling of children. We thought it was another wagonload of boys
like ourselves. But soon we found out our mistake: it was but a
wagonload of sheep that were being taken to slaughter. . . .

Of course, we ate nothing the whole of that day, though the mothers
had not failed to provide us with food. Meanwhile the sun had set;
it got dark, and the boys who had been bound with ropes were
released by the guard: he knew they would not attempt to escape at
that time. We fell asleep, but every now and then one of the boys
would wake up, crying, quietly at first, then louder and louder.
Then another would join him; one more, and yet one more, till we all
were yelling in chorus, filling the night air with our bitter cries.
Even the guard could not stand it; he scolded us, and belabored us
with his whip. That crying of ours reminds me of what we read in
lamentations: "Weeping she hath wept in the night. . . ."

Morning came, and found us all awake: we were waiting for daylight.
We believed it would bring us freedom, that angels would descend
from Heaven, just as they had descended to our father Jacob, to
smite our guard and set us free. At the same time, the rising sun
brought us all a feeling of hunger. We began to sigh, each and
every one of us separately. But the noise we made did not amount
even to the barking of a few dogs or the cawing of a few crows.
That is what hunger can do. And when the guard had distributed
among us some of the food we had brought with us, we ate it with
relish, and felt satisfied. At the same time we began to feel the
discomfort we were causing one another, cooped up as we were in the