The Devil's Arithmetic

Hannah wakes up and hopes she is in the present. She misses her family in New Rochelle. Unfortunately for her, she remains in the past, where Shmuel tells her he is afraid to get married—not being married but getting married. Hannah thinks everyone has something that makes them afraid. Shots scare Hannah, and snakes frighten her mom. Shmuel laughs—there can’t be many snakes in Lublin. Hannah protests: She’s not from Lublin, a Polish city, but New Rochelle. Shmuel assumes New Rochelle is a street or avenue in Lublin, and Hannah tries to tell him otherwise. The exchange reinforces Shmuel’s impression of Hannah as a peculiar girl.

During breakfast, Hannah is upset that there’s no cereal, doughnuts, or white bread. The cream floating in her milk confuses her. Gitl says white bread is for rich people; she wonders if they put cream in the milk in Lublin; and she and her brother continue to tease her over New Rochelle.

Yitzchak arrives. He says Hannah looks like she’s feeling better. He has two cages of chickens—his wedding gift for Shmuel. They talk awkwardly about the wedding night. Shmuel says Gitl and Hannah will stay with Fayge’s family, so that Shmuel and his bride Fayge can have privacy.