Panorama (15 page)

Kreibidi the cat also sits next to the stove, lazy and fat and purring throughout the evening, while during the day she spends most of her time in the yard chasing the chickens and the pigeons, after which Kreibidi hides in the granary or in the hayloft, where there are lots of mice, though Arthur says she rarely catches a mouse, because she gets too much to eat already, but Poldi is very fond of Kreibidi and constantly gives her milk, Kreibidi becoming so used to it that she hardly even sniffs at the potato placed in front of her instead. Foxy is also around, though he is not a proper dog breed but rather a village mutt. Completely black, Foxy is always running around, but he’s not allowed in the store, and whenever someone catches him there he’s immediately chased off, for there’s nothing for a dog in the store, Leopold the one who usually has to send him packing, as he’s the one who is in the store the most, he opening the kitchen door and yelling at Foxy to get out, Leopold giving him a light kick as he goes through the door, not to hurt him but so that he knows that he shouldn’t be in the store. Then Leopold quickly closes the door, for otherwise Foxy would come straight back in, since Foxy is not that afraid of Leopold and is completely tame, sniffing anyone who comes along, his tail wagging, never barking or biting.

Foxy’s best friend is Otto, who often plays with him by the hour, the two of them rolling around the ground or on the sofa until Otto is completely filthy and someone has to give him a vigorous scrubbing. Foxy lets Otto do whatever he wants, even if he grabs him by the snout or lightly steps on his
tail, only yelping when someone steps on his paw, after which Foxy needs to be petted and calmed down, everyone happy to do so, even Herr Neumann, despite having hardly enough time. Poldi gives Foxy his food, but in a different dish than Kreibidi, though neither pays attention to the other, nor does either take anything from the other’s dish, since each has plenty to eat already. Everyone tosses Foxy the tastiest bits, though Rudolf doesn’t, for he says that to overfeed a dog is the same as animal cruelty, and Foxy has too much to eat already, and if Rudolf had his own dog he’d make sure to properly train him so that he didn’t always run around and bark, as well as make sure that he was a proper dog rather than a street dog like Foxy. Rudolf, in fact, is right about Foxy being badly raised, for he’s only been given a name and taught to put out both paws when someone calls out, “Foxy, give us a paw! Foxy, give us the other paw!” Sometimes Foxy goes along with Josef out to the fields or into the meadow, sometimes running ahead, but only rarely, and even then he stays only a little while, instead running around for a while and he’s gone before you know it, though there’s no need to worry, for Foxy always finds his way home.

When there’s a lot to do, sometimes Praxel comes to help. She is the woman who lives in a shed down by the train station. Praxel is a terribly nice woman, sweet as they come, but she is afraid because she lives alone and has no one in the world, her husband having died long ago, as well as two children, both of whom died from scarlet fever in the same week, Praxel’s heart remaining empty ever since. She is poor and has only her little hut with a tiny yard and a patch of garden, as well as a goat that provides her with milk, and four chickens, these all the animals that she owns. But since Praxel is so afraid because she lives alone, it happened that one night around 10
P.M
. there was a loud pounding at the door, such that everyone thought there was a fire in Umlowitz and that Arthur should come, since he is a member of the volunteer fire department, but there was no fire. Otto had already been put to bed, while Josef was reading an old book that Herma had lent him, which was called
The Adventures of Draga Maschin
, an exciting story of the Serbian queen, and Herr Neumann had just been reading the paper and smoking a pipe, while Rudolf was away, and Herma was writing a letter to Erwin, as well as a note to Josef’s parents to let them know how he was doing, since he didn’t want to write anything more than a brief hello. Meanwhile Fritz was
also at home and sitting at the table with tubes of saccharin and a jar of confectioner’s sugar, as he continually emptied a tube of saccharin onto a piece of paper and then mixed in some confectioner’s sugar, after which he filled the tube again with the mixture, so that there was always some saccharin left over, which Fritz then set aside, the saccharin having come from over the border. Yet Poldi was also there, reading her
Farmer’s Almanac
on her stool, Arthur having lain down on the couch because he was tired, and only looking on at what the others were doing, the pounding on the door so loud that everyone rushed about, Arthur jumping to his feet, while the others stopped what they were doing and Poldi called out that she would go see what was the matter, and no sooner had she left than Fritz and Arthur followed, only to hear Praxel yelling that it was she, Praxel, and could they open the door quickly, at which Poldi turned the heavy key, which Josef was never able to turn in the lock, then threw back the bolt and opened the door.

Praxel then ran straight into the kitchen, her hair undone and herself pale as a ghost, her whole body trembling. She also wasn’t properly dressed and had on only a slip and a blouse that she always wore to bed, while because she hadn’t been able to untie her head scarf, she had run out with it in her hand. And now Praxel was standing there in the kitchen unable to say a word because she was so upset, everyone immediately asking her what had happened, all of them circling round her, Poldi and Herma helping her to pull herself together, making sure that Praxel took a chair and sat down. Then Praxel yelled out that there were robbers, though she couldn’t quite say it right, so that no one understood what kind of robbers she meant, or where, everyone asking at the same time as Arthur said that Praxel needed to calm down a bit, otherwise no one could understand what was going on. She replied by saying that she couldn’t calm down, because it was a disaster, and then that they were poor people who had nothing, and that it was a disgrace, for she was an old widow who had never harmed a hair on anyone’s head, and that everything had been taken from her, just as she was about to go to sleep and blow out the candle, that’s when she heard noises, though she had thought it was nothing, after which she blew out the candle and got into bed, but then she heard something again, her heart starting to pound, since after the war there were so many bad characters about, God forgive them, and then she heard a plate break, at which she gathered her courage
and ran out of the room and into the kitchen. Soon as the robbers heard her they were gone out the window, though Praxel couldn’t run after them, they were young boys who were as quick as rabbits, carrying nothing on them but what they found in the dark, though she did start to run as fast she had ever run in her life, all the while calling out, “Robbers! Robbers!”

At this Praxel could say no more, for she was trembling so and couldn’t catch her breath, Herr Neumann asking if she wanted a schnapps, though Herma said that Praxel didn’t need any schnapps but rather strong coffee and something to eat, while Praxel herself said “coffee.” Poldi then went straight to the oven, the fire almost having died out, only a few hot coals remaining, though Poldi said that she would use some kindling to get the fire going again, and that what had happened to Praxel was outrageous, Poldi already having placed some kindling in the oven, a large fire soon following, at which she put on water for coffee. Praxel said that she would die of fright, though Herma reassured her that there was nothing to be afraid of here, since all the men were there, Arthur and Fritz, who could handle anyone, she just needed to calm down and not get herself so worked up, for she needed to think of her heart. Tonight it would be best if Praxel slept here on the sofa, and if she was still afraid tomorrow they would set up a bed for her in the room where Otto and Poldi sleep, since there is a free bed there, though Praxel kept on about what a burden she would be. If she had been younger the robbers wouldn’t have gotten away, she would have thrown a pot of hot water and her clogs at them, doing anything she could to chase off those bandits. But she hadn’t been able to do anything, and there was nothing to stop them from coming back, which meant that Praxel could never feel at ease in her little hut, and that she was only glad that she could now stay with Herr Neumann.

Herr Neumann said that it was a terrible shame, but there was also no reason she couldn’t stay as long as she felt nervous, after which he asked her if she had anything in the kitchen that the robbers might want to take, to which Praxel said that she didn’t think there was anything there, because the little bit of money she had was hidden in her room, for she never left it out of her reach at night. Praxel kept her money in a yellow change purse that she always took with her to bed and placed under the pillow, sleeping tight against it so that no one could take it away, for she would surely wake up if
they tried, though it was possible that the robbers had taken the goat and the hens. Meanwhile Herr Neumann said that Praxel shouldn’t worry anymore about it, for if someone had taken anything from her he would replace it, there was no reason to worry at all. Tears then welled up in Praxel’s eyes and she said that Herr Neumann had always been so good to her, as had the late Frau Neumann, God bless her, and that God in heaven would surely grant Herr Neumann entry into paradise someday. Then Fritz said that he wasn’t afraid, and he grabbed a knife and an iron bar and was ready to head out for Praxel’s cabin, much to Josef’s surprise, though Fritz was always ready for any challenge, and he’d already told Arthur that he should come along, for they had to see what the robbers had taken, and for that they needed a storm lantern from the dairy. Arthur replied that he was ready to go, but that first they should alert the police in order that they know exactly what had happened to Praxel, Arthur suggesting they stop at police headquarters first and bring one of them along, though Fritz didn’t want to bother and said that Arthur didn’t have enough faith in him, at which Arthur laughed, and Herr Neumann said that Fritz was being dumb, Arthur was right, that’s what the police are for, and Arthur should go straight to them.

Arthur then put on his jacket, but didn’t take his cap, while Fritz stayed behind, for Arthur could go to the police on his own, and Praxel had already said how good it was of Arthur to do so, since the police should be the ones to catch the robbers. By then Poldi had finished making the coffee and Herr Neumann lit a pipe, pointing a finger at Fritz and motioning for him to sit down at the table, but in such a way that Praxel didn’t notice, Fritz understanding immediately, at which he cleared the saccharin and the sugar from the table, for the business with the saccharin was a shortcut to trouble, as it wasn’t legal to mix it with sugar. Nonetheless Poldi had pressed a large cup of coffee into Praxel’s hands, followed by three heaping spoons of sugar, leaving the spoon in the cup so that Praxel could stir it well, although she was still so upset that she completely forgot to stir her coffee, her hand jiggling the cup so that she spilled a bit of coffee, though not that much. Herma then stirred it for her and said that Praxel should drink some while the coffee was still hot, it would do her good, after which Herma asked Praxel if she didn’t want a little something to eat, Praxel answering that she
didn’t want anything, though Herma didn’t believe her and gave Poldi the sign to bring something. Poldi understood straight off and cut a large slice of bread and spread it with goose lard, since they’d just had some goose lard themselves, Poldi handing the piece of bread to Praxel, who indeed ate it, taking a big bite of it, while whenever Praxel forgot to eat Herma was there to remind her, until Praxel had eaten enough, at which Poldi brought her a second cup of coffee.

By then Arthur was already back, along with two armed police officers, to whom he had explained everything, though they still asked Praxel about everything that had happened, she telling it all once again, just what had happened, after which the police asked if she could give them her key so that they wouldn’t have to break in or climb through the window. Praxel began to look for it, and was immediately shocked to realize that she had left it in the door, such that she was completely beside herself. The police cautioned how unwise it was to do that, for Praxel should have locked the door and taken the key with her, but Praxel shouted that she ran off as fast as she could, which was why she had forgotten everything, at which she remembered that she had left her change purse under her pillow. Praxel then began to weep bitterly, for by now it was all gone for sure, the cup of coffee falling out of her hand, the coffee spilling onto the floor and the cup breaking. Everyone then comforted Praxel, laying her back down on the sofa, the police saying that usually robbers didn’t immediately return to the scene of the crime once they had been scared off, because they would be afraid to, though the police were ready to head over to the cabin, Arthur and Fritz accompanying them, as everyone wished them luck as they left.

After this Praxel calmed down a bit, as everyone wished her well before heading off to bed, even Herr Neumann, though Josef wanted to stay up, but Herma said it was already midnight and Poldi should go to bed, Herma would sit up with Praxel so that she wouldn’t be afraid, while the two of them would wait for Arthur and Fritz to return with the police, Herma promising Josef that she would tell him all about it in the morning, but now he had to go to bed. The next morning Herma did indeed fill him in, telling him that no trace of the robbers had been found, and that nothing had been stolen from Praxel, the key was still in the lock, the purse was under the pillow,
even the goat and the chickens were there, and only two plates broken in the kitchen, which Herr Neumann would pay for in order that Praxel would not suffer any more than she already had. Praxel stayed with them for three nights, after which she said she felt it was safe to go home. Arthur brought her a padlock from the store, Leopold having searched for it, and it was arranged for Praxel to get a dog that would keep a lookout so that she wouldn’t have to be afraid anymore, everything finally working out for Praxel, though she remained afraid and made sure to lock herself in at night.