All the while, Srulik had been nodding sympathetically. Now and then he smiled. When Stutchnik finally paused, he put in a word of his own.

“As usual, you’re slightly exaggerating. Looking through dark glasses, you might say. There’s no reason to despair. We’ve been through worse times, and thank God we’re still here. There’ve always been crises and always will be, but don’t think for a minute we’ve reached the end of the road.”

“Na! You’re a regular saint. You needn’t talk to me the way you talked to the schoolchildren at that assembly. I can do without the propaganda. My eyes are wide open, and it’s time yours were too. Besides, you’re crazy to be out without a hat on. Who walks around like that in the middle of winter?”

“I’m not walking around, old man. I’m on my way to our group. Just don’t forget that the days you’re so nostalgic for weren’t always so great either. We had our share of failures and embarrassments and even scandals. You are right, though. Why are we standing in this freezing wind? Let’s go see if anyone remembered to light the heater in the recreation hall. Maybe our guest lecturer has arrived. I believe he’s talking about Martin Buber. Look how dark it is at four-thirty! Worse than Siberia!”

Every evening it was the custom of some members of the kibbutz to gather in various study groups or participate in meetings that deliberated at length about the budget, education, health services, housing, and acceptance of new members, seeking modest ways to make gradual improvements without rocking the boat. Still others spent the evening with their hobbies—painting, embroidering, or stamp collecting—or dropping in on their neighbors for coffee and cake and a discussion of the latest politics and gossip. There were also, however, singles and young couples who preferred staying up late while passing around a bottle, playing cards or backgammon, and telling salty jokes enlivened by old war memories.

On one such night Udi said to Etan R., “Good for them! Bravo! Why shouldn’t they? Isn’t the Bible full of such stories? To say nothing of our own old folks when they were young. When they weren’t draining the desert or watering the swamps and all that. Life isn’t a fairy tale. Yoni once said that the most colossal fraud in the world was Snow White and her seven dwarfs. I mean the lies they told us when we were little about what went on between them after she’d spaced out on that apple. So what do you want of Rimona? After all, she’s just started on her second dwarf. Come to think of it, Etan, how about bringing your private harem over there one night, letting me and Anat join you, and all of us having a ball together?”