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CHAPTER 2: QUEEN BETA'S PLAN

A week before Purim, Queen Beta decided to make a party for all the royalty from other kingdoms. When Princess Mireleh heard the plan she became very upset.

" I need this like a loch in kup," she bellowed, and started to nudge her mother about it.

"Oh Mama-- tateh is going to wear some ridiculous shmattah and look like a shlump..And he will be tsemisht as he always is. I know I will platz. I will be on shpilkes every second. With my mazel, he will fall on the food table and end up with shmutz all over his face."

Queen Beta turned to Princess Mireleh.

"Mein Klaine kinde," why are you making such a tareram? Your tateh is a bisel meshugge sometimes, I know. But it will not be a problem; Gloib mir, Mireleh!

"Look at the bright side," Queen Beta continued. "We will all be too busy having fun to notice your tateh! We will read parts of the Megillah and have a Purim play. There will be so much food, it will come our of our ears. And oh, how we will nosh hamentaschen--the best----baked by Milka Zaftic---ach! such a maivin with the pots and pans she is.

"But ma..." Princess Mireleh was interrupted by her mother who continued to talk about the party.

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"The children will be playing games, singing and dancing. Will they have time to notice your tateh?"

"But mama..."

"As for the kings--they will be busy with each other. feh! You know, Mireleh, mamaleh, all they do is sit and kibbitz about what is not their business! Hmmm, imagine, the chutzbeh! telling other kings how to run their kingdoms but when it comes to rulling their own??? They are shmendriks from Chelm, they are! Will they have time to be concerned about what your tateh is doing? I ask you?"

"But mam..."

"And the queens," continued Queen Beta..."They are such a bunch of yentehs with their bobbeh meissehs. They sit in a klotch and shmooz about ......... narishkeit --you know what I mean...and "

" BUT MAMA-" Princess Mireleh finally got a word in. " I always see you sitting with them . And I always hear you talking and laughing!"

Queen Beta did not pay any mind to Mireleh's last remark but said,"Be a mentsh, Mireleh. Once you are having a good time you will feel,well-- frailech. And stop kvetching already. There is no use hokking mir a tshynik about it. We are having the party and that's that!"

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