"She’s been asking for des sucettes et des saucisses. Can you tell me what these words mean?”

Drip drop. Drip drop. Drip drop.

Shuly and I sat by the window. Would the rain ever stop?

We were bored. No school yet, no friends and no visitors to look forward to. Madame Chamberlaine was in town but she was staying with an old friend.

Ring!

“Can you get the phone, Shuly?” I asked.

She sighed. “I’m too tired and bored to stand up.”

“I know, me too.”

Ring!

I forced myself to get the phone.

“Hello?”

“Bonjour! Madame Chamberlaine?”

“Uh… non. This is not Madame Chamberlaine.”

“So, who are you?” the girl on the phone asked.

“Well, maybe you should first tell me who you are.”

“My name’s Fraidel Freidel. Are you Shuly?”

“No, I’m Shprintzy.”

“Bonjour Shprintzy!” Fraidel Freidel said. “I’m Fraidel Freidel.”

“I know, you told me that already four times.”

“Great. Let me tell you why I’m calling. My grandmother’s sister’s cousin came to spend Pesach with us, and she’s staying on for a bit. But we’re having a huge problem. She speaks French and she keeps asking for ‘des sucettes et des saucisses.’ We have no idea what they mean. Can you ask Madame Chamberlaine what these words mean?”

“I can try calling her.”

“Great. I’ll call you back soon. Bye!”

“Who was that?” Shuly asked from the window.

“A girl named Fraidel Freidel. She wants us to ask Madame what des sucettes et des saucisses mean.”

The sky was gray and cloudy and it was still raining.

“Hey, look!”

Coming our way was a pink umbrella! We saw a pink coat and pink high heels under the umbrella.

“It must be Madame Chamberlaine!” we both yelled as we ran to open the door.

“Bonjour, mes petites!” Madame said as she shook the rain off her umbrella.

“Can I make you something hot to drink?” I asked her.

“Merci beaucoup, but non! I want to make you something hot to drink!”

“Yum!”

We sat around the kitchen table. Madame heated milk and chocolate on the stove. She topped each mug with whip cream and cinnamon.

“This is gooooood stuff!” I said as I took a sip.

Ring!

“That must be Fraidel!” I said. “Madame, I forgot to tell you about her.”