Shuly and I walked down the block. When we reached the corner, we turned down a long, narrow path. At the end of the path was a rounded yellow door. There was no doorbell, only a large, black knocker.

“Shuly, can you knock?” I asked. I was carrying a large container filled with piping hot chicken soup.

Shuly lifted the knocker and let it drop.

BANG!

We heard yelling from behind the door.

“SHA! STOP BANGING! I’M NOT THAT OLD! I CAN STILL HEAR!”

The door opened and there stood Savta Bubbleman. She wore a green scarf tied around her head like a tower. Her skin was very white, very wrinkled and very shiny. Her eyes were brown like milk chocolate and her lips were thin and red like licorice. She wasn’t really our Savta, but she liked it when we called her that.

“OH! OH! OH! MY FAVORITE VISITORS! Mmmmmm! I smell chicken soup! For me? YUMMY YUMMY IN MY TUMMY!”

She took the soup out of my hands and leaned her cheek on the warm lid. “AHHHHHH! Come inside, my favorite visitors, and I’ll tell you all about my latest trip.”

Shuly and I looked at each other. Savta Bubbleman and her tall tales! We secretly called her Savta Bubbe Maisehs because she always told us long, unbelievable stories about places and lands she visited.

Shuly and I entered her home and sat on the pink armchairs in the living room.

“So, my favorite visitors,” Savta Bubbe Maisehs said as she placed mandelbroit and seltzer on the coffee table. “Do you know why I’m wearing a green tichel?”

We shook our heads.

“Of course you don’t!”  Savta Bubbe Maisehs said. “I’m wearing green because I want to remember the stunning green lights I saw!”

“Green lights?” I asked. “You mean the green traffic lights?”

Savta Bubbe Maisehs laughed. “No! No! No! I’m talking about the green lights in the sky!”

“In the sky?” Shuly asked. “Savta, I’ve seen stars, but I’ve never seen green stars!”

“Oh, my favorite visitor! Of course you haven’t seen the green lights, nor have you seen the sailing stones—”

“Sailing stones?” I asked.

“Yes! Stones that slide around on the desert floor!”

Shuly rolled her eyes.

(Excerpted from Mishpacha Jr., Issue 799)