"The Coachman"

By B. Cassel

That was all before they built the railroad. When they began building the rail, he didn't think anything would come of it, assuming that without a wagon driver people wouldn't be able to find their way to a strange town.

The railroad was built, and Feive continued to behave arrogantly towards his passengers.

Feive would scold any passenger impudent enough to suggest that it might be time to get going already.

Finally the railroad was ready: Feive's passengers became fewer and fewer. He had to sell one coach and a couple of horses, and kept only one horse and wagon. Making a living became a struggle, and he was forced to resort to the same trade as the other coachmen, who weren't as stubborn as Feive; namely, driving passengers to the train station.

One morning Feive Shmiser started out with a wagonload of passengers to catch the morning train, which left from the Keidan station for Kovno at 7 a.m.

From his years as a big-shot coachman he was still quite imperious, and used to scold any passenger impudent enough to suggest to him that it might be time to get going already. Accordingly, he never figured that the "choo-choo" was anything he had to worry about; it would never leave before he delivered his passengers to the station.

But he had driven as far as the crossing where the road to the station met the railroad tracks, and had just lowered the crossing gate from under his horse's nose, when the train flew by on its way to Kovno, rumbling loudly and tooting its whistle as if to sneer at the dumbfounded Feive and his passengers.

"Go ahead and blow. I've seen bigger coachmen than you blowing their whistles," he said.

At first Feive and the passengers, as well as the horse, were all startled by the rude train whistle. As he restrained his nervous horse, and calmed himself down as well, he remarked philosophically: "Go ahead, blow your whistle; we'll see how long you blow. In my life I've seen bigger coachmen than you blowing their whistles, and in the end they all died in the poorhouse!"

And, spitting in the direction of the departing train, he turned the horse back toward the town.

The passengers exhausted themselves raining curses upon Feive's head; but Feive, deep in thought, merely pulled his had down lower on his brow and didn't say a single word.

Top