The author of Yiddish novels and short stories, Sholem Aleichem, evokes the voices of Yiddish speakers in these monologues written between 1901 and 1916. In each piece, a man or a woman comes forward to tell the story.

This volume follows the hapless, albeit hilarious, adventures of Menachem-Mendl, a dreamy optimist who travels to New York and across Eastern Europe in search of an elusive fortune at the approach of World War I. His wife and children are left behind in the shtetl of Kasrilevka.

A rich collection of 25 stories written for and about children by the most beloved Yiddish writer, these tales describe life for children in the impoverished yet lively shtetls of Eastern Europe. Readers will see their lives through holiday observances, family ties, schoolmates, flights of fancy, and the daily struggles and joys of childhood.

"Mottel may have been a young demon to manage, but he is a pleasure to read about. Nothing daunts him. His spirit soars above the cruelties, the world has not grown any gentler since this book was written. Sholom Aleichem's wit and humanity enrich any age and any language."--"New York Times."

One of Aleichem's richest characterizations, Menahem-Mendl is an incurable optimist, whose every venture ends in disaster yet who never ceases to build castles in the air.

At the end of the 19th century, Jewish writers began writing in Yiddish and creating for the first time popular literature that brought alive the small dramas, struggles, and joys of ordinary life. Sholem Aleichem was one of the very few modern writers who spoke for an entire people. This collection of stories includes the title piece and seven other tales.

A creator of stories and satires, novels and plays, monologues and children's tales, fantasies and sketches, Sholom Aleichem endeared himself to the public with his shrewd, loving, and accurate portrayals of the speech, manners, and foibles of the Eastern European Jew.