Once upon a time, not so long ago, in a small, almost forgotten village called “Dortin” there lived a man named Muttel. People thought that Muttie (that’s what they called him) was quite short, but he really wasn’t. It’s just that he always wore long shirts and high boots, so it appeared that he had no middle! It didn’t really help that Muttie walked bent over. Why was he bent over? Don’t be in such a rush, you’ll find out in a minute!
First we should talk about “Dortin “. You will agree that it’s an unusual name for a town? In Yiddish it means “over there”. Quite confusing whenever someone would ask for directions to Dortin, as people would always point their fingers in a different direction and say “over there”. Few people knew which way to go!
As I said, Dortin was a small village. Very small. How small? Even the maps of the day which noted many small shtetls, never got around to indicating Dortin. There was a farm which had 3 cows, a chicken, two horses and a duck who thought that he was a chicken! There was a lumberyard that cut trees for wood to build homes and to heat them. Problem was, nobody in Dortin could afford to build a new home. As a result the woodpile in front kept getting bigger and higher until the lumberyard was no longer visible!
There was also a General Store with a large sign over the entrance which said “We sell everything”. Was it possible that a store could actually sell everything, you ask? It could when the people in Dortin only ever ate beets and cabbage! Oh yes, it also sold hay for the two horses.
Houses in Dortin were old, so old that all the walls had large cracks. These cracks were so large, that when winter came and the cold wind blew through them, people would have to open windows on the other side of the house to let the cold wind out!
Citizens of Dortin were happy and rarely deviated from their simple daily lives. Actually they never did. The rhythm of life in Dortin was one of constancy. They never missed having those things they had no knowledge of. They felt comfortable and secure in Dortin. Isn’t that the definition of “home”?
The same held true for Muttie. He was a “schlepper”, a “carrier”! Not because his clothes were usually unkempt and never seemed to fit very well, which was the case, but because of what he did to earn a living. He carried stuff. Any and all kinds of stuff. From place to place. If you needed something moved or carried, Muttie was your man. A short man, but your man.
While Muttie would “schlep” anything, few people in Dortin needed things carried. After all, it was a small village. So mostly he would carry wood from the forest to the lumberyard. You know, to the pile which kept getting bigger and taller.
