It was Sunday afternoon, just two days before Purim, and five-year-old Sarah was standing on a stool at the kitchen table. Sarah was helping Imma and her eight-year-old brother, Asher, to make Hamantaschen. Jewish music was playing from the tape-player and Sarah's eleven-year-old sister, Chava, was sitting at the end of the table doing her homework.

"Imma, when will Bubbe and Zaydie be here?" Sarah asked, for the tenth time that day. She was really excited about Bubbe and Zaydie's arrival. They were going to be staying until next Sunday, a whole week away.

Chava looked up from her homework to reply to Sarah's question, "Abba is bringing Bubbe and Zaydie home from the airport on his way home from work."

"How soon will that be?" Sarah asked.

Imma laughed, "Not long, Sweetie! We need to hurry if we are going to have everything ready in time for Bubbe and Zaydie's arrival. Asher, did you put the water glasses beside the bed in the spare room like I asked you?"

Asher looked up from admiring his latest Hamantaschen and grinned sheepishly, "Oops! Sorry, Imma, I forgot!"

"Never mind, I'll do it. I have to take my books back upstairs anyway," Chava volunteered. She gathered up her books from the end of the table.

"Thank you, Chava," Imma smiled. "Now, shall we put our first tray of Hamantaschen into the oven?" Imma opened the door of the oven, which had been warming up for some time, and slid a tray of Hamantaschen inside. In half an hour there were three cooling racks full of cooked, sweet-smelling Hamantaschen.

"Anything else we have to cook, Imma?" Asher asked hopefully as he, Sarah and Chava sat at the table with glasses of milk, trying the newly-cooked Hamantaschen.

"No, I'm afraid not, Asher," Imma said. She smiled at his eagerness to help with the cooking - not something he usually wanted to help with. Imma added, "I was only asked to make Hamantaschen for the synagogue's Purim Party - nothing else! I can't say I'm all that sorry because I have still got to finish Chava's Purim costume."

"What is your Purim costume, Chava?" Sarah asked. She knew the answer, but she liked hearing about it.

"I'm going to the Purim Party as a Persian Butterfly," Chava replied, through a mouthful of Hamantaschen.

"Persian?" asked Sarah, slightly puzzled.

"You remember, Sarah, Persia is where Xerxes was King!" Chava reminded her.

"Are we going to see King Xerxes tomorrow?" Sarah asked, bouncing up and down in her chair. "Are we going to see Queen Esther and her Uncle Mordecai? Will they like my Purim costume?" Chava shook her head. "Oh," Sarah was disappointed and her eyes started to fill with tears.

Imma came over and hugged Sarah. She explained, "King Xerxes and Queen Esther and her Uncle Mordecai lived a long time ago, Sarah, before Yeshua came to earth. We celebrate Purim because of what G-d did for our Jewish people through Queen Esther." Imma kissed Sarah and helped her down to the floor. Then she added, "Do you want to help me make supper for Bubbe and Zaydie?"

Sarah nodded, wiping away the last of her tears. She brightened at a sudden thought and said, "Imma ... ?"

"Yes, Sweetie?" Imma looked at Sarah as she got lettuce, tomatoes and a cucumber out of the 'fridge.

"I can show my Purim costume to Bubbe and Zaydie, can't I?" Sarah asked, carefully taking two tomatoes from Imma and stretching to put them by the sink with the other salad vegetables.

Imma closed the 'fridge door and smiled at Sarah, "Of course you can - I know they will like that very much!"

When the salad was all prepared and the table laid for supper, Sarah went outside to the garden to play Tag with Asher and Chava. Sarah, closely followed by Asher, ran round the corner of the house into the front garden just as Abba's car pulled up in front of the house. With shouts of delight, Sarah, Asher, and Chava (who hurried after them), crowded round the car to greet Abba and Bubbe and Zaydie.

"Well, who do we have here?" Zaydie asked as he swung Sarah off the ground and gave her a hug. Sarah giggled and when Zaydie put her down she dashed] over to Bubbe. Bubbe was the sort of person who always knew what to say. She was tall, but comfortably built. She had been talking to Abba about one of the suitcases in the back of the car, but she broke off as Sarah came up to her.

Bubbe bent down and gave Sarah a big hug. "Guess what I'm going as to the Purim Party, Bubbe!" Sarah said excitedly as Bubbe straightened up. "I'm going as a ballerina! Chava wore the ballerina costume last year and Imma has made it small enough to fit me this year!"

"That sounds wonderful, Sarah!" Bubbe said. "I'm looking forward to seeing your costume so much. Now, shall we go into the house and see Imma?"

Sarah held Bubbe's hand as they made their way to the front door of the house. Before they reached it, however, it opened and Imma came out. "Rivkah!" Bubbe cried. She let go of Sarah's hand and moved quickly forward to Imma, who was her daughter.

Imma hurried forward too, exclaiming, "Imma, it's so good to see you!" Sarah was always surprised when Bubbe and Zaydie came to stay and Imma called them 'Imma' and 'Abba'. Chava said it was because Bubbe and Zaydie were Imma's parents, not her grandparents. Although it still puzzled her, Sarah thought it was rather funny. She laughed.

After supper that evening, Zaydie offered to play chess with Asher. Because Abba went to help Asher with his half of the game, the game of chess stopped being between Zaydie and Asher and was between Zaydie and Abba instead! Bubbe and Imma sat talking while Bubbe helped Imma to sew Chava's Purim costume. Chava and Sarah played with their paper dolls until bedtime. Then Chava, Asher and Sarah had their baths, one after the other.

Imma tucked Sarah into bed and said, "Goodnight!"

Sarah yawned sleepily and said, "I didn't tell Bubbe all about my Purim costume."

Imma smiled, "Never mind, there will be plenty of time tomorrow." Sarah thought that Imma was wearing the sort of smile she usually wore when she was planning a surprise. Sarah wondered why. She rolled over in bed and closed her eyes as Abba prayed with her and then with Chava.

The next thing Sarah knew, Chava was shaking her and saying, "Hurry, Sarah, or we'll both be late for breakfast!"

Sarah scrambled out of bed and hurried to dress. She came downstairs just before Imma called everyone into the kitchen for breakfast. Abba lifted Sarah onto her chair, next to Bubbe. As Imma poured milk onto Sarah's cereal, Sarah tapped Bubbe lightly on the arm to get her attention. Then she told everyone, "Purim starts this evening!"

Chava turned anxiously to Imma and asked, "Will my Purim costume be finished in time, Imma?"

Imma nodded, "Yes, Chava, your Purim costume will be finished in time. Bubbe is going to help me finish it."

"What are you going to the Purim Party as, Chava?" Zaydie asked.

Chava had just taken a mouthful of toast. Sarah started to tell Zaydie, "Chava is going as ... ouch!!" Sarah looked reproachfully across at Chava, then giggled as she understood what Chava meant. She had kicked Sarah under the table and now she was shaking her head. Sarah hurried to tell Zaydie, "Chava's Purim costume is a surprise, Zaydie. Not even Shoshanna knows about it!" Shoshanna was Chava's best friend and the two of them told each other everything. Zaydie nodded in understanding.

"You three children need to hurry up with your breakfasts if I am going to drop you off at school on my way to work," said Abba.

Sarah got down from the table, put her bowl into the sink with the other breakfast things, then went upstairs with the others to clean her teeth and get ready for school.

As Purim started that evening, Asher's Yeshivah and the girls' Seminary both finished classes before lunch. Imma came and picked the girls up from school after picking Asher up. Sarah said goodbye to her special friends, Zipporah and Miriam, then jumped into the car with her school bag. She almost landed on top of one of Asher's friends, Yitzack, who was, for some strange reason, sitting in the back of the car. Sarah toppled backwards out of the car against Chava, who was just behind her. Chava quickly recovered her balance and managed to stop Sarah from falling down.

Imma got out of the car and came round to the girls. "Are you two alright?" she asked, concern in her voice. Chava and Sarah both nodded. After she was reassured that neither of the girls were hurt, Imma laughed and said, "I suppose I should have warned you that Yitzack was in the car with Asher. Yitzack's mother has just gone into hospital to have the baby. His father works at the same office as Abba and Abba thought that it would be more fun for Yitzack to stay with us over Purim, rather than be at home on his own."

Imma got into the car and Chava got into the front seat of the car beside Imma. Sarah climbed into the other side of the car and over Asher to get to the middle back seat. After Imma started the car Sarah asked, "Imma, if you came to pick us up from school, what has happened about lunch?"

"Bubbe wanted to make lunch," Imma said, pulling away down the road from the Seminary.

"What are we going to have for lunch?" asked Asher.

"Bubbe said it was a surprise," Imma said. That was the only answer Imma would give to their questions, no matter how many questions they asked. They were still guessing what Bubbe might be cooking for lunch when they reached home!

Just before they all got out of the car, Yitzack leaned over in front of Sarah and whispered to Asher, "Are your Bubbe and Zaydie scary?"

Yitzack's family had only moved into the area quite recently, so he had never seen Bubbe and Zaydie. Asher shook his head, "No, Bubbe and Zaydie are not at all scary. At least, Zaydie is scary when he is angry. But I've only seen get angry once and that was 'cos some big kid knocked Chava down on his bike and didn't even care."

Imma opened the car door and poked her head inside. "Come on, you guys!" she said. "You can talk when you get inside, but first we need to unpack Yitzack's things from the car."

The boys and Sarah scrambled out of the car. Sarah ran ahead into the house. Zaydie met her in the front hall and cried, "Well, are you back already? You don't seem to have been gone at school for very long!"

Sarah laughed, "We've been gone all morning - forever!" Zaydie laughed and turned to take Yitzack's suitcase from Imma. He raised an eyebrow and looked questioningly at Imma. She explained, "One of Asher's friends has come to stay with us over Purim because his mother is in hospital having a baby."

Zaydie nodded in understanding and turned to greet the others as they came in, "Hello, Chava, I hope you've been good in class. Asher, I hope you listened to your teachers in class. Hello, young fellah, it's good to have you with us. Now, Rivkah, where shall I put this suitcase?"

"In Asher's room, please, Abba," Imma said. "I'll make a bed for Yitzack on Asher's floor later." Imma smiled at Zaydie, kneeling down to untie Sarah's shoelace.

"Righty-ho!" Zaydie said, starting to carry Yitzack's suitcase up the stairs. When he was half-way up he stopped and turned back. He said, "Oh, yes - I knew there was something else I was supposed to say to you. Bubbe says that once you have washed your hands and all that sort of thing, you are not allowed to go into the kitchen, but must wait in the living room until she calls you."

Just when Sarah was beginning to get bored of waiting in the living room, Bubbe came through from the kitchen. Imma introduced her to Yitzack. Then Bubbe said, "I have persuaded Imma to let us eat in the dining room today ..." That was exciting because they only ate in the dining room on Feasts, Birthdays and other special occasions. Bubbe added, "First, I want you all to come into the kitchen."

Bubbe was wearing an apron. She led them all into the kitchen and then stood back as they crowded in after her. On one side of the table was a line of chopping boards, on the other a line of bowls and platters. Zaydie was standing behind the table and the chopping boards. He was wearing one of Imma's aprons.

Chava and Sarah squeaked and Asher gave a war-whoop. "It's like a delicatessen, isn't it?" Chava asked.

Bubbe smiled and Zaydie nodded, "It most certainly is like a delicatessen and it's been prepared by Bubbe herself. Now, ladies first!"

Zaydie asked Sarah whether she would like a white bread roll or a brown bread roll. Then he went down the table, helping Sarah to cheese, salad, and salad-dressing, depending on what she wanted. Bubbe did the same for Chava and then the girls went into the dining room to wait for the others. Asher and Yitzack were served, then Bubbe, Zaydie and Imma helped themselves.

When they had all made a blessing, there was silence in the dining room for a few minutes while everyone just ate, enjoying Bubbe's delicatessen sandwiches. Finally Bubbe asked, "What Purim costume are you wearing to the synagogue's Purim Party, Yitzack?"

"I'm going as a clown, Mrs Elmsberg. I've got a proper costume and Imma even made me a wig to wear," Yitzack grinned. "I can do somersaults and even stand on my head with my wig falling off!"

"I'm going to the Purim Party as a ballerina," Sarah volunteered.

Yitzack wrinkled his forehead and asked, "What's a ballerina?"

"A ballerina is a girl who floats round trying to look graceful or something, while she sticks her legs out behind her," Asher explained. "It's daft, if you ask me!"

"Ballerina's look very pretty," Sarah put in. "They wear frilly dresses and they dance around a stage in time to music. Anyway," she ended, "I'm going as a ballerina to the Purim Party tomorrow afternoon."

Sarah didn't notice Imma and Bubbe exchange secret smiles.

After they had helped to clear up after lunch and do the washing and drying up, Sarah and the others were allowed to go outside and play in the garden. They played Tag and Hide-and-Seek. After a while they got tired of playing and went back inside. They found Imma and Bubbe working on Chava's Purim costume at the dining room table. "Can we have some drinks, please, Imma?" Sarah asked as she bounced into the room. She looked interestedly at the folds of material that were draped over the dining room table.

Imma nodded, "Of course you can all have a drink. But don't have any milk because we're having chicken for supper."

There were murmurs of approval from the children, since chicken was a great favourite. Then they trailed into the kitchen and Chava helped them all to drinks. They were still sitting at the table, waiting for Sarah to finish her drink, when Zaydie walked into the kitchen.

Zaydie smiled at everyone and asked, "How would you boys like to help me make some wings for Chava's Purim costume? She needs wings for tomorrow's Purim Party!" Then Zaydie saw Chava's downcast face and hurriedly added, "It's okay, Chava, I still don't know what you are going to the Purim Party as. Lots of things have wings: birds, butterflies, fairies and so on. Yes, Sarah?"

Sarah had got down from the table and now she was tugging on Zaydie's trouser legs. "Do you know what I'm going as to the Purim Party?" she asked. "I'm going as a ballerina!"

"And you'll look beautiful, Sarah!" Zaydie assured her. "Would you, like to come into town with the boys and myself to buy what we need for Chava's wings?"

Sarah put her head on one side and thought; then she shook her head, "No, thank you, Zaydie. I'll stay with Imma, if you don't mind."

Sarah played with her paper dolls while Chava helped Imma with her costume and Zaydie took the boys into town. When they got back, Sarah was helping Imma to start cooking supper. Imma tied Sarah's own apron round her wais and Sarah stood on a stool at one end of the kitchen worktop. She peeled the potatoes while Imma chopped them up. Zaydie took the boys out onto the patio to put Chava's wings together.Sarah played with her paper dolls while Chava helped Imma with her costume and Zaydie took the boys into town. When they got back, Sarah was helping Imma to start cooking supper. Imma tied Sarah's own apron round her waist and Sarah stood on a stool at one end of the kitchen worktop. She peeled the potatoes while Imma chopped them up. Zaydie took the boys out onto the patio to put Chava's wings together.

At half-past five, Sarah heard Abba drive up outside and stop the car. She got down carefully from the chair she was standing on and rushed into the hall. Imma helped her to open the front door and Sarah stood jumping up and down while Abba came up the front path. Abba swung Sarah up into the air before taking his coat and shoes off.

"Where are all the others, Sarah?" Abba asked as he took her hand and walked towards he kitchen.

"Bubbe and Chava are sewing, Zaydie and the boys are making Chava's wings, and Imma and I are cooking supper," Sarah explained.

After Imma had greeted Abba, she told him that supper was almost ready and asked him to get everyone into the kitchen. Sarah had just finished laying the table, remembering to lay an extra place for Yitzack, when the others came in.

After supper they all helped to do the washing and drying up. Then they went out onto the patio to watch the sun set. When the sun had gone down behind the trees and it was really quite dark, Sarah broke the silence. Excitedly she squeaked, "It's Purim! It's Purim!!"

Chava grabbed Sarah's hands and they danced round and round, while the boys went down the patio steps onto the grass to turned cartwheels and do handstands. Ten minutes later they were all gathered in the living room. Abba had his Bible on his lap and opened it at the Book of Esther. He looked round and asked, "Is everyone ready?"

Everyone nodded and Abba opened his mouth to begin reading. Just then Imma cried, "Of course we're not ready!" She hurried out of the room and was back a couple of minutes later with a big box. "We forgot these!" Imma said as she opened the box. She passed out the Groggers and the Party Hooters that were inside.

They were all settled and Abba opened the Bible again when Bubbe got up and said, "Excuse me, I left the kettle on. I put it on to make a cup of coffee and forgot to take it off again. I won't be a minute!" Bubbe hurried out of the room and came back a moment later with her coffee.

Abba tried again and started reading. He had just finished the first sentence when Zaydie broke in, "Excuse me, Menachem, for interrupting you. Did you boys remember to shut the patio door when you came inside?"

All the children were giggling and Asher was giggling so much that he only just managed to whisper audibly,"Yes!!"

After they all quieted down, Abba continued reading. This time he was more successful and there were no more interruptions, except the usual cheering, whenever Abba read about Queen Esther and her Uncle Mordecai, and the hissing, whenever he read about Haman. It took them a long time to read through the Book of Esther and when Abba had read out the concluding words, they all broke into cheers. It was bedtime for the children and Imma needed to make up a bed for Yitzack on Asher's bedroom floor. Sarah went to sleep thinking about the next day's Purim Party and her ballerina costume.

Everyone got up quite late the next morning and the children were allowed to eat breakfast in their pyjamas - a great treat! Imma and Bubbe had cooked pancakes and the whole family was sitting around the table in the kitchen, having just finished breakfast, when the telephone rang in the hall. Imma went to answer it and they could all hear her end of the conversation:

"Hello, this is the Greenberg residence ... well good morning ... Mazel Tov! How are they? ... Good ... wonderful ... yes, of course, that would be fine ... half an hour? Certainly ... What about lunch? ... Yes, that would be fine. Do you want to talk to him now? ... Alright, we'll see you in half an hour then. 'Bye."

They heard Imma put the 'phone down and she came back into the kitchen smiling. "That was your father, Yitzack. Your mother has had a baby boy and they are both well. You father is coming in half an hour to pick you up and take you to see your mother and new brother. So, I think you lot had better all go and get dressed and clean your teeth."

"Are we all going, then?" Sarah asked, looking up from licking her fingers free of maple syrup.

"No, Sarah, but we can't let anyone see you all in your night-things. You don't have to worry about helping to clear the breakfast dishes, Bubbie and I will do that," Imma said as she started to take the plates off the table.

Sarah and the others hurried to get dressed. Yitzack was the quickest and was dressed and waiting by the door in only five minutes. Sarah came downstairs and saw Imma standing talking to him. She joined them and as soon as Imma had finished speaking, Sarah spoke up.

"Imma, is Yitzack coming back? What about the Purim party this afternoon?"

"Yes, Yitzack's coming back," Imma replied, doing up the buttons down the back of Sarah's dress. "He and Mr Levi will be back in time to have lunch with us and then Mr Levi will go back to his wife. Yitzack will stay with us until his mother comes home from hospital, so he'll be able to come to the Purim party with us this afternoon."

The children played dominoes until Mr Levi came for Yitzack. After they had left, Chava went to see how her Purim costume was progressing and Asher and Sarah went to play in the garden. The morning passed quickly and it didn't seem long until Yitzack and his father returned and they all had lunch.

After lunch Mr Levi left and Imma took the children upstairs to have baths before getting into their Purim costumes. The boys had their baths first and were sent downstairs to join Abba and Zaydie (who were already dressed in their costumes) while the girls had their baths. They were running short of time, so Sarah got into the bath as soon as Chava got out of it. While Imma washed her, Sarah watched in fascination as Bubbe helped Chava into her butterfly costume and pinned on the wings.

Chava hurried downstairs to show herself to everyone and Bubbe went to get Sarah's costume. Imma helped Sarah dry herself and was brushing her clean hair for her when Bubbe came back in. She wasn't carrying Sarah's ballerina costume as Sarah thought she would be. Bubbe was carrying a load of purple and blue material and also had a bag in her other hand.

"Where's my ballerina dress, Bubbe? And what's that in your hand?" Sarah asked curiously, hopping up and down.

Bubbe smiled, "It's your Purim costume. I made it for you to wear to the party. It's a princess dress." Bubbe came over and helped Sarah into the lovely purple skirt and blue overdress. She took out of the bag a necklace and tiara and gave them to Sarah. When the necklace and tiara were in place Imma lifted Sarah up so that she could see herself in the mirror .

Sarah looked wonderful in her dress. The purple skirt had silver thread woven in to it and the blue overdress was in a deep shade and edged with lace. The dress had elbow-length sleeves which had lace round the bottom, and there was lace round the neckline too. The tiara had purple, shiny glass in it and the necklace had a small purple pendant hanging from it.

Sarah gave a squeak of pleasure and as soon as Imma put her down she rushed to Bubbe and gave her an enormous hug. Sarah and Bubbe (who was already wearing her own costume) then went downstairs, leaving Imma to change into her costume. Everyone (except Abba and Zadie, who had known all along) was surprised to see Sarah's costume, but they all liked it.

Imma came downstairs and after fetching the Hamantaschen for the party from the kitchen, they were all ready to go, so went out and got into the car. This presented a problem for Chava because of her wings - how was she going to sit in the car without breaking her wings? They settled it by Chava sitting well forward in her seat while Bubbe held the wings so that they didn't break.

As they drove to shul, Sarah giggled to herself, thinking how stranger they must all look together; Zadie as Eliyahu (Elijah), Bubbe as an air-stewardess, Abba as a clown, Imma as Miriam, with a tambourine and looking, Sarah thought, very beautiful, and then all the others. Asher had decided to go as a soldier, one of the guards at Xerxes Palace, while Yitzack was a clown (he and Abba had decided to go as Clive and Claude the Clever Clowns), Chava was a Persian butterfly and Sarah was, of course, a Princess.

It didn't take long to get to shul and they unpacked themselves from the car amidst penguins and cowboys, King Xerxes' and brides - and lots more costumes than you could recognise! Sarah soon found Zipporah and Miriam, dressed as Queen Esther and a Pilgrim girl. They dashed inside together and wondered around arm-in-arm, threading their way through the grown-ups.

All at once everyone who had been outside came in and the rabbi made his way to the bimah. He welcomed everyone and said that first of all they were going to read through the book of Esther. This was fun, but took a long time. It also got a bit confusing as to whether you cheered or booed, and by the end no one really knew!

The fancy dress competitions then ensued and Sarah won second prize, a story-book, in the 'Most Beautiful' competition. The prizes handed out, all the children went outdoors to play Purim games, while the adults talked inside. It was beginning to get a bit dusky when the children were called inside to eat.

There were kugels and falafels, salads and bakes and plenty for everyone! Sarah sat with Zipporah, Miriam and some of the others under the stairs. There was much giggling and laughter and telling of jokes. When the children had eaten all they wanted, they ran around and played 'tag' and 'hide-and-seek'.

It was late when the first people began to leave and the stars were high in the sky when Sarah's family piled into their car to drive home. Sarah fell asleep on the way home and didn't wake up until Abba carried her inside and put her down on the living-room couch. She rubbed her eyes and looked at Abba, who was still in his clown costume.

She giggled. "You do look very funny, Abba!"

Abba laughed, "I must do! Do you want anything to eat before you go to bed? Imma's taken Chava and the boys into the kitchen already."

Sarah nodded and they went into the kitchen together. Everyone was soon sitting round the table, the adults with cups of tea or coffee and the children eating cold custard and drinking cocoa.

"Come along you lot, up to bed," Imma said finally, getting up, "You all have to be up early to go to school in the morning."

Sarah went upstairs with the others and she was soon being tucked up in bed by Imma. After Abba had said good-night to Chava and Sarah, he prayed and said the Shema with them. Sarah snuggled down and thought what a wonderful day she'd had, and Bubbe and Zadie were staying until Sunday - it had been the best Purim ever!

Copyright T. Allen - MET