WINTERY TAILS
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Happily it does, easily and impressively, through 40 minutes and two stories. Zlateh the Goat by Isaac Bashevis Singer and “Dolce Domum” from Kenneth Grahame’s beloved The Wind in the Willows are simple, winning tales about the joy of comradeship, the pain of homesickness, and the challenge of finding your way home through winter’s perils. And it’s a properly evenhanded program, one story inspired by Hanukkah, the other by Christmas.
In Zlateh the Goat, a furrier, afraid that a mild winter will ruin his business, orders his eldest son Aaron to sell the family goat. (The goat, a very expressive marionette, is immediately lovable.) The boy doesn’t want to part with a family friend; the goat wisely fears a trap. A rising blizzard forces the travelers to seek shelter inside a huge warm haystack. For Zlateh it’s goat heaven–both shelter and food. Aaron, having exhausted his rations, gratefully drinks the milk Zlateh generously provides. Entranced by his temporary home and faithful friend, Aaron imagines himself as a “snow child” buried deep in the earth. “We must all accept what God brings us,” says the ubiquitous storyteller.
When the delighted Rat and Mole suddenly discover they’re surrounded by an audience of children, they ask them to give their names and to share a poem. One little boy offered “Casey at the Bat” then panicked when it came to delivering the goods. But at the drop of a cue the kids eagerly joined in a chorus of “Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star.” Finally, after supper and before sleep, Mole gives thanks for his precious burrow.
