Mischief’s Just Deserts

“Yekl the thinker” is standing on a board that is lying across a small stream. He is leaning on a railing situated above the board as he stares into the water below. In the distance, his friends Berl and Shmerl are playing horsey.

As they approach the board, they see Yekl deep in thought, with his shirttail sticking out from behind him. “Do you see how his shirttail looks just like a horse’s tail?” Berl says to Shmerl.

The two of them creep up secretly behind Yekl. Shmerl bends down and ties his shirttail to a nearby pole. “Yekl the thinker” does not notice what they do and is totally unaware.

Then Shmerl goes up and leans on the rail near the pole, looking with pleasure at the tied-up Yekl. Berl begins to swing back and forth on the rail.

But—Oh No!—the rail suddenly breaks, and the two mischievous boys fall straight into the water. “Yekl the thinker” is saved because he was left hanging on the pole they had tied him to.

Berl and Shmerl are properly soaked—dripping from head to toe as they climb out of the stream. And “Yekl the thinker” remains standing on the board, watching them from above, having realized his vengeance.