As I was walking across the fields lost in thought, a peasant who had
been working the field with six horses came up to me. His wife and a parobek¹⁷⁶² stood next to him. “Foolish man, where are you going? The yevonim
will catch you there and make an end of you. You have survived this long, and
now you’re going to hand yourself over to them. [[Go]] and hide in the field
under a stack of [[grain]] and I will see later where I can hide you.” So I hid
there. After a while he came and gave me some milk to drink, made me a better
[22] hiding place, and there I lay. I slept for several hours. When I awoke,
I saw two men standing in front of me, who told me they were going to inform
the yevonim that I was hiding there. They reproached me for remaining a Jew.
I should have converted and given up my Jewish ways and then I would have
avoided such terrible suffering. Their words scalded and stung me. I wanted
to answer them but I was afraid. I simply asked them not to tell anyone that
I was hiding there. They finished speaking and left. I followed them with my
eyes until they disappeared. I was very much afraid that they would give away
my secret hiding place. I fell asleep again.
At [[nightfall]], I was awoken by two young men who gave me milk to
drink, poured diluted bleach on my wounds, bandaged them up again, and told
me to go with them. One of them held me by one arm [23] and the second by
the other, and led me across the field. On the way they told me: “We are going
to hide you in a barn and spread a rumour in the village that you ran away,
no one knows where. If anyone calls out to you, don’t answer. Our names are
such and such. When we call them out as a sign, you should respond, and we
will bring you food and drink. That’s it! Just remember what we’ve told you.”
We came to the place. They opened the door, put up a ladder, and I climbed up.
The ladder was removed and the door closed, and I lay down to sleep. Suddenly
I heard footsteps approaching, and it went on and on. I kept on hearing them,
and the whole time I lived in great fear. My head was bursting from so much
thinking and wondering what might be happening.
At dawn the peasant came and brought me food and a little honey, and
I told him where I came from, what had [24] happened to me, and all the troubles
and suffering I had endured. There were tears in his eyes. It was clear
that he felt deep compassion for me. Then he took my hand and said, “Listen,
don’t be afraid. You have nothing to fear. I shall treat you like a father his son.
1762 (Polish) farmhand.
