heir
undertaking. He sat down on the carpet next to us and as he was
turning the pages of the magazine, he told us that out of a wish to
imitate their father, the children had decided to start a publication.
They wrote articles and other items, prepared illustrations and
caricatures and arranged the whole material inside a copybook. They
kept quiet so long that their parents wondered what their rowdy boys
were doing. The parents went upstairs and found the boys busy over a
heap of papers; the _Gazette_ was already being "paged up."

David, the editor of the publication, knew from his father's
experience that every printed organ must have readers. The children
begged their father to give them a typewriter and when they got it,
began to type patiently, with one finger, one page after the other,
learning the art of typing in the process of their work.

Seeing that the children's interest did not abate, the father gave
them a present--a cheap toy "Shapirograph"--to print their magazine.
Having secured production equipment, the editorial staff began to work
with renewed energy. David, who up to that time was sharing his
interest among many pursuits, forsook his former preferences. Even the
little green parakeets, whom he loved dearly, were left without food
quite often and sadly chattered in their cage. David had the jobs of
editor, author of articles and typographer. The sturdy Mikey was the
publisher, artist and supplier of funny stories. A neighbor's little
girl, Xandra Babel, was responsible for the news and special
events--indispensable departments of every American editorial unit
worthy of this name.

At any rate, no matter how, the magazine eventually appeared. It was
even printed in 75 copies, diligently bound and, the following year
when the family left for the beach during the hot season, to the
mother's great dismay, the whole issue and even the typographic
equipment consisting of the typewriter and the multigraph as well as
the paper stocks were taken along.

[Illustration: Boris Kampov-Polevoy]

During the summer the children made friends with a certain Mr. Zur, an
original character and owner of the Menemsha store. The old man liked
children and whenever they came to his shop to buy candy, salted nuts
or a bag of popcorn, they always used to stay there for a while and
discuss the weather, politics and all sorts of events with him. Mr.
Zur used to talk to children as though they were grownups, and this
co