Young Frankenstein by Gilbert Pearlman

beside a crude bed. The man was praying.
    "A visitor is all I ask, Lord," the man said. "Take pity on me-I am blind. Give me a temporary companion to help me pass a few hours of my lonely life . "
    The monster looked toward the fireplace . A kettle of soup was heating . It seemed like the perfect time to show a little kindness to a poor, lonely blind man . It would be an even trade: a few minutes of companionship for a bowl of soup .
    Going on to the door, the monster shoved it open and entered the cottage . "Mmmmmmmmmm!" he said hungrily .
    "A visitor!" the blind man cried out. "Oh, thank you, Lord!"
    "Mmmmmmmmm."
    Rising, the blind man groped in the dimness. "Don't speak!" he said. "Don't say a word! Just let me find you, let me touch you, let me feel you, let me hold you, let me smell you-oh, my joy, my happiness, my prize from Heaven!"
    The monster watched the blind man grope ineffectually for a few moments, then, taking pity, he moved into the man's path and held out a hand to him. The blind man still couldn't find him. So the monster grasped the man's hand and put it on his own hand.
    "Oh, my!" the blind man said, surprised . "You are a big one, aren't you? I can tell by the size of your hand. I'll bet you were the tallest boy in your class." He released the hand. "My name is Harold," he announced. "I live here all alone. What is your name?"
    "Mmmmmmmmm . "
    "I'm sorry, I didn't get that."
    "Mmmmmmmmm . "
    "Oh! Forgive me . I didn't realize-you're mute! It's perfect. Look how Heaven plans . Me, a poor blind man, and you, a-an incredibly big mute. Are you hungry?"
    "Mmmmmmmmmmmnimmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm!"
    "How does a cozy fire, a bottle of wine, and some nice hot soup sound to you?"
    "Mmmmmmmm!"
    "God love you!" the man enthused. "Yes, that's good, isn't it? All right, come along."
    Grasping the monster's hand once more, Harold led him to a crude table. It was set with a candle, a soupspoon, an old wooden cup, and a napkin.
    "You make yourself comfortable," the blind man told the monster, "and I'll get the soup. I haven't had company for so long, I'm a little nervous-I hope you'll excuse me." He started toward the fireplace, then halted. "Oh-my cane," he said. "Do you see it anywhere around? I use it to feel my way."
    The cane was hanging on the back of a chair. The monster picked it up and put it into Harold's hand.
    "Many thanks," the blind man said. "You'll need a soup bowl, of course. I think you'll find it over there-" he said, swinging the cane in the general direction of the cupboard. The cane rapped the monster across the side of the head. "-on a shelf."
    "Mmmmmmm!" the monster complained.
    "Oh, you already have a soup bowl? Fine."
    Again, Harold started toward the fireplace. But then, as before, he halted. "Salt," he said. "The salt's in the same place," he said, swinging the cane. It banged the monster on the head again. "-right there on the shelf, next to the soup bowls."
    "Mmmmmmmmmm!" the monster said angrily .
    "Oh, yes, you're right, this is going to be a fun night!" the blind man said, going on toward the fireplace.
    "Mmmmmmmm!"
    "Coming up!"
    Harold lifted the pot of soup from the hook in the fireplace and headed back toward the table with it. "Oh, oh, oh, hot, hot, hot!" he said cheerily. "Just the thing to take the chill off a hungry tummy." He placed the pot on the table. "Mmmmmmmmm!" the monster said, as the aroma reached his nostrils with full force.
    "I know what it's like to be hungry," the blind man said, feeling his way with the cane toward the cupboard. "And how much a little kindness from a stranger can mean. Especially when you're all alone in this world."
    From the cupboard, he got a bottle of wine and a cup. "Are you ready for the soup?" he asked, returning.
    "MMMMmmmmmm!"
    Harold put the bottle of wine and the cup down on the table, then, groping, found the handle of the ladle that was sticking out of the soup. "Hold out your bowl," he said.
    "Mmmmm," the monster said, obeying.
    The blind man