Once upon a time there lived an old man and an old woman who were very poor and had nothing at all to their name. And they kept getting poorer and poorer till there was nothing left to eat in the house, not even a loaf of bread.

The old man told his wife, “Do bake us a little challah roll, old woman! If you scrape out the flour-box and sweep out the bin, you’ll have enough flour.”

So the old woman scraped out the flour-box and swept out the bin, she made some dough and she shaped a little round little challah roll out of it. She then lit the oven, baked the little challah roll and put it on the window sill to cool. But the little challah roll jumped out of the window and onto the bench outside, and from the bench onto the ground, and away it rolled down the road!

On and on it rolled, and it met a lion coming toward it.

“I’m going to eat you up, little Round challah roll!” called the lion.

“Don’t do that, noble king of beasts, let me sing you a song instead,” said little round challah roll.

“All right, let’s hear it!”

“Here it is!

“I was scraped from the flour-box
And swept from the bin
And baked in the oven
And cooled on the sill.
I ran away from Zadie,
I ran away from Bubbie,
And I’ll run away from you, this minute I will!”

And off it rolled and away. By and by it met a bear coming toward it.

“I’m going to eat you up, little round challah roll!” called the bear.

“Don’t do that, powerful bear, let me sing you a song instead.”

“All right, let’s hear it!”

“I was scraped from the flour-box
And swept from the bin
And baked in the oven
And cooled on the sill.
I ran away from Zadie,
I ran away from Bubbie,
And I’ll run away from you, this minute I will!”

And away it rolled.

By and by it met a leopard coming toward it.

“I’m going to eat you up, little round challah roll!” called the leopard.

“Don’t do that, fearsome leopard, I’ll sing you a song instead!”

“All right, let’s hear it!”

“I was scraped from the flour-box
And swept from the bin
And baked in the oven
And cooled on the sill.
I ran away from Zadie,
I ran away from Bubbie,
And I’ll run away from you, this minute I will!”

And away it rolled and away!

By and by it met a great horned beast coming toward it.

“I’m going to eat you up, little round challah roll!” called the great horned beast.

“Don’t do that, great horned beast, I’ll sing you a song instead.”

“All right, let’s hear it!”

“I was scraped from the flour-box
And swept from the bin
And baked in the oven
And cooled on the sill.
I ran away from Zadie,
I ran away from Bubbie,
And I’ll run away from you, this minute I will!”

“Sing some more, please, don’t stop!” the great horned beast said. “Hop onto my tongue, I can hear you better.”

Little round challah roll jumped onto the great horned beast’s tongue and began to sing:

“I was scraped from the flour-box
And swept from the bin”

But before it could go on, the great horned beast opened its mouth and – snap! -it gobbled it up.

based on Russian folktale

Little Challah Rolls Recipe

Ingredients

1 package active dry yeast		4 egg yolks and water to make 1 Cup
¼ cup granulated sugar		3¼ cups all-purpose flour
¼ cup vegetable oil		1¼ teaspoon salt
1 egg lightly beaten, for egg wash		2 tablespoons sesame seeds optional

Instructions

In a small bowl, combine the eggs, water, sugar and yeast. Give it a gentle stir and allow to rest in a warm spot for about 10 minutes, or until foamy and frothy.

In a large bowl, combine the flour, salt, oil, and yeast mixture. Stir with a wooden spoon until dough comes together. It should be shaggy. Dump the dough onto a lightly floured work surface, and knead for about 5 to 7 minutes, working in more flour as needed, until it forms into a soft and smooth dough.

Form the dough into a ball and place it into a large bowl that has been oiled. Turn the dough over to coat both sides. Cover loosely with a damp towel or plastic wrap and allow to rest in a warm spot for about 1 hour, or until doubled in size. Punch the dough down and allow to rest for another 45 minutes.

Turn out the dough onto a lightly floured work surface. Knead a couple of times. Cut into 8 to 10 even pieces. Cover loosely with a damp towel. Working with one piece at a time, roll the dough into a long rope. Then twist it around and tie it, tucking the ends underneath. Place the braided rolls onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Continue until all the rolls are braided. Cover with damp towel or plastic wrap and allow to rest while 45 minutes to 1 hour.

Heat oven to 350°F. Brush the rolls with egg wash and sprinkle with sesame seeds. Bake for about 25 to 30 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from oven and allow to cool for about 30 minutes before eating.

May all your tales end with Shalom (peace)

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Tell it to your children, and let your children tell it to their children, and their children to the next generation. (Joel 1:3)

Rachmiel Tobesman is a motivational speaker and Maggid (spiritual Storyteller). He is available for speaking engagements or storytelling, Click here to contact us

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