Nobody looked for such monsters in his neighborhood.

Polotzk was safely divided into Jews and Gentiles.
If any one in Polotzk had been idle and curious enough to inquire into the state of mind of a little child, I wonder if his findings would not have disturbed this simple classification.
There used to be a little girl in Polotzk who recited the long Hebrew prayers, morning and evening, before and after meals, and never skipped a word; who kissed the _mezuzah_ when going or coming; who abstained from food and drink on fast days when she was no bigger than a sacrificial hen; who spent Sabbath mornings over the lengthy ritual for the day, and read the Psalms till daylight failed.
This pious child could give as good an account of the Creation as any boy of her age.

She knew how God made the world.

Undeterred by the fate of Eve, she wanted to know more.

She asked her wise rebbe how God came to be in His place, and where He found the stuff to make the world of, and what was doing in the universe before God undertook His task.