...of eavesdropping

As soon as Egon and Rita return to their room for another period of rest, Obbie who has developed an insatiable interest in the comings and goings of the household, moves his ladder closer to the guest room. Then, switching from paintbrush to the roller, he gravely applies an additional layer of white paint, perhaps the fifth or sixth coat, to their door, while in rapture gazing at the whiteness of the door as he waits for something to break the silence...But what can he be waiting for? A quick harsh moaning sound..or the sound of a woman's voice rapidly saying yes, yes, yes, with such urgency, such intensity that he for a moment will forget where he is and what he is doing. And then, ultimately, comes the sharper, more high-pitched sound - to his ears an unbearably foreign sound - that he embraces, that he welcomes with all his heart. But in the meantime only silence.

[How German Is It, Abish, W.]