Stuck away in a corner of the world, isolated from the surrounding country, the town stands, orphaned, dreaming, bewitched, immersed in itself and remote from the noise and bustle, the confusion and tumult and greed, which men have created about them and have dignified with high-sounding names like Culture, Progress, Civilization.
A proper person may take off his hat with respect to these things, but not these little people!

The Town of the Little People from The Old Country by Sholem Aleichem. Translated by Julius and Frances Butwin, 1946