The Devil's Arithmetic

What happened at the water pump

I'm not exactly sure what happened I just need to know what major things happen. I know there was bad news from someone. Hannah was telling a story and everything else is just blurry. What was Hannah talking about and what was the news and who delivered them.

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Later that afternoon Hannah accompanies Rivka, Esther, and Shifre to the water pump. Esther has lost a lot of weight, and her dress is billowing around her frail frame. Hannah looks up, spotting the swallows flying overhead, eating insects. The setting is picturesque; if only the situation were different. Hannah looks at the girls pumping water and suddenly has a vision of two girls in school uniforms playing near a water fountain. Hannah tries to adjust her eyes but the vision remains. She tells the girls that she has a story to tell them. Hannah explains that she knows that six million Jews will perish in the Holocaust, but also that the Jewish people will survive and endure.