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This is a story about a family in Poland during theSeeond World War. The father and the mother aretaken aWáy to prison camps, and rheir hOl,lse, is blo\vnup. Their three children, Ruth, Edek, and, Bronia, are¡eft alone and homeless among the ruins of bombed\'farsa\\";

Soon they ¡oin up with another boy, Jan,\y'ho hasbeco me a clever thieL ;).ble to steal food fro~ áll kindsof pbees. They ¡ive every day in danger of death byshooring. or from the cold, or from hunger. When rhe\\'~uends, rhey leave Poland andbegin ro \\"alk south toS\\"irzerland, hoping to find rhcir p.arcnts rhere. Ir is along, h~ud journey.

Bur Jan carries with hinrall the time rhe sih'ersword,'\\'hieh rhe children's farher had givcn him rhree yearsbefore. Jan kno\Vs he musr never lose ir, because rhesworlbrings rhem luck ...,.... .

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CONTENTS

STORY I:-JTRODlICTION

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The escape

1 Journey throllgh the air

3 The sih'er s\Vord

4 The children

5 J Jn Jnd ¡van

6 Looking for Edek

Across the countr)'

8 Trollble with a train

9 The Bavarian fJrmer

10 The Burgomaster

11 Dangerous 'water

12 Missing

13 The storm

14 Safe!

GLOSSAR y

.-\CTlVITIES: Before Reading

.-\CTIVITIES: \X/hile Reading

ACTIVITIES: After Reading

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

.-\BOUT BOOK\X'ORMS

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This is a story of a Polish farnily, and what happened rothem during the Second \'V'orld \V~1r, and immcdiatelyafterwards. Their home \vas in Warsaw,ancl the bther,Joseph Balicki, was t~e headmaster of a school. He and hisSwiss wife, i\:largrit, had three children. In 1940, when theNazis tookJosephaway to prison, RlIth \Vas nearly thirteen,Edek \Vas eleven, and BrOIlia' \Vas three.

joseph Balicki wa¿ sent to a prison in the n'lountains ofSouth Pobnd. It \Vas crowded with prisoners, but not

. many \Vere strong enollgh ro escape. Some die! escape, butmost ofthem \Vere caught andbrolldlt back, and the others

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During the first winter, ]oseph was too ill to try toescape. He sat looking at the three or four photos of hisfamily that he was allowed to keep, and wondered whatwas happening to them now.

During the summer his health got better, but now therewere more guards. A group of six prisoners tried to escape,and ]oseph was one of them. Bllt they were soon caughtand brought back, and]oseph w~s locked in a room alonefor a month.

The next winter he was ill again. He stilI wanted toescape, but he decided to wait until earIy spring when therewould be less snow on the mountains. Very carefully, he'made his plans.

He decided to pretend to be a guardo If he did this, hecould walk out with the other guards, past the guard-houseand through the gate to freedom. But how could he get aguard's uniform?

One morning in March, ]oseph made a little baH ofpaper and threw it at a guardo It hit him behirtd the ear andmade him turn round. The next ball hit the guard on thenose. For this, ]oseph \Vas again locked away in a roomalone.

Twice each da y, a guard brought him food. Ir was putthrough a special hole in the door. On the evening of thethird day, the guard carne with ]oseph's food and began tounlock the cover over [he hole in the door. In a moment, theguard would loo k through the hole before putting the foodthrough. ]oseph was waiting for this. He had a catapult

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which was made from sticks, and from the elastic in thesides of his boots. And he had a smooth round stone.

Suddenly, the guard's face appeared at the hole in thedoor. ]oseph shot the stone from the catapulto Ir hit theguard on the head and knocked hjm down.

Joseph shot the stone from the catapulto

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engipe going. There was sorne luggage in rhe road, and anangry group of peopIe around it.

')"ou're rwo hours lare!' someone shoured.'1 rold you, rhe snow is making rhe road dangerous,'

replied rhe driver.joseph hid behind rhe wall of snow ar rhe side of rhe

road. He \Vas on the edge of a cliff, which dropped sreepIyinro rhe darkness. He heard rhe sound oE large boxes beingdropped on ro rhe road.joseph moved quietly along rhe edge of rhe cliff, and saw

a square shape next ro the road. In the dark ir looked like acaft wirhour \vheels. Quickly, he hid undernearh.

Sllddenl~-, a heavy box banged clown on rhe boardsaho\"e his head. He heard boors moving C)[1 rhe wood and inrhe snow. and rhe voices of soldicrs giving orders. 1\loreboxes were pUf in, :md rhen covered \Virh a heav)' clorh.\Vhen rhe soldiers \Vere back in rhe road, joseph pulledhimself on':r rhe \Vooden side and under rhe clorh.

.\ loud \'oi..:e shomed. 'Are you ready?'Then sorncbody answt'rcd frorn rhe oeher side of rhe

dark va¡¡e~-, and suddenl)' rhe \\!ooden boards joseph wasIying on beg:m ro move. The)' \Vere sliding out inco rhed,ukne55. a\\'ay from rhe roae!. \\7here \vas he?

Joseph lifred the dorh ancl looked out. He \Vas in aluggage lifr. mo\'ing rhrough rhe air!

There '-\-ere lors of luggage lifts in rhe mOllntains. They\\-ere díi\-en h~'elecrriciry amI were llsed for carrying thingsfrom one side of a steep valle)' ro [he other. joseph looked

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Now joseph had ro move quickly. Under his bed was along piece of a blanker, wirh a benr nail ried ro rhe end of ir.]oseph pushed rhe piece of blanker rhrough rhe hole in rhedoor. The guard's ke:.s \vere on rhe fIoor, and ir rook severaldesperare momenrs before joseph managed ro pick up rhekeys wirh rhe benr mil and pull rhem up rowards him.

He unlocked his door and pulled rhe guard inside.Quickly, he took off rhe guard's uniform and put ir orihimself. The warm har covered his ears and helped ro hidebis face. Then, locking rhe guard in rhe room, he hurriedoutside into rht~<.:CIdJnd follo\ved the orher guards rowardsrhe gare. He had watched rhe gllards leaving a hundredtimes and knew exaerly whar ro do.

'Anything ro repon?' rhe ofticer at rhe gare asked eachguardo

'Norhing, Sir,' they ans\Vereq.

'Norhing, Sir,' joseph answered in his best German.Then he followed rhe orhers our oE rhe gare.Hewas free!

The village of Zakyna was a kilometre below rhe prisoncampo There was no moon rhar night, bm j oseph could seelights in the windows 'of rhe houses. Just bclow rhe lasthouses in the village, the road rurned away from the cliffedge. A mail car \Vas sropped wirh irs lights on and its

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Joseph li(ted the cloth Gnd looked out.

ahead into the darknes-s. \Vere there soldiers on the otherside of the valley, too? If rhere were, what was he going todo? He could nor get away unseen, and he had no gun.

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Then he decided what to do.Ar last the lift stopped with a bang, and a lighr was

shining in his face.'1 have a gun; joseph said calmly. 'If you makc a sOllnJ,

I'lIshooryou.'An angry Polish voice said something.'Be quiet, or 1'11shoot,' joseph said. 'Give me your light.'He took thelight from the shaking hands and turned ir

on rhe other face. The man had a grey beard, and a roughfarmer's face. joseph felr better. The man \Vas Polish, like

himself.joseph spoke more gently. 'Take out the boxes. 15 the!ih

\Vorked from this end? Good. Then we shan't have visirars

from the orher side.'The man pur the boxes into a shed, near rhe ¡ift. Then he

raok one for himself and carried it to his house. josephfollowed him. The box contained food and clorhing from

rhe town.An old woman was waiting inside the house, and she

looked frighrened when she saw joseph. He threw his hat

and coat on to a chair.'Here's my gun," he said with a smile. 'It's a bar of

chocolate.' He broke it into three pieces and gave thern

sorne.'1 don't understand,' said the man slowly. 'Y oU speak

and look like a PoJe, but your uniform-'just then, they heard a bell ringing on the other side oE

the valley.

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'Thar's rhe prison bell,' said rhe mano 'They ring ir whena prisoner escapes.'

'1 am rhe prisoner,' joseph rold rhem.

The nexr day, sorne German soldiers carne ro rhe house,looking for rhe escaped prisoner, bur joseph hid in rheehimney unril rhey had gone.

He stayed \Virh rhe Polish couple tor rwo weeks. Theywere kind people and rhey lookeJ atrer him \vell. His rhinbody heeame srronger, and he began ro look quite healrhy.Bur on rhe fiftecnrh dar he Idr. The ülJ [11,111guided himthrough rhe rnol1nrains tor rhree days, rhen he said goodbye.

And so joseph beg~ln the hrsr pan of his long journeyhome.

3The si/ver s\Vord

Ir rook ]oseph fOl\[ and a 1ulf weeks ro \v':dk home roWarsaw. He kne\v the cíe)' ..•..dl, bur no\\' rherc \Vas aimosrno strect rhar he r,'(ol~nileJ, and Bor an undamaged, ~building anywherc. Peopk \Vere m,l!,ing their homes ineelbrs, or inca \'6 \',;h ¡eh ehey h~1d l1\~ld,;?i11the rui nedbuildings. The onl~' bus:, place was rhe railway, whercrrains moved through ,dar and nighr, carrying soldiers roRussia or bringing back the injured rrom Germany.

Ir was rhree d:1ys hdore J oseph fou nd rhe srreer where heused ro live. The sclwol and his house had,disappeared.

'\"\~har happened?' he asked people, bur mosr of themwere ne\\' and not able ro help him. Then he saw MrsKrause, rhe mother' of a ehild who had been ar his sehool.

'The ~azis desrroyed your sehool,' she said.'\"\'har happened ro my wife?''They Glme tor her injanuary \ast year, during rhe night .

She's in Germany, probably working on the land.''Did rhe children go with her?' asked joseph.~lrs l'raU5~ rurned a\Vay. '1 don'r kno\\' anything about

them: she said.Bllr Joseph knew she \vas hiding bad ne\\'s. 'T ell me,

ple,1se,' he sa id.So she told him all she knew. COn rhe nighr your \\'ife was

raken away, somebody shot at rhe car. One of the NazisolJiers \Vas hit in rhe arm before'rhey got away. But anhOllr brer. ~\lor more soldiers carne back and destroyed thehouse \\'irh a bOrilb. The children have nor been secn since.'

Th3t \\'.\S al! ~lrs l'rause could tcllJoseph, but he knewrhar sh:: rhoughr rhe children were elead.

For sevaallhys, Joscrh searchcd rhe city for his children..-\t nighr he rerurnecl home to rhe Krauses, who gave himfood and a bed.

One ni~ht, :.trs Krause said, 'YOll can'r go on Iike rhis.Almast cerrainly yaur chilJren died when rhe bomb wentoff. Search far your wife instead of them.'

'Germany is a large place,' said Joseph. 'How \vill 1find

her?'

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'Perhaps she escaped, like you,' said MIs Krause. 'Didyou decide to meet somewhere if you were separated?'

'Yes, we did. In Switzerland. My wife is Swiss and herparents sti11live there.'

Mrs Krause smiled. 'Then go to Switzerland, and perhapsyou wi11find her there.'

But ]oseph spent several more days looking for hischildren. One afternoon, he was searching among the ruinsof his old home when he found a small silver sword. It wasabout fourteen centimetres long, with a dragon at one end .It was a paper knife, used for opening letters. ]oseph hadonce given ir to his wife for a birthday presento

While he was cleaning the knife, he saw a sma11 boywatching him. The boy \Vas thin and his clothes were oldand dirty. He was cartying a wooden box under one arm,and a sma11grey cat under the other.

'Give me that sword,' said the b'oy.'But it's mine,' said ]oseph.'You found it here, and this is my place.'

.]oseph explained about his ~ouse.'1'11give you food for it,' said the boy, and he offered

]oseph a sandwich.'1have plenty of food,' said]oseph. He put his hand into

his pocket, but it was empty. 'That's my sandwich!' helaughed. 'You took it from my pocket!'

But before ]oseph coul? take it back, the boy ate most ofit and gave the rest to his cato

After a minute,]oseph said, 'I'm looking for my children.

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'Cive me that sword,' said the bol'.

Ruth is fifteen now, and she's taH with fair hair. Edek isthirteen, and Bronia is five.'

-Warsaw is full of children,' said the boyo 'They're alldirty and hungry and they alllook alike.'

TlI give you this sword if you do something for me,' saidjoseph. 'If you ever see Ruth or Edek or Bronia, you musttel! them about our meeting. Tell them I'm going roSwitzerland to find their mother. Tell them ro follow me assoon as they can.'

The boy rook the sword and put it in his wooden box .

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The Si/ver Sword

'I'm starting the journey ro SwirzerIand tonight,' said]oseph. 'I'm going to hide on a train. Where's the best placeto jump on a train unseen?' ")

'You will be caught and shot,' said the boy. 'Or you willdie from the cold.'

'1 still have togo,' said ]oseph .

'Meet me tonight, when ir's dark, and 1'11 show you theplace where the trains slow down,' said rhe boy.

That night, when ie was dark. ]oseph said goodbye to rheKrauses and lefe their house for ehe Jasr rime. The boy waswaiting for him at rhe borrom of ehe srreer.

'We must use the back srreees,' s3id rhe boyo 'lf the Nazisoldiers see us, ehey'lI shoor.'

'What's that you're carrying?' said Joscph.'Bread,' said rhe boyo '1 borrowed ir from the Nazi

soldiers. They have plenry of ir. Take it, you'll be hungry.''I've a loe to rhank YOL! for,' said Joseph, 3S rhey waired

beside the railway. '\Xfhar's your name?'

The hoy said norhing. He 'sat holding his car anel rhewooden hox.

'WiU you come wirh me?' askedJoseph.The boy didn't ans"'er rhe quesrion. He opened rhe

wooden box and rook our rhe silver sword. 'This wi!! bringme luck, and it will bring youluck beca use Y0L! gave ir ro me.1 don't teU anybody my n~me - ir's nor sate. Bur f'JI reU youbecause you gave me rhe sword.' He whispcred. 'Jr's Jan.'

A train was coming.

12

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The children

'Goodbye, Jan,' said Joseph. 'Remember your promise.Whatever happens, 1 shall nor forger you.'

le was dark, andJ an did nor see him jump on ro the train.Ir was raining heavily now, and Jan hurried back into rhedark streers, wirh rhe grey car inside his coar. The woodenbox was under his armo

And he thought of rhe silver sword inside.

4The children

\'\lhat happened to Joseph's family thar night over ayearago? \Vas Mrs Krause's story true? Did the Nazi soldierstake joseph's wife away? Did rhey returo and blow up thehouse \Virh the children in ir?

This is whar happened.Ir was snowing thar nighr in Warsaw. Ruth and Bronia

were asleep in rhe room next to rheir morher's bedroom.Edek's room was on rhe rop Hoor. He was asleep when theNazi soldiers carne, but woke up'when he heard a noise

ourside his door.The door \vas locked. Edek shouted and banged on it,

bur could not ger out. He lisrened. In his mother's room, themen were giving orders, bur Edek couId nor hear what they\Vere s;:\:'ing. In the ceiling was a small square door rhat ledto rhe arrie. Thcrt: was a ladder bcrween his bed and thewall. Quietly, he moved ir under the square door andc1imbed up.

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There was a rifle hidden in cheattic, and Edek took it andclimbed back down to his room. The noises in the ¡oombeIow had stopped. He looked out into the street and saw acar waiting outside the front door. Two Nazi soldiers werepulling his mother towards it.

He opened the window. He was afraid to shoot until hismother was safeIy in the car. His first shot hit a soIdier'sarmo The man shouted with pain and jumped in beside thedriver. Edek aimed the next two shots at the car wheeIs. Hehit one, but the car got away.

Edek used the rifle to break down his bedroom door,then he did the sameto the door of his sisters' room. Broniawas crying and Ruth \Vastrying to caIm her.

'1 hit one of them,' said Edek.'That was silly,' said Ruth. 'They'll come back for us

now. We must get away from here before chey do.'Ruth dressed Bronia while Edek fetched overcoats and

boots and warm caps. Ruth pulled a coat on over hernightdress, and put a scarf round Bronia.

'We can't go out the front way. 1 can hear another carcoming,' said Edek. 'And the back wall is too high and thereare soIdiers in that street. We'll have to go over the roof.'

He picked up Bronia and Ied the way upstairs. He waswearing his father's thick overcoat and carrying the rifle on .his back.

When they were in the'attic, Edek broke the window.tothe roof and climbed out into the cold night. R~th liftedBronia up to him, then followed her.

14

The children

'Listen, Bronia,' said Edek. '1£you make a sound, \Veshall ~l be killed. WaIk behind me and hold on to the rifle.And don'r look down!'

The roof was steep, and the snow made it difficult tostand or walk. Edek managed to climb across to thechimney, with Bronia holding on to the rifle behind him.

'Wa/k behind me and ho/d on to the rifle,' said Edek.

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She was too afraid to speak or make a noise. Then hereached back and pulled Rurh up after him. They C9uJd notsee what was happening in rhe srreer, but they could hearshouting and the sound of cars stopping suddenJy.The houses in rhis streer were joined rogerher, and so

I1

rhey were able ro move from roo£ ro roof and ger away.• They had gone a hundred rnerres when rhe firsr bombi expJoded. Fire lir up rhe sky aboye rheir horne, and rhey felI1

flar in the snow. The rooE shook and rhe \vhole city seemed'H ro rremble. Anorher bornb exploded, and srnoke and

flames carne from rhe windo\vs.

'Hurry,' said Edek. '\\'e won'l ler rhern ger us now.'They moved quickly across rhe roof-tops umil rhey

found a Ere escape on rhe ourside of a building, thcn rhey-~ J \'ienr down ro the streer. On they ran, nor knowing orcaring where they wenr as long .as rhey lefr the terribleflames behind them.

It \Vas the beginning oE another grey \vinrer's day befarethey finalIy stopped at a ruin of a bombecl house. They slcprinside ir until the eady aErernoon, thcn wake up cok! ;:¡ndhungry.

They made their new horne in el eellar at the other ene! of the

Icity. When they asked the Polish Couneil abollt theirmorher, rhey were rold she hae! been t;:¡ken to Germany ro

¡ \York on the land. Nobody knew \vhieh part oE Gerrnany.-1

'The war \vilI end soon,' they were told, 'and yourmorher wilI come back.'

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Edek kept himself busy, but Ruth found her new lifedifficult. Then she started a school. She invited other lostchildren, of Bronia's age and a litde older. Whil1 Edek wasout .finding food, she told them stories, and taught them toread and write. There was soon a crowd of poor, homeless .children wanting to join her school, but there was onlyroom for twelve.

In the early summer, they went to live ..in the forestoutside the city. Life was healthier here, and there wereplenty of otherfamilies for the children to playwith. Ruth'sschool sornetimes had as many as twenty-fivechildren in it.Because of the kindness of the farmers,it was easier to

get food. The farmers were not allowed to sell food toanyone except the Nazis, butthey gave the children whateverthey could. And they also hid food in cellars or holes in theground. Then the children helped them to take it secredyinto the towns, to seUto the Polish people.Edek was one of the children who did this. He went off to

the town at night with burter sewn into his co~t, or hiddenamong wood ~na cart. But one night, Edek did not retum.Ruth questioned other families in the forest, but no one hadseen him. After sorne days, she discovered that he hadcalled at a house in a village. The secret police had beenthere, searching for hidden food. They discovered thebutter that was sewn into Edek's coat. After setting .firetothe house, they had taken the owner and Edek away.'From now on,' Ruth' told Bronia, 'we will have to look

after ourselves.'

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5jan and Ivan

Two years passed without newsofEdek. Ruth and Broma.retumed ro Warsaw each winter, and went back to theforest in the surnmer. But in the summer of 1944, the skieswere £Ullof planes, and they could hear bornbs falling in thecity. Though the children did not know it, the Russianarrny was rnoving west and the batde for Warsaw wasbeginning.ByJanuary 1945, the Nazis were gone and the citywas in

. the control of the Russians. That winter, Ruth and Bronia¡had waited in the forest because of the fighting, but nowthey carne back into the city. The Warsaw that they hadknown had disappeared. Bornbs had destroyed thebuildings,and there were no streets left. .Sornehow, they found the cellar which had been their

horne for two years. The chairs and beds had gone, but theyhad brought their blankets frorn the foresto Then sorneboys in Ruth's school rnended the table and rnade chairsfrorn boxes, and lessons began again.Qne day, Bronia carne running into the cellar. 'There's a

boy lying down outside and l don't think he can get up,' shesaid. 'l've never seen hirn befare.'The boy was lying on sorne stones. Ruth thought he

rnight be any age between nine and thirteen. His face wasthin and white and his eyes wer.e closed. A thin cockerelstood beside the boy's head, rnaking noises at anyone who

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A thin cockerel sto()d beside the boy's head.

wem ne3r him. Ruth chased rhe cockerel away.'Does anyone know him?' she asked the children.Nobodydid.

'He looks ill from hunger,' said Rurh. 'Yankel, will youhelp me Jift him dO\vn to thecellar? Eva, find him somethingro eat, some SOllP if you can get ir.'

They carried the boy do\',:n ro the celJar and, after a fewminutes, he opened his eres.

'Where's]impy?' he saiel.

Suddenly, the cockere1 appeareel in a hole in the wall andjumped dO\vn beside the boyo

'Jímpy, Jílllpyl' cried the boy, anJ reached out towardsthe bird.

'What's YOllrname?' asked Ruth."'{Ton't telJ rOll,' said the boyo

'Look, Eva's brought Y0l!sorne SOllP,' said Ruth. 'Yoll'lIfee! better in a minute. Sit up and drink it.'

20

Jan and Ivan

A girl pushed through the crowd at the door. She had asmall wooden box in her hand. '1 found this in the street,'she said. '1 think it's' his.'

'Give it to hirn,' said Ruth.The boy took the box and smiled. Everyone wanted to

look inside, but he wouldn't open it. But he told them his

•name. It was Jan.

For sorne days, Jan was too il1to lea ve. Then, when he wasbetter, he didn't want to go. So he rnade his home with Ruthand Bronia, and becarne one of the famil)'. He carried thebox everywhere, but he never opened it.

Several streets away a new Russian guard hut hadappeared. One afternoon, Ruth went there. '1 wam ro seeyour officer,' she said to the guard standing outside.

'The whole of\V'arsaw wants to see my officer,' said theguardo 'Run away and play, little girl.'

'I'm not a litrIe girl,' said Ruth. '1'11 be eighteen next

\veek.'The guard smiled. '\Vell, beca use it's your birthday next

week, I'~ ask him.' He went imo the hut, then carne out afew moments later. 'My officer says come back the rear

after nex"!.'But before he could stop her, Ruth pushed past him inro

the hut. Inside, an officer sat behind a desk.'Come out!' shouted the guardo'AH right, Ivan,' said the officer. 'I'Il talk ro her.' He

looked at Ruth. 'What do you "vant?'

21

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The Si/ver Sword

'1want food and c10thes and blankets, pencils and paperoI've got sixteen children-'

The surprised officer nearIy feHoff his chair.'Seventeen, if you count my brorher, Edek, who is lost,'

went on Ruth. 'Bronia 'is my sister, and the others arechildren at my school. They are aHhalf dead from hunger,but they want to learn and have nothing to write on. And 1

22

oJ

Jan and lvan

want you to find Edek. He's been lost for two years.'The officer waved sorne papers at her. 'See these? They

contain information' abour missing people, about ten to eachpage. But it's an impossible jobo Perhaps I'H burn the lot!'

'Don't do that,' said Ruth. 'The writing is only on oneside of the paper. We can use the back of it at my school forwriting on.'

The officer laughed, and Ruth laughed, too .'I'U take the information about your brother,' he said.

'But 1warn you, nothing will happen.''Thank you,' said Ruth.'Come back tomorrow,' said the officer.She carne back the next day and the guard, Ivan, was

waiting for her. He had sugar, bread and six blankets togive her.

'Sign your name,' he said. 'And put your address.'She wrote 'Borribed ceHar' and told him where it was.A week later, Ruth was preparing a birthday tea. Most

of the children had been invited. Suddenly, she heard anoise and ran outside to find Jan fighting with a soldier. Theknife in Jan's hand was near the soldier's neck, and Jimpythe cockerel was biting the soldier's ankles.

'Jan, drop that knife!' she cried. She threw herself intothe fight and they aH feH on to the ground. Ruth knockedthe knife fromJan's hand.

'That's a nice welcome, isn't it?' said 1van the guard, ashe picked up his cap and brushed dust off it.

Ruth picked up the knife. 'Don't you understand, Jan?'

23.~ .~

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• ¡

The Si/ver Sword

she said. 'They're our friends.''They're soldiers,' said Jan.'They're Russian soldiers, not Nazis. They've come to

make us free and to look after us.''1 hate aH soldiers,' said Jan. And he wouIdn't come back

into the ceHar when rhe orhers went inside.'I've sorne informarian abour your brorher, Edek,' Ivan

rold Ruth. 'He's in a camp in Posen.'

Rurh rhrc\v her arms round his neck and kissed him.'Thank YOll, rhank you!'

'And l've brought a birrhc.lay present for you,' he said.'It's sorne chocolare.'

'Whar's chocolate?' said Gronia.Suddenly, J;ln 3.ppcared ar che door. He was crying.'Don'r cry .• boy; ,',aid

Ivan. 'fm flor angry.'Jan wa~; holding om !lis

litde \Voodel1 box. le \V3S

in pieccs. 'YOl1 fell on irand broke ir!' he cried.

'I'1I mend ir for you,'said Ivan.

Jan shook his he::ldangrily, anu something: fel!from rhe broken bo:\:. irwas the siker s\\'orcl rh',HJoseph had given him morethan t\Vo ycars befo re . It !l'l1S the si/¡'t'r sword.

2-~

'" Looking for Edek

Ruth picked it up and looked closely at it. Where had sheseen it before? Then she recognized it. Ir was the birthdaypresent hetfather had given to her mother before the war.Then she, roo, began to cry.

'~lore tears!' said Ivan. 'Excuse me, while I go outside

and fetch my umbreHa!'And he went away wondering what it was al! about.

6Looking for Edek

While Bronia \Vas asleep rhat night, Ruth and Jan taIked. ,There was a lor Ruth wanred to know abour her father, andJan raid her the lirde thar he remembered.

'Why didn'r you speak about him before?' Rurh wantedra know. 'Surelr he toId you our names?'

But war does srrange things to young people. The worryof finding food and staying alive each day was enough tomake Jan forgcrjoseph. But now he remembered him. Andhe remcmbered someching cIse.

'He was going ro Switzerland to find your morher,' said

Jan.B\' che morning, Rurh knewwhat she musr do.," •....

'\\'e're going ra Switzerland ro find Farher and Morher,'

she raId Bronia.'Where's tbat?' asked Bronia.'.\1illions of kilometres away,' said Jan.'Spring is coming,' said Ruth, 'and in summer it will be

25

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The Si/ver Sword

lovely sleeping under the stars. We'l1 go to Posen first, tofind Edek. It's only two hundred kilometres. We can beg forfood.'

'1'11steal it,' saidJan.Ivan brought them shoes to wear, and a wooden box

which he had made for Jan. They left Warsaw carryingenough food for a day, two blankets, Jimpy the cockerel,and the wooden box with the sword in it.

The road out of the city was crowded with refugees .Sorne were going one way, sorne the other - it didn't seemto matter which way as long as they were moving. Lorriesfu!l of soldiers went past them.

'1wish we could ride on a lorry,' saidJan. 'Jimpy's tiredof me carrying him and he doesn't like walking.'

'1 like walking,' said Bronia. She was pro ud of her shoes.Not many of the refugees wore s~oes.

But she became tired later and was glad when a lorrystopped and let them ride for a while. They sat in the back.and ate the food which they had brought in their pockets. Irwas evening when the lorry stopped for them to get down,a hundred and sixty kilometres nearer Posen.

That night, they slept in an empty bam. But no lorriesstopped the next day, and by evening they had only walkedthirty kilometres. Their feet hurt and they were very tired.

On the aftemoon of the fourth day, they arrived atPosen. At the first gua.rd hut, Ruth showed a soldier thepiece of paper which Ivan had given her. It had Edek'sname and address on it.

,26

"" •...;

IRnLooking for Edek

Lorries full of soldiers went past them.

27

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The Si/ver Sword •..•1

!,_A

1Across the country

. :1•I.I

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'The camp is a large building, down by the river,' theguard told them. And they went to find it.

The secretary at the camp knew nothing about Edek, buta doctor was able to heIp them.

'1 sent Edek BaIieki to the Warthe camp wirh rhe othersiek prisoners,' he said. Before Rurh couId ask aboutEdek's illness, he was gone.

'The camp is only a kiIometre away, down the river,'said rhe secrerary.

But Edek was nor at the \V'arthe camp either. The manwho spoke ro Rurh remembaed him \Vd!.

'He was a wild bol',' he said. 'He ran away this morning,but Idon 't know where he went.'

Ruth did nor wam ro go on to SwirzerIand withour Edek.In the village of KoJina, jusr norrh oE Posen, there was aIarge field kitchen, so it was there rhat the rhree childrenwent ncxr. Evcryone e/se sct'med ro be going (here, and rheysoon became pan oi rhe moving cro\Y-d.. Ar the village, Ruth, Bronia and Jan \Vere pur in a field

with a Jot oi other young pcople, rhen brer raid to join aqueue for clinner. Rurh could smell soup as rhe line ofhungry children moved towa rds the Russian [¡cId kirchens.

'Cheer up, rhe war is almosr over,' said rhe cook, as heputsoup imo a bowI andgave it to Jan. He suw rhe cockereIunder Jan's arm and pur an extra spoonful of ~oup into thebowl. 'That's for your sick [ricnd,' he toldJan. 'Let's hopeir makes him sit up and sing!'

Someone put bread imo Jan's h:lOd aod he moved on

28

I

r,

past th.e kitchens ro find a comer ro sit down.'Look where you're going!' a voice shouted.Jan feH over someone's foor. The bowI hir a srone and

broke, and rhe soup ran into rhe dust. Lirde bits of meat andbread and vegeta bies lay on rhe ground.

Suddenly, aH control disappeared. The queue became agroup of wild, hungry, fightingchildren, andJan was at rhecentre of the fight as the children tried to get the food. Ruthran forward, afraid thar Bronia wouId get hurto She did notknow that (he cook had picked Bronia up and held her highup out of danger. Ruth, too, became pare of the fighting.Children \V-erebeneath her ami on top of her. She reached,'for rhe food - bur found a hand. For same reason, shc held

on ro it.At lasr: rhe figheing sroppcd, and the children began ro

mo\'e away. A dirty and bruiseJ Jan stood up, leaving the

broken bowl on rhe ground.Jimpy lay quite still. His neck was broken .Ruth was srill holding rhe hand. She looked to see v,-hose

hand it was.Ir \Vas Edek's.

7Across the country

There \Vere still a few trains running from Posen, and Rurh,Edek, Bronia ane! Jan manageJ to get on one. tt was ful! ofrefugees and 00 ies wal' ro Berlin. They were in one of the

29

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The Si/ver Sword

open trucks, which was cold but not so crowded.'1don't like riding in trus cruck,' said Bronia.'We're lucky to be here at aH,' Ruth told her. 'Hundreds

of people were lefe behind at Posen, and they may have towait for weeks.'

'Edek's doctor wanted to send him back to the Warthecamp,' said Jan.

'He said he wanted to make Edek fat,' laughed Bronia.'Like a chicken for Christmas!'

Ruth looked at her brother. His face was white and verythin. He was sixteen now, and it was two and a half yearssince she had last seen him, but he did not look like the Edekshe remembered.

She looked at Jan. He had helped her with Bronia andkept his sadness to himse!f afeer Jimpy's death, but she wasnot sure that he felt comfortable with Edek.

'Jan may get jealous of Edek,' thought Ruth.Her fears seemed to come true later when the people in

the open truck began to teH of their adventures, and theirescapes from the Nazis. Afterseveral other stories, Edektold his.

'1 was taken to work on a farm near Guben,' he said. '1tried to run away, but they always caught me - untillastwinter when the war began to turn against the Nazis. 1hidunder a train, holding on with my arms and legs, andmanaged to get back to Poland.'

Jan gave a crue!laugh. 'Why don't you trave! that wayhere? Then the rest of us wiHhave more room.'

,30

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Across the country

'1could never do that again,' said Edek.'No,' said Jan, looking at Edek's thin arms. 'And you

didn't do it before. There's no room to lie under a train, andthere's nothing ro hold on to.'

Edek pulledJan ro his feet. 'Have you ever looked undera train?' He described the underside of a train in accuratedetaíl, and everyone except Jan belíeved him.

Edek pulled Jan to his feet.

31

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The Si/ver Sword

'Why weren't you shaken off?' Jan wanted to know.'Beca use the train went through sorne water, and it

began to freeze on me,' said Edek. '1 soon became a piece ofice, frozen to the bottom of the train. Later, 1heard Polishvoices and knew that we were out oE Germanl'. My voicewas the only pan oE me that wasn't frozen, so 1shouted forhelp. The station master carne and broke rhe ice and carriedme out from under the rrain. Itrook two hours for the ice todisappear.'

Larer, when aH was quier and rhe refugees lay sleepingunder the cold srars, Rurh \vhispered ro Edek, '\\las ir reallyrrue?'

'Yes, ir was rrue,' he said.She rook his hand and held ir in hers. 'Norhing like thar

must ever happen ro you again,' she said.

Nine days larer, ar rhe end oE Mal', the train reached Berlin.Sorne of rhe refugees immediately disappeared inro thedústy ruins of rhe city, others waited wirh their lllggage,hoping rhar someone \vould give them food or teH themwhere ro go. Bur rheirs \Vas rhe second refugee [rain rhatday and rhere was nor enough food for e\-errone.

But the children were happl'. They lefr rhe srationlaughing and shouting, on their way ro a refllgee camp norfar away. Only a few weeks ago, rhey had been in Warsaw;ten days ago, Edek had b~en missing. Bur now they \Vere aHrogerher and a third of the \va)' ro S\\'itzerland.

The camp was an old, empry cinema. Ir \Vas warm and,

32

Across the cotmtry

dry and cornfortable, and there was food ro ear. After fourbowls of soup each, the children were given blankers andmattresses and taken to a comer of rhe hall where rheyfound a place to sleep. But comforrable rhough ir was, rhecamp was ro be their home for only a few days.

'$wirzerland isstill a long way away,' Rurh reminded rhe

orhers. '\Ve musr go on.''T ake che Porsdam road and follow your nos.es,' rhe

family \Vere rold, and off they went, singing a happy songoRussian soldiers marched past them, rhen Iines of wamenand girls in grey-green uniforms. These \Vere followed by

hundreds of carrs, pulled by horses.:\exr day, rhe children went across che countr;; ro\vards

Birrerfeld and Halle. A British officer hae! given rhem sornemoney for food, but rhis was soon gane and rhey had ro findwork ro get more. This was difficlllt beca use rhe facroriesv,,'ereclosed, and the farms were using rhe freed prisoners of\Var. Some villages refused ro ler rhe childrcn emer beca userhere \Vas no more food or places ro sray for refllgees.

One camp had a school for Polish chilJren. If rheyremained rhere, rhe children werc rold, they would recciveall the food ;,tnd schooling and medicine tht¡- needecl. Edekwas verl' tired when rhey arrived, ane! Ruth \Vas ready rosray for as long as he needed to resto Eut Edek felt berrerafrer a few days, and onc look ar rhe sil ver s\vorcl \Vasent)ugh ro make him \vant ro go on to Sv.:iturland.

So they carne ro the eclge of the Russian lOne.In the first days of peace afeer rhe war ended, [here were

33

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The Si/ver Sword

many places where it was quite easy to move unnoticedfrom one zone to another. The children did this somewherein the Thuringian foresto It was only the different uniformsof the soldiers, and the strange words on the signs, that toldthem they were now in the American zone.

8Trouble with a train

It was now the middle of June, and Edek was no better.Each day he walked more slowly, and at night his coughkept Ruth awake. She decided he must rest for a week.

They made a camp near a river and planned to stay thereuntil Ruth and Jan earned enough money to buy Edek apair of new boots. Ruth took a cleaning job at the localschool, and Jan got work on a fan~. Edek rested under thetrees with Bronia to look after him.

There was plenty of food from the army food kitchensn~ar their camp, but several times Jan carne h0II?-ewith tinsof meat or fish.

'Where did they come from?' Ruth asked him.'The farmer,' replied Jan. 'He's very generous.'But there was strange writing on the tins, and Ruth

began to suspect that Jan was lying. 'It's American food,and 1know he's stealing it,' she told Edek.

Edek wanted an answer to the mystery. Without sayinganything to Ruth, the next afternoon he went alone to thefarm where Jan worked. He hid behind a tree and waited.

34

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Trouble with a train

He saw Jan leave the farm before the day's work was over.lnstead of returning to the camp, Jan hurried off theopposite way, and ~hrough the town.

Edek followed him to a raitway line, where a boy jumpedfrom behind a tree at the side of the road. He waved to Jan,who went across to him.

Edek went closer, but stayed out of sight and waited. Hewaited so long that he began to wonder if they had gone.Then suddenly Jan carne out from behind the trees and ranalong one side oftherailway, towards the signal rampoTheother boy had disappeared.

Jan came out {rom behind the trees andran towards the signal rampo

35

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Edek c1imbed into a tree which gave him a good view ofthe lineo He saw Jan c1imb the signal ramp, which wentright across the line, and then lie down fIat on the top,aboye the lineo What was he going to do?'1must go and find'out,'thought Edek.He jumped down from rhe rree and went to the bottom

of the signal rampo'What are you doing, Jan?' he called.Jan did not see Edek unril that momento 'Go aVlay!' he

said, angrily.Then came a noise as rhe signal changed to green.'Go away!' Jan screamed at Edek. And he threw himsclf

at rhe signal and began te) pull ir.Edek heard the sound of a distant train.'Come down!' he shouted to Jan.Jan took no notice. He worked ~llickly with a spanner

and a paír of wire cutters. The noise of the train grewlouder, and dirty smoke rose above the trees."There's going to be an accident!' Edek thought, and

began to c1imb up the síde oE die rampoEdekwas not strong. Coughing badly, he pulled himseIf

up the ramp to the topo The signal had now changed to red.An angry Jan moved pasr Edek's face, ne:.uly knockinghimoff the rampo He said something, but Edek could not hearhim because of the noise of che train. Still worried abour anaccident, Edek stood up 'on the ramp and waved at thetrain. But the signal was at red, where Jan had put it, andthe train was already stopping.

\36

Troub/e with a train

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37

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The Si/ver Sword

A dark cloud of dirty smoke surrounded Edek. When hefinished coughing and wiping the smoke from his eyes, hesaw someone shouting at him ITombelow.It was an American soldier.And the soldier had a gun in his hand.

Captain Greenwood of the American Army sat in theCOurt-room and looked at the boy in from of him.'You stopped the train and were going to steaI foad from

it,' he said.

'No,' said Edek. '1mean, yes, I stopped the train. But no,I wasn't going to steal from it.''Why did you do it?' Captain Greenwood did not

understand. The boy was ill, and he did not seem the kindof person to play dangerous games with trains.Before Edek could answer, there was a noise at the

back of the court-room. A soIdier carne forward with amessage for Captain Greenwood. There was a whisperedconv,ersation, then the captain said, 'Yes, aH right. If theycan heIp us, bring them in.'Ruth,Jan and Bronia were brought in and made to stand

beside Edek. Bronia heId Ruth's hand and smiled. Jan wasbiting his lip, but his eyes were angry.'There's been a mistake, and I've come to explain,' said

Ruth in Polish. 'This is Jan. It's aHhis fault. I want to speakfor him.' There was an Ametican soldier who spoke Polishstanding near them, and he told Captain Greenwood whatRuth was saying.

-38

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J

Trouble with a train

'Who is the other child?' asked the captain.'My sister, Bronia,' said Ruth. 'She has nothing to do

with this. We're on ,our way to SwitzerIand and we'recamping near the river.''Have you any parems?' Captain Greenwood askedJan.'No, Ruth is my mother now,' saidJan.Ruth did her best ro explain this, and the things that had

happened at the railway lineo'So,' Captain Greenwood said to Jan, afeer Ruth stopped

speaking, 'you have no parents. Ruth Balicki is acting asyour mother. You say that Edek Balicki did not stop thetrain, but that you did. Is that right?'Jan's answer was to make a sudden run for the door.

Two guards brought him back, kicking and biting.'Can you control the boy?' Captai~ Greenwood asked

Ruth.'He's afraid of soldiers,' said Ruth. '1£you send those

guards outside, sir, I think he'll behave himself.'Captain Greenwood was surprised, but he decided to see

if the girI was right. 'Leave the boy and wait outside,' hetold the guards.Afeer the soldiers lefe the room, Jan became calmo'TeIl us what happened,' said Captain Greenwood.'It wasn't Edek's fault,' Jan said afeer a moment or twO.

'1 changed the signal and he came to stop me. I ran awayand he was caught. It was easy to get away, but he's a verystupid boy for his age.''Why did you stop the train?' said the captain.

39

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Ir was eady on a July morning when a Bavarian farmerpuUed open rhe door of his bam. He stared into the darkbuilding. rcmembering the noises he had heard. It was soquier thar he beg~1n ro wonder if he had made a mistake.Suddenly, a potato flew out and hir him on rhe neck!

'Corut: out!' he shoured.Ruth :tppcared, fol!owed by Edek.and Bronia.'\Ve onl:: staycd hel'e last night,' explained Ruth. 'We

han:n'r done <lny harm ro )'our bamo'Anorher potato hit the £armer's shirr. 'No harm!' he

shouted. '1 suppose rhat was a birrhday present!'Bronia laughed :1nd Edek smiled, but Ruth was angl'Y.

The Si/ver Sword

'Beca use of the food trucks.''You were going to steal from them yourself?''No,' said Jan.'So you were one of several rhieves,' said the captain.

'Was Edek Balicki one, roo?''No.''Who are the orhers?'Tve never seen them. I don'r know :ln:,rhing abour

rhem,' saidJan. 'If I did, I wouldn'r rel! you.''What did rhe orhcr boys pa~' yOl! ro StOp rhe rrain?'

asked Captain Greenwood.'Nothing,' said Jan. 'Sorncrimes rhey gave me sorne of

rhe food they rook.''But you say you've never Se<::n rhem.''They're c1ever,' said Jan. 'They leave rhe foocl in a

hiding-place, in the forest.''Butwhy do )'01.1 sreal foocl when Y0l! can gel' plcnry frorn

the army kitchens?' asked Captain Greel1\vood. 'Ir'sjust abad habit, isn't it?'

'The Nazis stole everyrhing fro'rn our country,' saie! Jan.'Now it's our ruro ro stcal from rhem.'

'But this is Americ:1tl rood YOll \'e becn stealing, nor Nazifood. It's sent here ro fced you and aH rhe orher rdugces. Ifyou steal it, you're robbing your o\\'n people. Do Y0l! rhinkthat's right ol' sensible?'

Jan began to cry. 'Edek is lll, and we are all hungry.l shallalways steal if we are hungry.'

Capta in Gl'eenwood moved the papers around on his

~.,.!j

The Bavarian (armer

desk. 'Edek Balicki,' he said, 'you can go. Jan, you wiU pay200 m'arks or go to prison fol' seven days.'

Ruth and Jan talked together for a minure, then Ruthsaid, 'Jan says he'U go to prison. We don't have enough

money ro pay the 200 marks.''We're saving our money to buy sorne boots for Edek,'

said Bronia.'It isn't long, Jan, and you'U be looked after,' said

Captain Greenwood, kindly. 'When you come out, staywith that morher - perhaps she'U be able to teach you not tostea!. And remind her ro semi me a postcard whcn you get

ro Switzerlando'

9The Bavarian farmer

l

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40

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'When will you grow up, you silly boy!' she said, pu11ingJan out of the bam. 'Say you're sorry.'

'Sorry,' Jan said to the farmer.'Now perhaps you'l1 te11me what you're doing here,'

said the farmer, looking at Edek.Edek explained who they were and where they were

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43

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going. 'It was after dark when we arrived last night,' hesaid. 'Wedidn'twanttowakeyou up. Butwe'l1payyouforusing your barn by doing a day's work.'

'Of course,' said the farmer. 'And if I'm not happy withthat, 1'11give you to the Burgomaster.'

'What's a Burgomaster?' asked Bronia.'He's an important town official who will be very

interested in you,' said the farmer. 'You're Poles, aren'tyou? We11,there's an order saying aH Poles must be sentback to Poland now. It's the Burgomaster's job to see thatthis order is obeyed.'

'We've just come from Poland,' said Ruth. 'We're notgoing back again.'

'We're going to Switzerland to find our father andmother,' said Bronia.

'1£the government decides that you must go back, thenback you will go,' said the farmer. 'And throwing pota toeswon't save you! Now come inside and have a bit ofbreakfast. 'Inside the farmhouse, on the kitchen table, was coffee

and fresh bread.'Ernrna!' caHed the farmer. 'We have four visitors from

Poland. Ruth, Edek,Jan and Bronia. This is Frau Wolff, mywife.'

A large, comfortable-Iooking lady shook hands witheach of them. Then she went to fetch more bread andcoffee. She could speak Polish better than her husband, andconversation became easier.

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The Si/ver Sword

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Another patato hit the (anner's shirt.

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'How did you get that dirt on your shirt?' Frau Wolffasked her husband, looking at the place where rhe potatohad hit him.

'It was a present from Poland,' replied the farmer,smiling at Jan. And they aH laughed so much that they

lo almost knocked over the coffee.'Eat aH you can,' said Frau Wolff, putting more bread on

rhe table.'We ger lors of refugees corning rhrough here,' said the

farmer, drinking his coffee. 'You 're nor rhe firsr ones I'vefound in ml' barn, but they have to \vork for their food. Sodon't think you're going to ger a holiday wirh me! We'lIstart work right after breakfasr. J

'Lec them rese today, Kurt,' said his wife.The farmer hir rhe table \yirh his hand. '1dan't believe in

making things easy for people,' he sai~i. 'No, rhey'lI startnow. Ruth ami J:1O can come to rhe field, Bfonia can feedrbe chickens, Edck can-'

'Edck wiIl sta)' in the kitchen and help me: said his wife.'Hc's 1l0t strong enough ro \vork oütside.'

And the look she gave her hushand made ir clcar that shedidn'r want an)' argurnenrs.

Kurr Wolff's farrn was high up in the B;1Vcuianhills, not farfram Czechoslovakia. There \Vere rn~es right to rhe top ofthe hills, and between rhe hilIS \vas che Rivc::rFalkcn.

A few kilometres away \Vas the vilbge of Boding, whereeach day rhe Burgomasrer receiveJ his orders fram the

44

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The Bavarian (armer

American soldiers who were living there. His orders wereto send aH the Polish and Ukrainian refugees back home inAmerican army lorries.

Most of rhe refugees were glad ro go home, but othershad reasons for nor returning. Rurh and her family did norwant ro return, so rhey had ro keep out of rhe Burgomaster's

sighr.Jan liked living on the farm. He said ir was as good as his

week in prison, which he had enjoyed very much! Hebeca me friendly wirh an old dog named Ludv.-ig.Unril janarri\'ed on the brm, Ludwig ¡ust lay in rhe sun doingnothing. Now he followed jan cverywhere. /

Ooe dar, v.;hen rhey were in the kitchen, Ruth looked ata photOgraph of a young rnan which was on rhe shelf.

'Who is rhat?' she asked .'That's m)' son,' said Frau Wolff quietly.'You didn'r sar rhat )'Ol! hacl chilclrcn,' said Edek.'We haven'r,' said Frall \\'/olff. 'Hans was kiIled in North

Africa. Rudolf, my ~'ollnger son, died while he was fightingro kecp the Russians out of \Varsaw.l

'\'(7a5 he ii1General Model's armr?' asked Edek.'Yes,' shid Fr:m \VolH.'Perhdps \Ve saw him,' said Jan, looking c10sely at the

photO. 'They all \Vore uniforms like thar, ancl used to hielein the ruins ro shoor at us. \Y/e hated them.'

'Sorne uf thc Germans \Vere nice in rhe ead)' days of rhe

war.' said Rurh.jan sC::lreelar Fr::lll \'Volff, thcnlooked back at the photo.

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How couId these friendIy peopIe have sons who had beenGerman soIdiers? He did not understand it.

'Yo u and I shouId be enernies,' he said to the farmer.'The onIy enemy you have,' said the farmer, 'is the

Burgomaster, and he hasn't given you any troubIe yet.'" 'Rudolf Ioved Ludwig the way you do,' Frau WoIff toId

Jan. 'The dog became quiet and unhappy when Rudolfwent away, but now you've come he's as happy as he usedto be. You're Iike RudoIf in other ways, too.'

'Oh,' saidJan.'He was sent to Warsaw tokilI us,' said Ruth. '1 don't

'Rudolf /oved Ludwig the way Y0ft do,' Frau Wolff told Jan.

46

l.~j..t'"

The Burgomaster

suppose he wanted to very mucho If he were here now, hewouId be as friendly as you are, Frau Wolff. It aHseems sostupid.'

'You'd like to be our mother, wouldn't you, FrauWolff?' said Bronia.

'Yes, my dear, I'd like to have you aH.But you have yourown mother and we must heIp you to find her.' Sheturned toJan. 'You have no mother,Jan. Would you like to stay here?'

'Yes, I wouId, because of Ludwig. But l' d rather go withRuth. And the sword won't let me stay here.'

'What sword?' said Frau Wolff.Jan fetched it from his box, and explained how Joseph !

Balicki had given it to him, long ago; and how it now helpedthem to go on whenever they felt without hopeo

He put it on the shelf next to the photo of Rudolf.It shone brightly in the sunIight from the window.

10The Burgomaster

Next day, Jan and Edek were working in the fieldswhen acar went past on the road, throwing up a cloud of dustbehind it. It was traveHing ve.ry fast, and disappearedbehind sorne trees. A moment later, there was a crash,foHowed by a shout.

'It's hit a tree,' saidJan.'We'H have to go and help,' said Edek. 'The driver may

be hurt.'

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'No. You don't know who it is, Edek. Come back!'But Edek was already running across the field.The car had hit a tree and aman was getting out. There

was blood on his head.

'Are you aH right?' said Edek, in German.'Yes, yes,' said ehe mano 'The car isn'e badly damaged.

Can you help me push ir back on ro rhe road?''1'11 try,' said Edek. He guessed this man was rhe

Burgomasrer, but irdid notworry him. Edek's German wasgood enough for the man not ro guess he was Polish.

'Are vou working for Kurt \'(iolff?' the man asked.; u

oYes, he uses extra hclp ar rhis rime of rhe year.'Suddenly, a small sronc dropped our of arree ar Edek's

fcet. Edek looked up and S.1W Jan high among the branches,making signs ar him.

'Where do you come from?' ask~d the man, as theypushed rhe car.

'The norrh,' said Edek.'Oh. 1rhollghr you were a refllgee.'Edek began ro cough. Pushing (he car \Vas hard for him,

and the man rcalized this.

'I'm sorry,' said the mano 'You're not strong enough rodo this. Perhaps the boy in the tree can help.'

Edck \Vas surprised thar rhe rnan knew Jan was tbere.'It's my brothcr,' he said. 'Come down, Franz.'

After a mornent, Jan dropped ro rhe ground.'So Y0l! come fram the noreh, Franz?' said rhe manoJan did nor answer. He could nor speak German.

48

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The Bttrgomaster

'He - he can'e hear or speak,' said Edek.They pushed rhe car back on ro rhe toad and rhe man

was getting ready ro drive off. Suddenly, Bronia appearedand spoke ro rhem in Polish. Edek quickly replied inGerman, bur rhe man said nothing abour ir.

'Thank you for your help,' he said. Then he gor inco rhecar and drove awa y.

'1 think you're borh stupid!' said Jan.'Why did you climb ineo char tree?' said Edek.'To \varn you rhar ir was rhe Burgomaster.''1 already knew rhar,' said Edek. 'Anyway, I think

everything will be aH righr.''Then you are srupid,' said Jan.

The next day the Burgomaster carne ro see che farmer.'AH Polish and Ukrainian refugees musr be sent home by

romorrow. You 're hiding Polish children here.' And theBurgomasrer rold him what had happened rhe da~' before.'They must go home, like the rest,' he said.

'Their parenrs are in Switzerland, and they \vant ra findchem,' said rhe farmer.

The Burgomaster laughcd. Tve heard thar srory before.Anyone in rrauble ar home always tries ro ger to Francc orSwitzerland. But the Swiss won't h:we them, unless rhechildren can prove rhar one parenr is alive anJ already inche countr;;.'

The farmer raok rhe siln::r sword from rhe shelf and toldrhe Burgomasrer irs stor;;. The Burgomaster laughed again.

49

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'That's no proof. The mother's either dead or back inPoland now, and there's not a chance in a thousand that thefather got through Germany alive.'

'1know he's alive,' said Edek, who had just come into theroom. '1know it in my heart.' He took the sword from theBurgomaster and put it back on the shelf.

The Burgomaster shook hands with him. 'Thank you forwhat you did for me yesterday,' he said. 'Where did youlearn to speak German so well?'

Edek explained how he had been a prisoner during thewar.

'You must hate us,' said the Burgomaster.'1hate the Nazis who too k our Mother and Father away,

and destroyed our home and our city,' said Edek. 'But notaII Germans are like that.'

Just then, Ruth carne in with Bron~a,Jan and Ludwig.'A lorry wiII come for you tomorrow at twelve o'clock,

midday,' said the Burgomaster. '1 shaII expect you to bere?-dy. Piease don't try to escape. There is only one road,and there are American guards on it. There are guards inthe forests, too.'

He looked tired.'1warn you again, do nottry to escape,' he said.

It was late that afternoon when the farmer rememberedsomething.

'The canoes!' he said.'What canoes?' said Ruth.

50

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The Burgomaster

The farmer fetched them, together with three paddlcs.'They belonged to my sons,' he said. 'Have you everpaddled canoes?' .

'Yes,' replied Edek and Ruth together.'There are only two difficult place s on the River Falken,'

said the farmer. 'The rapids, ten kilometres below thevillage, ancJthe place where it ¡oins the River Danube. Butif you stay in the middle of the river, you'H be aHright. It'syour only chance to escape.'

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So at three o'dock in the morning, two canoes and foursleepy children were taken down to the river. Frau Wolffgave them sorne food as the farmer put che canoes into thewater.

'Say goodbye to Ludwig for me,' said Jan. '1 shall misshim very much.'

'Ludwig's in the forest somewhere,' said Bronia. '1 heardhim.'

'Ludwig's asleep at horne,' said Frau \'Volff.'Edek and Jan, you take the canoe \vith t\Vo seats,' said

the £armer. '\Ve'U put the luggage in \Vith )'ou. Ruth andBronia, you must ht into the one-seat canoe. Ir's only fiftykilometres to the Danube. Remember ro be very quiet \vhenyou pass the village. There's no moon so 1 don't t!linkanyone will see YOll. Eut jf anyone shoots :lt you, lie as £latas you can.'

'Good luck!' said Frau \\7olff.'We can never chank you cnough for aH you've done for

us,' said Ruth.'I'll remember you fofe,'cr,' said Bronia.The two boys wavcd with their paddles, and the farmcr

gave each canoe a gentle push Out into the middle of thenver.

'Goodbye,' he said. 'Good luck.'Soon chey were moving quickly away.After a few minutes, Jan Sllid, 'This canoe is very low in

the water. There's something heavy in che front.'Suddenly feeling alarmed, he put his hand under the

52

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Dallgerous water

front of rhe canoe.A wer nose touched his fingers.'It's Ludwig!' saidJan, happily .

11Dangerous water

The hills moved by in che darkness. For a moment, chemoon appeared from behind a cloud and che water becamelike a sheet of silver.

'Go a\'v'ay, moon,' said Ruth. 'Don't come out againunril we'\'e passed the village.'

The two canoes moved quickly on.Again the moon appeared, choosing the wrong moment

beca use chey were now passing by the village. Ruth couldsee che sludows of the houses, and the refugee ¡orries that\vere parked in ro\\'s.

'Look out for the bridge,' said Edek.He and Jan moved ahead and went under the middle

arch of rhe bridge. Rurh followcd, aiming far the right-hand ~1fI:h.But the canoe \vent into the slow-moving,shallow p;'1'rr of the river.

The \';arer was nois)' and Rurh did not hear feet walking<.lcross(he bridge, out she saw a man 's shadow on the water. .

'The wdter's coming in,' said Bronia. '1 can fee! it underme.'

There was a sudden shaut aboye them. Aman began towave. Ruth couId not understand what he \Vas saying, but

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then he put a leg over the side of the bridge - and droppeddown into the shallow water.

He was an American soldier.Ruth tried to pull away, but the man caught her paddle

and held on to it. Ruth pulled hard, but the man held on to$o the paddle. She pulled and turned the paddle sharply, but

still he held on. Then she let go of the paddle, and thesoldier fell backwards as the canoe was carried under thebridge and back into the fast-moving water.

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Dangerous water0,

Someone was shooting at them now, from the bridge.Ruth pushed Bronia's head down and looked around forthe other canoe. Then the moon went behind a cloud andthe dark night closed round her. The shooting sropped butRuth had no paddle now and the water carried themwherever ir wanted.

'Edek! Jan!' shouted Ruth.They went round a bend and were pushed towards the

right-hand side of the river. The water was quieter here, butthe bottom of the canoe touched the ground and stopped.Ruth put her hand over the side and tried to push the canoeoff the ground, but it didn't move. The sky began to getlighter and she saw rocks in the water.

'We'll have to get out and push,' she said.Ruth and Bronia got out of the canoeo- and ir immediately

began to move again. Ruth guided it towards a large rack,then pulled it up on to sorne small dry stones that staadaboye the water. She lifted Bronia on to the rack.

'We must wait here until daylight,' she said.They waited until the shadows of the night disappeared,

and they could see the whole of the river. Ir was white andbroken with hidden rocks in the middle, and thefe weremore rocks in the shallow partson each side.

Thereowas no sign of Jan and Edek anywhere, and bothgirls felt lonely and frightened. Then Bronia saw somethingin the water, near the rock she was sitting on.

'1t's our paddle!' she shouted. 'The water carried it downto us! What good luck! Now we can go on.'

55

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The Si/ver Sword

Soon, Ruth couId see the rapids ahead of them, and sheknew this was the most dangerous part of the river. Herethe water moved very fast, hurrying between large rocks,sorne of them as high as houses.The noise filled their ears, and Brania c10sed her eyes.

But Ruth found she was almost roo excited ro be afraid. Shethrew her paddle from side ro side, always turning awayfrom the white, broken \varer where the ShMp rocks layhidden. It became a batde benveen her and rhe \vild river.But a quick tOllch with rhe paddle at the right momenr wasenough ro shoot them safely past e:1ch rack.Then the river became wider, and once again there were

trees on either side. The 'N,He[ slowed down. and Ruthrealized that they had got rhrough sately. She thoughtabout Edek andJan. Had they got rhrollgh the rapids, too?She lay back and warched che sky as. Bronia sJept. Then

she herself beca me slcepy and dosed her eyes.She woke to find herself sitting in \vater. To her horror,

she sa," that the canoe had hit a rack in shallow \vater, andthefe was a large hale in the botroil1. The hoJe was muchtoo big ro mend.She woke Bronia. '\Ve'tI have ro lea\"e the canoe and

walk,' she said. Bronia looked :darmed. 'Oon't \Van)'. Ircan't be far to the Dan ube no,,".'Theywalked rhrough the trees to rhe place where rhe river

joined the Danube at Falkenburg. There 'Vere no trees here,only green fields, a dusty road, and a good "ie\\! oE the river.Ruth looked up and down ir, hoping ro sce Jan and Edek.

56

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There was an unfinished haystack in one field. Ruth didnot know that Jan and Edek had waited in the field al!morning, hoping to see Ruth's canoe come down the river.They had become tired and had c1imbed up on to thehaystack. First Jan wem ro sleep while Edek watched theriver, then Jan watched while Edek slept.Now, Ruth was passing the haystack when a half-eaten

apple hir her on rhe shoulder. Then she heard a dog, andfound Ludwig jumping round her ankles.'Where have rou been?' Jan's voiee shoured from rhe top

of the haystaek. 'We thoughr you'd got inro rrauble on therapids.'

'rUn're han! )'011 bt'clI?' J.w shollted lrom the ha)'stack.

57

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He pushed the sIeeping Edek, and the boy dropped to theground in front of Bronia. They were aHpleased to see eaehother again, and toId their stories.

'We lost our eanoe on sorne roeks, too,' said Edek.A hundred metres away, American lorries crowded with

•. Polish refugees moved along a dusty road. But the childrenwer.e too busy laughing and talking even to notice them.

12Missing

They walked into Falkenburg, crossed the Danube, then alorry took them sorne way along the road to Switzerland.After this, there was more walking. Three days later, tiredbut happy, they were camping beside the road.

'Gnlya hundred and thirty kilometres to Lake Constanee,'said Ruth, looking for sorne dry grass f~r Bronia to lie in.

'Is Lake Constanee in Switzerland?' asked Broma, sleepily.'Swi~zerland is on the far side of the hike. Lie dow~ here,

Bronia. The grass is niee and thick.','Will Mother be waiting for us?' asked Bronia.'Perhaps she will,' said Ruth. And in the half-light of the

evening, nobody noticed that her eyes were wet with tears.Jan's wooden box was one of the things they had saved

from the canoes. He had been too busy to think about itbefore, but tonight he openeq it to make sure everythingwas safe. Suddenly, he jumped up.

'The sword's missing!' he said. 'Someone's stolen it!'

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'Nobody would do that,' said Ruth. 'Did you leave it atthe farm?'Jan thought for a !ll0ment. 'Yes, and I'm going back for

it.'He began to walk away but Ruth stopped rum. 'Don't be

stupid. The Wolffs are honest people. They'lllook after ituntil we send for it.'Just then, Edek began coughing. He had been coughing a

lot since the river adventure, and the pain in his chest wasgetting worse. Ruth was worried when she saw how ill helooked. She made him lie down, then covered him with ablanket.'Light a fire, Jan,' said Ruth. 'It will help Edek to sleep.'

It was a warm night and they did not need a tire, but Ruthwanted to give Jan something to d~. When the fire wasburning and the other three were sleeping, she stayedawake to make sure thatJan didn't run off.At midnight, a voice called her name. It was Edek.'1 thought you were asleep,' said Ruth.'1can't sleep ... The pain is too bad,' said Edek. '1can't

. .. walk any more.''We'll find a lorry to ride in,' said Ruth. 'It's only a

hundred and thirty kilometres.''There's no traffic going that way,' said Edek.Ruth talked to him quietly until he went to sleep again,

but she was too worried about her brother to sleep herse1f.'1£we don't reach Switzerland soon,' she thought, 'he maynot live.'

..;:.

58 \

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Anhour later,she heard anothervoiee. ItwasJan. 'Ruth,may 1have Edek's shoes when he dies?''He's not going to die,' said Ruth, making herself speak

ealmly.'He wiII if 1 don't have my sword,' said Jan. 'And we'll

never find your father, either.'Ruth almosr believed him. Ir was rrue thar rhey had been

very fortuna te while rhey had rhe sworJ. And now Edekwas very ill. Bur aH she said \Vas, 'Go ro sleep, Jan.Everything wilI be alI righr.'Sur afrer a while, Rurh CQuldnor keep awake any longer.

When she woke in the morning, Jan and Ludwig had bothgone. And Edek's face lookeJ so \vhire th~lt ar first Rurhwas afraid he was dead. For a few moments, Rurh feltdesperarelyalone.'lan can look after himsdf.' said Broni.l, \vhen she. .

discovered rhat he had gone.'I-Ie forgets that \Ve may need him to look aÚer liS,' said

Ruth.,The sun shone on to Edek's tace and \voke him. He \Vas

ton ilI to notice thar Jan and Ludwig were missing.'What's wrong with Edek?' .lsked Bronía.'1 expecr it's the hot sun,' said Ruth.Edek could only waik \'er~' s!owly, wirh Ruth holding his

armo After less thall a kilornerr(' he had ro stop and sit clownon rhe road.'[ can'r go on,' he saie!, his voice a whisper.Ruth pulIecl him out of th~ sun. 'Sray by rhe road,

60

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.[ éJ!l't go on, . Edek s,úd, !lis L'oja ,1 ¡c!llsp,¡r.

Brania,' she said. 'Stop the nrsr person \vho passes.'Half an hour Iarer, a lorry came along. The driver saw

Bronia and sropped. She calkd to him in Polish, and hesmiled. He \Vas ::tnAmerican soldier, bm he answercd her inPolish.'Ha ve YOll come fram Polane!, too?' saie! Bronia.'1'\0, 1'm from j:\mcri":~1,bur my parems were Polish,'

explainé:J the driver. '.loe Wolski's rny nam(~ bur caH mejoe. Now~ litrle lady, what's YOllf rrouble?'

They gOLin the fronr se;.l(of [he lorry besidc .loe \'?olski andwenr off along rhe raae! ro Switzerlane!.'Whar's in the backofyour lorry?' asked Bronia, hearing

a nOlse.

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64

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Thestorm

'Don'r eall me kind,' said Joe. 'There are problemseverywhere. 1¡usr wanr ro help. 1wanr ro show people rharyou can 'r learn everyrhing abour life from a hole in a. bombed ce llar. Somerimes good rhings do happen ropeople.' He shook Rurh's hand. 'And rhis is going to be one

of those times.'The hot days wenr by slowly. There was thunder in rhe

air, but the blaek clouds held baek rheir rain. They seemedto be saving it for sorne speeial but terrible day.

Rurh thoughr about borrowing él small boat and crossingthe lake by themselves, but Edek's illness kept him in bedfor mosr of rhe day. The eamp offieial sent rhe informarior.rhar Rurh gave him to rhe LT.S. (Internarional T raeingSen'ice). Bur his lerter to Basel abour her morher's parentshad nor been answered. And Rurh had received no replyfrom rhe farmer abour rhe sword.

Then one day, in lare Augusr, rhe camp official askedRurh to come and see him. 'Can you describe thar s\\'ordrhat you told me abour?' he said.

Ruth did rhis, and once ag:Jin told rhe story of ¡tsadvenn~res. A smile appeared on the official's faee,

'Rurh, you're rhe luckicst gid in Europe,' he said ..He took rwo letters - and rhe sword - from his desk.One letter was from the farmer. The orher was from

Rurh's farher. Both \Vere addressed ro the LT.S. Thefarrner's lerrer rold sorne of rhe story of rhe £amily, and ga vedetails of their plans for gerting to Swirzerland. He hadfound the sword rhe day afrer the children had Ieft, and

65

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immediate1y sent it to the LT.S. with the letter. (Ruth'sletter to him had got lost. Ir would be many months beforeshe would get a reply to it.)

The letter from Ruth's father had a January date on it. Init, he described the children and when he had last seenthem. He aIso wrote about his escape from the Germanprison, how he metJan andgave him the sword, and abouthis long journey to SwitzerIand.

'1received this information two days ago,' said the campofficiaI. '1wrote to your father, and his reply carne today.He lives in Appenzel!, on the other side of the lake. He wiIIcoIlect aIl of you at Meersburg tomorrow, by the afternoonboat.'

The next morning,Joseph Balicki tried to speak to Ruth onthe phone, but the telephone line was bad and she could nothear him. Then there was silence. Whatwas he trying to teIlher? she wondered.

The children waited by the lake for the Swiss boat tocome and fetch them. They were so excited that they didnot see the dark clouds getting thicker aboye them. OnlyLudwig was unhappy, but nobody noticed this.

'Let's go to that hil! over there,' said Jan. 'We'Il have abetter view of the lake.'

'It means we have to cross this stream,' said Ruth.''Ir's a very smaIl stream,' s'aidJan.It was true. There had been very little rain that summer

. and itwas easyto jump from rock torock andgetacross the

66

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Thestonn

shaIlow water without getting their feet wet.'I'Il stay on this side,' said Edek, who was feeling tired.'Good idea,' said Ruth. 'Sit on that rock.'But when she was on the other side of the stream, she

called back to him. 'Edek! There's a boat that's been pulledup on the ground behind you. You can get inside it, if itrains.'

And at that moment, it did begin to rain. Edek laughedand got inside the boato

There was the sound of thunder from the Swissmountains. Then lightning appeared through the cloucls,and more thunder foIlowed it. Suddenly, the clouds seemecito open up and a great sheet ofrain fel!out ofthesky. Injusta few seconds, Ruth, Jan and Bronia were wet through totheir skins, and there was water up to their ankles.

Ir was impossible to see through the heavy rain. Ruthreached for Bronia's hand, and found it. She tried to findJan's, but he was trying to calm Ludwig. Shegot hold of hisshirt, but he pul!ed away.

'We must go back to Edek!' shouted Ruth.Ir was not so easy to do. She fel! over a broken tree

branch, 'then tried to feel her way along the edge of the lake.Ir was sorne time before she realized she was going thewrong way. She went back again. But the quiet liule streamwas now a wide river, carrying bits of wood and wholetrees in its wild, fast-moving water.

'Edek! Edek!' she cried. 'We'Il never get across!'Then the rain became lighter and she could see across the

67

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The Si/ver Sword

river. 'Edek rnust be on the other side,' she thought.But Edek was not there. Nor was the boatoThe water was all around thern, rising up above their

knees. Ruth pulIed Bronia on to sorne ground whieh thewater had not yet reaehed.

'\Vhere's Jan gone?' shoured Bronia.'{ don'reare where he's gone!' Ruth shouted back. '{ toId

hírn to staywith us, but he \vent after Ludwig. Edek! Edek!'Pushingwer hair a\vay frorn her eres, she Iooked out aerossthe lake. If Edek was still in rhe boar, perhaps rhe warer hadcarried hírn Out there, she rhoughr. But she could nor sce theboat anywherc.

'Jan's on rhe cliff behind us,' said Bronia.Ruth turned. -Can you see him from rhefe, Jan?' she

shouted .

'He jurnped our of my arms and rar away,' callcd Jan.He was Iooking towards the lami, not che lake.

'1 mean Edek - can you see his boat?'But.Jan didn't answcr. H" W~l) thinking of Ludwig.'1 think lean see Edek's bOJe in 'rhe midJle oE che lakel'

shou red Bronia.Rurh looked again. She 5a\\" it for J momenc- and rhen it

disappeared. But Ruth \Vas sure ie had been Edek's boat,and that he had been in ic.

Gronia was thel1rstro see rhe empry rowing bOJr, as ir wascarried pasr thcm by the riYe~. She shouted ro Rurh, whojumped towards it, eatching rhe sirle. ];:10 CHile to help hcr.

'Go away and loo k for your dog!' Ruch told him. 'YOll

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Thestorm

don't eare about Edek. 1 hate you!'But Jan he Id on to the boat and together they pulled it to

rhe side of the river. There was one oar and sorne rope. inside the boato

'Go after your dog!' Ruth shouted to Jan. 'Look, there'sLudwig up by the road. Run after him and don't comeback. Bronia and 1can save Edek without you.'

The two girls jumped into the boat.]an wasstaringatthedogo He wanted to run after rhe animal, but Ruth's wordshad hurt him. He looked baek ar her brave face, and heknew whar he had ro do. He had lost Lud\'.:ig, but he couldnoe lose Rurh. I

'Go 4ter )'ol/r dog!' Rlttl¡ ,ho/lted. 'And dor:'t come back.'

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The Si/ver Sword

His wooden box was under his armoHe threw it into theboat and jumped in after it. Then he put the oar imo thewater and began to row.In that momem, Jan began to grow up.

14Safe!

Ir was dark when Ruth opened her eyes. Someone waslifting her.'lt's a girl,' a man's voice said. 'How are you feeling?We

nearly went into you in the dark.'She did not understand him, and tried to speak, but no

words carne. Then everything went black again.The next time Ruth woke up, she called out, 'Edek!

Bronia! Jan!' There were voices aHround her, but she couldnot understand what they were saying. Then she heardanother, deep voice. lt said, 'Edek! Bronia! Jan!' like anecho. lt was her father's voice!Then her eyes closed again.When she woke up again, he was beside her.'You've been asleep a long time,' he said. 'Try to stay

awake, and I'll show you something.' He lifted her from thebed she was resting on. 'Look down there.'She looked down at a bed and saw Bronia's sleeping

head among the blankets. Hel"father carried her to the nextbed, and there was Edek's thin white face, also asleep.'ls he breathing?' Ruth asked.

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Safe!

OYes,he's breathing,' said Joseph. And he carried heraway and showed her Jan.The boy was sitting on the edge of a bed. 'You Balickis

.are no good at sailing. You can't manage without me. Youuse an oar like a soup spoon,' Jan told Ruth. 'And when abit of water comes imo the boat, you faint! 1had to findEdek's boat and get ours across to it. 1shouted to him tohelp, but he had fainted, too. So 1pulled him into our boat,¡ust before his went under the water.']oseph smiled at him. 'Now eat your food and stop

talking,' he said to Jan.Ruth put her arms round her father's neck. 'AHthree of,

them are safe!' she said, happily.'Four,' said her father. 'Four of them. 1tried to teHyou

over the phone, but you couldn't hear me.'He opened a door to another room on the boatoThere

was a woman inside, and she had been waiting for the doorto open. Her arms reached out to Ruth.'Mother!' said Ruth. And she moved from her father's

arms imo those other arms.'Mother was sitting with you when you were asleep,'

Joseph said. 'She went away before you woke up.We didn'twant to give you too many s~rprises at once.'Someone knocked at the door, and Jan carne in.'Ruth, 1wamed to teHyou 1haven't got mywooden box

any more,' he said. 'lt feHinto the lake.''What about the silver sword?' said Ruth. 'IS that lost,

too? 1gave it back to you, 1know 1did.'

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The Si/ver Sword

,

Jan pulled open his shirt. And there was rhe silver sword,tied to a thin piece of rope round his neck. '1knew ifI kepr thesword safe,' he said to Joseph, 'we would find Y0l! again.'

He untied the sword and gave ir ro Ruth's morher.'Joseph gave it to me, but ir's yours now,' he said. 'You

can keep it for ever iE you 'll be my morher.'

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she I.oved her own children, but Ruth was the only personwho could manage him. She knew that the way ro his heart\Vas through animals, and she took him to the farms near

, the village where the farmers soon discovered that Jancould do almost anything with a sick anima\. So in time,even the wild Jan grew up ano ¡earneo ro behave wel\.

.-\t the beginning, Ruth founo the new life more difficuItthan the others. She had been clever and br3ve and hadlooked afrer Edek, Bronia and Jan like a morher. But she!}ad grown up roo quickly, ~ll1d ar first she behaved like ayonng child, nor wanting ro lea ve her mmher, ano followingi\ largrir Balicki everywhere. Bnr slowly Ruth became berrer,'ano in 1947 she went to ZlIrich uoiversiry. FOllr years later,rhen a reacher, she married a )'oung Frenchm:1n who hadcome ro work in rhe children's villagc. When a secondFrench hOLtse was builc, Ruth and her husbano becamehouse-parents. They may srill be there.

AnJ nm far away, in rhe Polish housc, :-largrir Balickikeeps somerhing very speci:1l, in its O\vn special box.

The si!n:'r sword.

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An internarional children's vilIage \Vas bu!lt in Appenzell.Ir was rhe first village like chis in the world. Eaeh nation hadics own house, where sixteen children who h;ld losr rheirparents could live. There they could grow up with thechildren oE rhe house-parenrs.

Joseph Balicki and his wife became rhe hOllse-parenrs ofthe Polish house.

Bronia grew up a happy child, drawing pictllres andplaying with the other children. Ar first, her drawings wercfull of ruined buildings, soldiers alld field kitehcns. Hutslowly they changed to pictures of nappier things - che Iakcand the Swiss mountains.

Edek was sent to a hospital, and at firsc the doctors wereafraid he was going to die. But Edek lived ano, aftereighteen months, returned to his family. Six monrhs ofSwiss mountain air made him fulIy "vel1, anJ chen he wentto study in Zurich. '

The LT.S. couId find out nothing aboutJan's parents, so.he beca me a BaIicki. Margrit BaIicki loved him as much as

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GLOSSARY

attic a room at the top of a house, under the roofcamp a place for people to live for a short timecart a kind of open 'car' on wheels, usually pulled by horsescellar a room under the groundin a housecough to send out air from the mouth and throat in a noisy

wayCouncil a group of people who are chosen ro work rogether

and to decide things foc other peoplecourt-room a place where judges, lawyers, etc. listen to law

caseselastic a kind of 'string' that gets longer when you pull itfaint to fall down suddenly beca use you are weak or iIlgrow up to beco me an adult; to change from a child to aman

or womanlook after to take care of someone or somethingnail a small piece of metal with a sharp end, used ro fix things

togetherNazis, .members of the German National Socialist Party, who

controlled Germany under their le~der, Hitlerrapids part of a river where the water rnoves very fastrefugee someone who is running away from war or danger and

trying to find a new, safe homeruin a building which is almost destroyed and is falling downruined almost destroyedsilly not sensible; stupidzone (in this story) apart of a 'country which is controlled by

soldiers from aÍlother country

74

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The Silver Sword

ACTIVITIES

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Read Chaprers 4 and 5. Are rhesc scnrcnces rrue (T) or false(F)? Rewrire rhe fa'lse oncs \Virh rhe correer information.

The children dimbed OlltO the roof and escaped before the

bombs exploded.

The ehildren srole foad fmm anyone.

Rurh ti'egan a schoo! for homekss children.

Edek \Vas raken away by ehcsecret police.

Rurh and Bronia ¡ived in rhe foresr all rhe time.

Rurh asked rhe Russian offlcer ro hnd bcr parenrs.

Jan did nor hare RlIssian soldiers.

Rllrh onlv found out abOlir rhe silver sword because ¡vanbroke ja~'s wooden box ;nd rhe sworcl fell out. .,.

:While Reading, :' j'

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Read Chapters 1 ro 3. Choose the besr quesrion-word fo.[-thesequestions, andrhen answer them.

!

Where / HOUJI \í/h"t / Why. .. did joseph escap~ from rhe prison?'

2 did Joseph ger ro rhe orher side of rhe valle)'?

3 diJ rhe prison bell r'ing?

4 happened ro Joseph's wife?

5 dicl the N~1Zisdestro)' Joseph's ha me wieh a bomb?

6 did Joseph ask Jan to do if he ever mee his children?

7 did Jan rah Joseph rhar nighr?

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ACTIVITIES

2 \Vhat is going ro happen in rhe sror)"? Can 'you guess? For cachscnrence, cireJe y (Yes) or N (No). '

Jan \ViII go ro prison. Y/N

2 Mr Balicki \ViII See rhc siker s\\'ord agaio. YIN

.3 On~ of rhe childrcn dies on rhe journey. Y/N

4 The children \ViII nnd borh of rhei.r parenrs. Y/N5 Jan will find his familv again. Yi0:

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Befare Reading¡

1 Read the back cover and the stor)' introduction ~n the firstpage of the book. Are these Séntences true (T) OI' false (F)?

1 Jan stole the silver sword from "Ir Balicki.• " 1

2 Life in Warsaw is difficulr and dangerous for rhe children..3 The children's ha me .is used as a prison campo

4 The childrcn wam to go ro Swirzerland beca Use rhey hoperheir parenrs are rhefe.

S Jan kecps the silver sword because he rhinks ir is lucky.

.3 Whar do you kno\v abour rhe rime and place of rhis srory?Choosc rhe corrcer \vords ro complt:re rhis pass3ge.

Thc Sccond \\forJe! \Var bepn in 1939/1940 and ended in

1943/1945. The chik!ren Jived' in Poland, in e,lstem /u/t!stem Europe. To ger ro Swirzerland, rhey had ro go west Icast ro Germany, and rhcn nort/; I sala/no Swirzerland.,

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ACTIVITlES: Whi/e Reading

Before you read Chapter 6, can you guess what Jan and RuthwilI decide to do?

1 Jan, Ruth and Bronia will look for Edek, and then for theirparents.

2 Jan will go to Switzerland to find Mr Balicki.3 Jan will stay with Bronia in Warsaw while Rurh goes to

look for Edek and her parents.

Read Chapters 6 to 8. Here are sorne untrue sentences aboutthem. Change them into true sentences.

1 Edek was waiting for them at the Warthe campo2 When the fight at the field kitchen finished, Rurh was

holding Jan's hand.3 Jan believed Edek's story abour hiding under a train.4 In Berlin the children stayed in an old hospital.5 Edek was helping Jan to steal food fróm the trains.6 The American Captain told Jan he had been stealing Nazi

food sent to feed the soldiers.7 J art went to prison although the children had enough

money to pay the 200 marks.

Read Chapters 9 and 10. Who said these words, and to whom?Who, or what, were they talking about?

1 '1 suppose that was a birthday present!'2 'He's not strong enough to work outside.'3 'You and 1should be enemies.'4 'We must he1p you to find her.'

'78

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ACTIVITIES: Whi/e Reading

5 'He - he can't hear or speak.'6 'They must go home, like the rest.'7 '1 know he's alive..I know it in my heart.'8 'It's your only chance to escape.'

Read Chapters 11 to 13, and answer these questions.

1 How did Ruth get away from the American soldier?2 What piece of good luck did the girls have after the bridge?3 What had happened to the silver sword?4 Why was Ruth so worried at their camp by the road side?5 Why did Jan run away in the night?6 Why did Joe tie Jan up?7 Why did the camp official finally allow the children to go

across the lake to Switzerland?8 What happened to Edek in the storm?9 Why didn't Rurh want Jan to come in the rowing boat?

Before you read Chapter 14, can you guess how the story willend? Circle Y (Yes) or N (No) for each sentence.

1 The four children are rescued from the lake. Y/N2 Joseph Balicki is in Switzerland, but the children's rriother

is dead. Y/N3 Edek is very ill, and dies some time latero Y/N4 Jan finds his parents and goes ro live with them. Y/N5 Ruth finds it more difficult than the others to get used ro

their new life. Y/N6 Jan keeps the silver sword ro bring him luck. Y/N

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ACTIVITIES

After Reading

1 Here is rhe conversarioCl between Joe Wolski and Jan when•. they first mer. Puc ir inco the correcr order and wrire in the

speakers' names. Joe speaks firsr (number 5).

-_ 'Well, 1W3Swirh m~' family rill yesterd3Y. Bur they

diJn't wanr me ro go baek ro BoJing, so 1 r3n away.'2 __ 'And where 3re you going?'

3 __ 'Ow! What are rou doing? No! Ler me go!'

.1 __ 'Bee3u<;c EJck's siá, amI Ruth wamed me ro hclp

thcm. But I've got ro go ro Boding.'

5 __ 'HelJo, young l11~ln!\'rhJt :lrc ~'ou doíng in my lorry?'6 __ 'Right. You Coln¡ust sr3y hae now, nice and quiero I

1l'<15 going ro drivc norrh, bur ['ve n'o\v deciJed \ve'll go

50urh - ro lind your famiI~'.'

7 __ 'Jusr a minl1tc. YOll're rather young ro be travelJingby yourself, aren'r you?'

8 '[ needcd sOll1ewhere ro slec:p. so 1 climbed in here

while you \Ven.: slcepinf!. ElIr J\'e got ro go no\'.'.'

9 __ 'If rhey need l'our help, ~'(1ung man, rou're wrong to

leave them alone. You should he with them. So [ think

YOllshol1ld - He}'! Thcrc's no need ro kick me!'10 __ '\'\'hy didn'r rhe)' warv rou ro go?'

11 '1\'onh. [\.c Jdr somcrhing in a villJf:c calJed noding.

Are yOl! going north? C3n you r3kL' me rhen:?'

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2 Here are sorne passages from the diaries of four of thecharacters in the srory. Complere them with words from rhelisr, and rhen say who wrote each one, and when.

Il/£'.1)', been, before, better, C.UlOes, cellar, cockerel, escape,el'en, I!t'er)'one, ide,l, knife, [uck, miserable, must, news,reminds, sufely, secret, started, ltIltil, /l/ild, ICorse

¡'ve __ living here for a week now, and I've decided to

sray. __ wanrs ro look in m)' box, bur they'd __ Iook

out! The sword is my __ , ;lnd 1'm not going ro show ir

ro .lt1yone. If I keep it, [ know ir will bring me __ o

2 \','lut a strangc day! I'J jusr arriveJ ar the __ \virh

(ho(oLltc and gooJ __ for the girls, whcn suddenl~' rhis

__ boy was rrying ro pur a __ in my neck 3nd a

__ W,15biting my anklcs! Luckily,. nobod~' W3S hurt, bur

rhe boy's box gor broken. Then Ruth __ erying! I had no

whar it W35 all abollt!

.) I wish rhey cou!d sra)'. Jan __ me so mueh of Rudolf.

__ Ludwig agrces! But I know thcy mus. Ie:n-e ronight,

__ the Hurgomasrer can take them __ o I ¡usr hope

rhev'll ceaeh the Danube in rhose oId ... '• '.t- -- --

.,

4 This __ be rhe mosr __ place in the world. 1£ rhe

fooJ was ,lf1Y__ , and rhe \York was any harder, we'd

a!l dic. Tonight I'm going ro try again ro __ o And rhis

rinK I won't stop __ I'm back in Warsaw wirh Rurh

3mi Bronia.

81

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ACTIVITIES: After Reading

3 There are 14 words from the story hiddeo io this word search.Fiod the words, aod draw a lioe through them. The first aodlast letters of each word are giveo below, aod the words gofrom left to right, aod from top to bottom.

a-- h c__ e m__ s r__ e s__ 1.. b__ o c__ r p__ e r__ e z-- e

C__ p 1--y r__ s r__ o

J O e AIM¡pIS¡E P Hi ,S G B A RINIR A Llvl

I ', Z O NIE!EJUJR o I IG A T T lO!MI' lO RIElN R B U, T: I ¡ NI P Rle;A e E L L!A!R,E Y AlL H P A/O!O;L ~ T Ni

1S Y R I ¡ F I L rE o u o:R A P I OjS R S N ElO W M A T¡T R E SIS¡

Now write dowo all the letters that doo't have a line throughthem, begiooiog with the first line and goiog across each lioe tothe end. You should have thiny letters, which wiII make asentence of oine words.

1 What is the sentence? ,2 Who said it, and to whom?3 What was he holding in his hands?

. 82

,;t•• ACTIVIT1ES: After Readillg

4 Complete this letter from Ruth to the Wolffs. Use as manywords as you like.

My dear friends,At lasr we have arrived at a camp near Lake Consrance. Thejourney in the canoes was quire difficulr for Bronia and me.When we passed rhe village, an American soldier _We gor away from hini when . Lacer we foundour paddle, and went down rhe river ro Falkenburg. There wefound _

Edek became very iHand 1 was worried rhar 'Luckily, a soldier caHed Joe Wolski o

Now we wanCro go ro Swirzerland - bur firsr we havc ro_____ . Jan rhinks rhar he . Could you send icro us? Then perhaps rhe camp official _

Thank you so much for o We will '

Love from Rurh

5 Do you agree (A) or disagree (D) wirh che followingstacemenrs? Explaio why.

1 In wartime ir is aH righr ro sreal food from rhe enemy, burnor from your own people.

2 Ir is always aH righr to steal food if you have no food or

mone)'.3 In wartime you have ro lüok after yourself firsr.4 In wartime people have to help each other more chan ever.5 'Soldier' or 'German' are just names, and the person inside

is more important rhan the name ourside.

83

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR ABOUT BOOKWORl\ISl.

OXFORD BOOKWORMS LIBRARYCt..¡ssics • Trrte Stories • FantJsy & Horror. Human lnterest

Crimt' á Mystt'T)' • Thrillcr á A,1l't'rtture

Deuib of rhc'ie: stric, aml :1 full lise oi .tll eiclcs in che OXf'ORDBO\1K\n)R~ISLIBRARy e.ln be fOllllJ in rhe O...•./or,1 cl1glish clt'llogues. r\ sc!eceion of riclesfrom che L'\i',)l'-P h'c'K\\I.)iZ,\h L1BR.\RY cau be fOllnd on che nexe pa¡!es.

The: OXFORDBOOK\\\111..\ISLlBR.\II.Yoffcrs a \Vide: ran¡;e: of original andad.lpted srorie:s. ¡'oeh cbssic and modern, which take learners frome!e:mem.lry ro advanced leve! rhrough six carefully grJded language stages:

.':

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Ox(ord Boobl'orms F.l<tfi/¿;Oxford Booku'orms Collection

St.lge'¡ (1.100 he.ldwords)

St,lgC 5 (IS00 b~."iwords)

Stag~ 6 (2500 hCJ¿words)

St;lge 1 (~(~) h<:3dword,)

StJge 2 n~lh~.ldwords~StJge 3 (10.)) h~aJwords)

~Iore rhan tifry eief,:s .l((: also .waibhlc on cassccte, ,\lid ehere are man~./ticles ae St.1!=cs 1 ti) .¡ which are spccialJy n:commended for youngerie,uners. In aJ,iiei"n ro the illtrD,luceions ;IIlJ .1.:civieies in eachB,mkwl.1rm, rest)ur.:,' 111.Itt:ri,l! in.:ludcs phowcopi.1ble rc,e worksheees;lIld Te.l.:her's I-Llldl'ooks. which conrain;tdvice on running a classlibr.lry .lnd using ClS.;,.[t<:s. and che: an~wcrs for rhe activieies in che books.

Oxford 8é)oi::l'orms Starl"';

Oxford 8o()!::.:l'omIS ¡.ot.ly.,a:.!'ts

Se\'e:ral oehc:r saies .Ir<' linkcJ ro the: ()XFORDB0(lK':n-,p•.\I~ LIBRARYo The:yr.1n~e frOill hi~hly illlO'tr.lted rC.1der~ fnr rOlln~ ie:lrners, ro playscripes,non-r..:rion roJer,. ,lnJ 1Ilbir.lpliried texes for ,1dv;¡nccd IC.lrners:

I'/

lan Serraillier was boro in London in 1912. He W:lS educated inBrighton and Oxford, and then beca me a school teacher. Froma very early age, however, he wanred ro be a writer, and his!irst book was published in 1944. He wem on ro write m,lOYmore books, including poems, plays, and stories, and with hiswife, Anne Serraillier, he ;lIso edited a series of ehildren'sbooks. He died in 199-+.Mos[ of bn 5err,liliicr's books were writren for ehilJren,

and he was a very ~ood srory rdlcr - he knew how ro make asrory cxeiring and keep his reaJers intcrested. 50mt' or his bestbooks retcll rhe great srorit:s of the past, abollt hcrocs such asJason, Hcrcules, 3nd Bcowulf. The Beowulf story is rerold inverse, in his c()!!r:.:tion Tht! \Y,'iJ:dlllill Boo/.:. of B,¡{l.ds (1%2).He: also wrore ad\;c::nrure srorics, indllding There's .\fo Esúl/Je

í1950} and Thc Cit.£, 01 Dt\uÍJ (1%5) ..

His mosr f;¡mOll~ hook. however, is Thl! Sil/'l:'r Sll'ord,whieh is one of the O1o;r rClJ1:.1rkablc chiidren\ booksplIbiished since \'('orld \fM 11. The ehilJren - Rurh, EJek,TIrania, and Jan - \Vere nor rcai reorle themseh-e:s, bur rhebook, lan St'[[;lillier saiel, hJJ '.1 b:1Sis in ber', BetUfC he wrorerhe story, he spenr fi,'c years carefull:; srlldying thebackground, ,llld the hi<;tory anJ experiences of !:l.lny reíugees.The Sill'er Sl!'ord was rifsr publishcd in 1956, allll no.:arly

half a eentury iater it is srill re.1d and enjüreJ b~' thnlls.ll1ds ofreaders each year. le h.ls bcel~ published in many tf;llls!:ltions,and has c\vicc bet:n madt: into a film for tckvision.

'.

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. BOOKWORMS • THRl,LLER & ADVENTURE • STAGE 4

Treasure IslandROBERT LOUIS STEVENSON

Retold by John Escott

'Suddenly, there was a high voice screaming in the darkness:"Pieces of eight! Pieces of eight! Pieces of eight!n It was Long J ohnSilver's parrot, Captain Flint! Iturned to run ... '

But young Jim Hawkins does not escape from the pirates thistime. Will he and his friends find the treasure before the pira tesdo? Will they escape from the island, and sail back to Englandwith a ship full of gold?

BOOKWORMS' THRILLER & ADVENTURE' STAGE 4

The Eagle of the NinthROSEMAR y SUTCLIFF

Retold by John Escott

In the second century AD, when the Ninth Roman Legion marchedinto the mists of northerilBritain, not one man carne back. Fourthousand men disappeared, and the Eagle, the symbol of theLegion's honour, was lost.

Years later there is a story that the Eagle has been seen again.So Marcus. Aguila, whose father disappeared with the Ninth,travels north, to find the Eagle and bring ir back, and to learn howhis father died. But the tri bes of the north are wild and dangerous,and they hate the Romans ...

\86

BOOKWORMS • THRILLER & ADVENTURE • STAGE ,'o.~6 \ 1:

Mr -Midship'man'.H Orn blowerC. S. FORESTER

Retold by Rosemary Border

Hornblower fired. There was a small c10ud of smoke, bUí nobang. 'This is death,' 'he thought. 'My pistol was the unloadedone.'

But Horatio Hornblower does not die. He survives the<;i,uelwith Simpson, learns to overcome his seasickness, and goes ontorisk his life many times over. It is 1793, Britain is at war withFrance, and life on a sailing ship of war is hard and dangerous.But the hardest batdes are fought by Hornblower within himself.

BOOKWORMS' THRILLER & ADVENTURE' STAGE 4

We Didn't Mean to Co to SeaARTHUR RANSOME

Retold by Ralph Mowat

The four Walker children neva meant to go to sea. They haJ.l. .

promised their mother they would stay safcly in rhe harbour, andwould be home on Friday in time for tea.

But there they are in someone else's boat, driftingout to sea ina thick fog. Wheri the fog lifts, they can turo round and sail backto the harbour. But then comes the, wind and the storm,drivingthem out even further across the cold North Sea ...

87

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BOOKWORMS o HUMAN INTEREST o STAGE .¡

Little WomenLOUISA MA Y ALCOTT

Reto/d by Jolm Escott

When Christmas comes for the four March girls, there is nomoney for expensive presents and they give away their Christmasbreakfast to a poor family: But rhere are no happier girls inAmericathan Meg, Jo. Beth, and Amy. The:-' miss rheir farher, ofcourse, who is away at the Civil \"\;ar, but they rry hard to be goodso that he will be proud of his '!irrle women' when he comeshome.

This he:m-warming SLQr~' of Ltmily life has been popu13r formore th~in a hundred years.

BOOKWOR.\IS • CLlSS[CS. ~-;-,\CE 5

Great ExpectarionsCHARLES OICKENS

Retold by el.lrt! W'"t'st

In a gloomy, neglecred hOLlse"liss H;lvisham ,irs, as she has satyear after rear, in a wedding dress anJ veil rhar were cincc white,and are now faded and yellow wirh age. rIer be.:e is like a dc:lth'she~d; her da~k eyes bum with birremess .wJ n;ltc, By her side sírsa proud and beallrifuI girI, anJ iri fronr of her. rrembling with fearin his thick COlll1tryboors, sr:1l1Js young Pipo,"liss Havisham stares ar Pip cbtdl:-', and murmurs to the girl at

he,r side: 'Break his hearr, Este!!a, t3reak his he;m!'

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