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Thinking Up an Adventure
The story this far…
The nine-years-old boy Bruno, together with his father, mother, sister Gretel and household staff, had moved to a new home, stationed near the German work- and destruction camp he knew as Out-With. At first, he disliked it, for it lacked the opportunities for friendship and exploration. One day, this changed when Bruno set out to do some exploring along the outskirts of the camp. After a long walk, he met Shmuel, a Jewish boy, also nine, who lived in the camp of 'Out-With'. The two became close friends. Every day, after Herr Liszt's lessons and whenever the weather would allow it, they would spend their afternoons talking. When plans were made for Bruno to return to Berlin with his mother and sister, the two made plans for one final adventure.
It was just another afternoon, and Bruno sat in front of the fence, waiting for his friend to appear. It had been three days since his last visit. After a brief wait, Shmuel appeared in the distance. Both were happy to see each other. They quickly got a conversation started, and Bruno decided to tell Shmuel about his family's plans. 'Father wanted to talk to me,' said Bruno, trying to find the best way to phrase it. 'He said me, mother and Gretel would return to Berlin.' 'In two days' time,' he added. 'You are?' Shmuel asked. 'I'm afraid so…' Bruno said. 'I envy you,' Shmuel said. 'you can travel wherever you want, whenever you want… explore the world and all.' This confused Bruno. 'Why can't you?' He asked after a brief moment of silence. Shmuel shrugged his shoulder. 'I don't think they quite want us to leave.' 'What do you mean?' Bruno wanted to know. 'I mean, look at this fence and all the soldiers around… surely they won't just let us go.' Bruno thought about this for a moment. 'I could ask Father,' he said. 'I'm sure he would let you go.' 'I wouldn't count on that,' Shmuel said in a sad tone. He stared at the ground in front of him, noticing the gap between the fence lines. It was easily big enough for a boy of his size to fit through. 'Perhaps… perhaps I could come with you,' Shmuel wondered out loud. 'You mean, to Berlin?' Bruno asked. Shmuel nodded. The thought of crawling through the fence to play with Shmuel had crossed his mind before, but him coming through to his side… Bruno wasn't sure. Off course he wanted to be able to play with his new friend, but Shmuel's story about the fence and soldier scared him a bit. 'I suppose we could try,' he finally concluded. 'I mean; you can't join us in the car but I guess we could find a way.' This brought a twinkle to Shmuel's eyes. 'Do you really think so?' he asked. 'And what would we do after?'. 'We'll figure it out,' Bruno said, noticing the position of the sun. 'but not now. I should get going.'
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