CRAP

Elya Yelnats was at the wrong place at the wrong time. Get over it. You're going to have to know that if you want to know anything about the Yelnats family.

Stanley Yelnats the first was robbed by Kissing Kate Barlow when she was robbing everyone in the area he was in.

Stanley Yelnats the second was an empty alley with his wife and son when his wife was shot.

Stanley Yelnats the third was in Texas, trying to invent the cure for foot odor, when he could have been in New York, capital of shoes (at least back then).

Stanley Yelnats the fourth was under a bridge when a boy named Hector Zeroni dropped Clyde Livingston's $5,000,000 shoes of it, and Stanley was sent to a boot camp that made him dig holes everyday.

So Elya was probably the luckiest of the family. If you remember, this was before the curse was put on them. Elya was just in Latvia at the wrong time.

Punishment was not served through jail or boot camp. If you were caught by a person, you worked for them.

One day, Elya and Geldoff Zeroni were walking around town when they got hungry.

"Let's go to the deli," suggested Elya.

"I can't," said Zeroni. "Draco Sevillo keeps beating me up there. Let's go to the Menke garden!"

"And?" Elya asked. He didn't like where this was going.

"We steal a few cabbages!"

"No!" Elya yelled. "What will Myra think?"

Zeroni sighed. "You will never get anywhere daydreaming about her! She likes that Viktor boy!"

"Don't remind me," said Elya. Elya had been in love with Myra since the age of eight. She was beautiful. Elya knew that he would merry her someday, at least until she started dating Viktor Barkov. Viktor was the regular strong, extravagant boy that all the girls loved.

"Come, friend, let us get food!"

Elya and Zeroni went to the garden and plucked a few onions. The back door of the Menke house opened and out stepped Morris, Myra's father.

"I've caught you, you children!" the man yelled. He ran right to the spot where Elya crouched. "Oh, just one then!"

Indeed, Geldoff had gotten away.

"You know the rules, Yelnats," Morris said. "you are to work for me, now. You will get no pay and no breaks."

"What shall I do?" said Elya.

"You must shovel my cow's manure each day,"

"Okay," said Elya. "Sounds eas-…

"All forty-six of them," said Morris, giggling.