Once

The officer seems genuinely entertained by Felix’s story. He even asks Felix to transcribe it for him so he can send it to his children. Felix, however, is frustrated; Barney did not let him ask about his parents. Back at the print shop, Zelda asks him if he found out about her parents, and Felix feels terrible. She still does not know that they are dead. Jacob, one of the other boys, discovered that by stacking their beds, they can see out into the street at ground level. They can see many pairs of feet, but Felix is only sure that “none of them belong to kids” (52). Zelda is overexcited to try to spot her parents.

Felix later tells Barney about Zelda’s parents. To his dismay, Barney suggests Felix should be the one to tell Zelda. She trusts him the most. Zelda does not believe Felix at first, but the second time he tells her, she breaks down, sobbing soundlessly in Barney’s arms. Each of the other children tell the story of how the “goblins” killed their parents (53). Everyone in the room is sobbing by the end. Felix feels lucky; he is certain that his parents are still alive.

Felix lies with Zelda until she falls asleep. Barney asks Felix to help him find water. Barney gives Felix a pair of almost new boots. Felix is astonished, then horrified by the fact that they cost Barney three turnips. Barney tells Felix not to worry: He got the boots because “everybody deserves to have something good in their life at least once” (54). Felix is touched but confused; he thinks Barney must know that Felix has many good things in his life, “More than anyone in this cellar, probably” (54).

Before they open the door to the outside, they hear many people moving through the streets. Spying through the dirty window and listening through the door, they discover that many of the people are going to the countryside, where they are promised easy work and sufficient food. Felix decides that this is a great idea; his parents must be in the countryside. He resolves to finish his story for the Nazi officer and to ask him about it. He wants to run away to the countryside with Zelda.

Felix is astonished when Barney enters a house without knocking. It is a deserted dental office. Felix thinks the owner must have gone to the countryside. Barney takes vials of painkiller. He tells Felix not to touch them: Too much of the drug can make a person go to sleep permanently. He sends Felix to the kitchen to look for water. Felix finds a dead toddler in a highchair. He “can’t tell if it’s a girl or a boy because there’s too much blood on the little body” (57). He screams for Barney, who drags him away from the gruesome scene. They hold each other, both crying. Barney tells him that sometimes parents are unable to protect their children. He tells Felix that Felix’s parents loved him and did everything they could to protect him.

Felix does not understand Barney’s use of past tense. He protests that his parents are safe. Barney tells him that there is no “countryside.” The Nazis are rounding up Jewish people and sending them to death camps. Felix rages against this idea, but the truth sinks in.

Felix flees the abandoned dental office and almost crashes into a Nazi soldier at the bottom of the stairs. The soldier tries to grab a locket Zelda had given him from around his neck. The soldier alerts others in the vicinity, but Felix manages to escape, running through alleyways until he thinks the coast is clear. Resting, he looks at the locket, which is now broken: It contains small pictures of Zelda’s parents. He feels sorry for Zelda. Then he notices that “Zelda’s father is wearing a uniform. A Nazi uniform” (62).

Felix finally finds the street where Barney’s place is. He decides that no matter what Zelda’s father was, what they have gone through together makes them family. Nazis with dogs are waiting outside the print shop. Barney and the children have been discovered. Felix hears the other children screaming. He runs toward the cellar.