Read Online Noah Barleywater Runs Away by John Boyne - Free Book Online Page B

both need. We can start afresh.’
    And so one morning, before the sun rose, before the dogs woke, before the dew stopped falling on the fields, we made the journey through the forest, not stopping to talk to anyone along the way, and only came to a halt when we reached this village.
    Poppa asked me whether it felt like home, and I didn’t have to think about it for long. ‘Yes,’ I said. ‘Yes, I think it does.’
    The first person we met was a young donkey who had been disturbed by our arrival while eating the grass that ran along the village street, and once he had swallowed a few last mouthfuls, he ambled over to say hello.
    ‘Thinking of moving here, are you?’ asked the donkey, who looked pleased to see that a boy of around his own age might be living nearby, someone who might take him for the occasional ride across the nearby fields. ‘I can highly recommend it. Hee-haw! I’ve lived here with my herd since I was born. There’s about a dozen of us but I’m the best one if you’re ever looking for a little gallop. I run faster. I’d never let you fall off. And I’m a better conversationalist too. Hee-haw! I don’t suppose you have any sausages on you at all, do you?’
    ‘It’s very kind of you to suggest it,’ said Poppa before I could answer, pulling me further along the street before proceeding to tap the ground with his walking stick at brief intervals, breathing the air deeply into his lungs, getting down on his hands and knees to touch the grass and the hedges that lined the path, before having a series of brief but informative conversations with the various wildlife that made their way along there on a regular basis, much to the dismay of the donkey, who I could see was hoping that we wouldn’t change our minds.
    ‘Your father wants to be very sure before deciding, doesn’t he?’ he asked me, ambling over and sniffing my pockets in a curious way, as if he was looking for something.
    ‘Oh yes,’ I told him. ‘He’s hoping that we can live here for ever.’
    ‘Well, I do hope he chooses this village,’ said the donkey. ‘You will come and see me often if he does,won’t you? I’m the best one – did I mention that? And if you come, bring something to eat. You should never start a gallop on an empty stomach.’
    It seemed that the village was the right one for us, because when Poppa returned to the spot where the donkey and I were standing, he nodded his head happily and threw his arms around me.
    ‘This is the spot, my boy,’ he said. ‘This is the place for us. I’m sure of it. We can be happy here.’
    ‘Hee-haw!’ cried the donkey, delighted by the news. ‘Hee-haw! Hee-haw!’
    And so, without wasting any more time, Poppa set about building our new home, putting it together brick by brick with his own two hands, which was not the smartest idea he’d ever had, for however good he was with wood and a chisel, he was not quite so skilled at construction, and as things turned out the house looked a little unusual, with the walls not quite standing at right angles to each other and the windows jutting out in all directions.
    ‘Never mind,’ I said, once we were settled in above the toy shop, for I didn’t want him to feel disappointed. ‘As long as it stands up, that’s all that matters.’
    ‘I suppose so,’ he said. ‘And now we have to start thinking about your schooling.’
    ‘We don’t really have to, do we?’ I asked.
    ‘Of course we do,’ he replied. ‘You’ve missed so much education already – you’ll fall far behindall the other children and you wouldn’t want that, would you?’
    ‘Not bothered,’ I said, shrugging my shoulders, and Poppa frowned at me and shook his head.
    ‘I thought you were going to be a good boy from now on,’ he said, a note of disappointment sounding in his voice.
    ‘I am, Poppa,’ I agreed, remembering all the promises I had made. ‘I’m sorry. Of course I’ll go to school if you want me to. For a bit anyway.’
    And so,