Read Online Odette's Secrets by Maryann Macdonald - Free Book Online

of Eden. Bah!”
    At the village center, I meet my friend Simone.
    She’s playing hopscotch.
    But when she sees me coming,
    she drops her marker and walks away.
    Why, I wonder?
    I follow her.
    At first she won’t speak to me, but then she says,
    â€œI can’t play with you anymore.
    People say you and your mother are really Jewish.
    Are you hiding from the Germans?”
    Silence.
    â€œYou are, aren’t you?”
    My mouth drops open,
    but no words come out.
    Who thinks we’re Jewish?
    How did they figure it out?
    But I don’t have time to think about this.
    Not now.
    I swallow hard and reply.
    â€œJewish?
    How could I be Jewish?
    Lots of Christians have left Paris since the war began.
    We had no eggs, no meat, no milk, no butter!
    We had to hide in bomb shelters at night.
    It was awful.
    We came here because it’s quiet and peaceful,
    and there’s lots of good food.”
    â€œI
knew
those people were lying,” says Simone.
    â€œYou’re too nice to be Jewish.”
    She smiles at me.
    â€œCome on,” she says as she pulls my hand.
    â€œWant to go see my new baby brother?
    He’s the ugliest one yet!”
    I feel faint with relief.
    For a moment, I can barely see …
    everything looks blurry, as if we’re under water.
    I grab Simone’s hand and let her pull me along,
    blinking until my sight clears.
    Who are the people who suspect us? I wonder.
    Should I run and tell Mama right now?
    No, I’ll act normal, I decide.
    I’ll wait until tonight to tell Mama everything.

Attacked
    Like all the houses in our village,
    Simone’s house has two rooms.
    One has a fireplace and a big table,
    and the other a huge carved bed.
    Simone’s thin mother rests in the bed with her sleeping baby.
    â€œLook how blessed I am with all these fine children, Odette!
    Simone can keep house and milk cows as well as I can.
    I don’t know what I’d do without her!
    In fact, I need her today.
    Can you take the cows to the pasture this afternoon?”
    â€œOf course,” I say, proud to be asked.
    Simone packs ham and rye bread for me for lunch.
    She puts it in a satchel with some cider.
    â€œNow, Odette,” says her mother.
    â€œYou know where the cows are, behind the house.
    Take them to the stream.
    You can keep your cider cool in the deep water there.”
    At the stream, the four cows are happy
    with all the water, grass, and shade.
    After I find a good place to put my cider,
    I pick wildflowers for Mary’s altar.
    Then I take off my rubber sandals
    and wade into the water to look for frogs.
    But a sound behind me makes me jump—is it the cows?
    No, it’s the village children marching toward me.
    One look tells me they’re not here to play.
    They look like farmers ready to chop down a big tree.
    Paul, the big boy who threw stones at the kittens, is the leader.
    He has no family.
    The old lady he lives with works him too hard,
    almost as hard as a grown man.
    Simone walks beside him.
    I thought she had to help her mother.
    Something must have happened.
    She looks at me as though she’s angry,
    as though she knows I’ve lied to her.
    I stand still and wait for them.
    When they come close, the children trap me in a half circle.
    â€œYou thought you could fool us!” shouts Paul.
    â€œWe’re not stupid.
    We know if a Jew comes into your house, someone will die.”
    â€œAnd now that’s happened!” yells a younger boy.
    â€œAs soon as your mother rented that house from my parents,
    my brother Marcel got sicker and sicker.
    Now he’s dead … just like Jesus.”
    So our neighbor Marcel has died.
    But that can’t be my fault.
    He’s been sick since before I came to the village.
    â€œI’m not Jewish!” I yell back.
    â€œAnd how could I kill Jesus?
    I’m not old enough.”
    Paul shouts, “Let’s throw her in the water.
    Shove her face under until she