John Boyne - The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas

‘You do?’ asked Shmuel, looking up hopefully. ‘Yes. I’m going back to Berlin.’ Shmuel’s mouth dropped open in surprise. ‘When?’ he asked, his voice catching slightly in his throat as he did so.

‘Well, this is Thursday,’ said Bruno. ‘And we’re leaving on Saturday. After lunch.’ ‘But for how long?’ asked Shmuel. ‘I think it’s for ever,’ said Bruno. ‘Mother doesn’t like it at Out-With-she says it’s no place to bring up two children-so Father is staying here to work because the Fury has big things in mind for him, but the rest of us are going home.’

He said the word ‘home’, despite the fact that he wasn’t sure where ‘home’ was any more. ‘So I won’t see you again?’ asked Shmuel. ‘Well, someday, yes,’ said Bruno. ‘You could come on a holiday to Berlin. You can’t stay here for ever after all. Can you?’

Shmuel shook his head. ‘I suppose not,’ he said sadly. ‘I won’t have anyone to talk to any more when you’re gone,’ he added.

‘No,’ said Bruno. He wanted to add the words, ‘I’ll miss you too, Shmuel,’ to the sentence but found that he was a little embarrassed to say them. ‘So tomorrow will be the last time we see each other until then,’ he continued. ‘We’ll have to say our goodbyes then. I’ll try to bring you an extra special treat.’

Shmuel nodded but couldn’t find any words to express his sorrow.

‘I wish we’d got to play together,’ said Bruno after a long pause. ‘Just once. Just to remember.’

‘So do I,’ said Shmuel.

‘We’ve been talking to each other for more than a year and we never got to play once. And do you know what else?’ he added. ‘AH this time I’ve been watching where you live from out of my bedroom window and I’ve never even seen for myself what it’s like.’

‘You wouldn’t like it,’ said Shmuel. ‘Yours is much nicer,’ he added.

‘I’d still like to have seen it,’ said Bruno.

Shmuel thought for a few moments and then reached down and put his hand under the fence and lifted it a little, to the height where a small boy, perhaps the size and shape of Bruno, could fit underneath.

‘Well?’ said Shmuel. ‘Why don’t you then?’

Bruno blinked and thought about it. ‘I don’t think I’d be allowed,’ he said doubtfully.

‘Well, you’re probably not allowed to come here and talk to me every day either,’ said Shmuel. ‘But you still do it, don’t you?’

‘But if I was caught I’d be in trouble,’ said Bruno, who was sure Mother and Father would not approve.

‘That’s true,’ said Shmuel, lowering the fence again and looking at the ground with tears in his eyes. I suppose I’ll see you tomorrow to say goodbye then.’

Neither boy said anything for a moment. Suddenly Bruno had a brainwave.

‘Unless…’ he began, thinking about it for a moment and allowing a plan to hatch in his head. He reached a hand up to his head and felt where his hair used to be but was now just stubble that hadn’t fully grown back. ‘Don’t you remember that you said I looked like you?’ he asked Shmuel ‘Since I had my head shaved?’

‘Only fatter,’ conceded Shmuel.

‘Well, if that’s the case,’ said Bruno, ‘and if I had a pair of striped pyjamas too, then I could come over on a visit and no one would be any the wiser.’

Shmuel’s face brightened up and he broke into a wide smile. ‘Do you think so?’ he asked. ‘Would you do it?’

‘Of course,’ said Bruno. ‘It would be a great adventure. Our final adventure. I could do some exploring at last.’

‘And you could help me look for Papa,’ said Shmuel.

‘Why not?’ said Bruno. ‘We’ll take a walk around and see whether we can find any evidence. That’s always wise when you’re exploring. The only problem is getting a spare pair of striped pyjamas.’

Shmuel shook his head. ‘That’s all right,’ he said. ‘There’s a hut where they keep them. I can get some in my size and bring them with me. Then you can change and we can look for Papa.’

‘Wonderful,’ said Bruno, caught up in the enthusiasm of the moment. ‘Then it’s a plan.’

‘We’ll meet at the same time tomorrow,’ said Shmuel.

‘Don’t be late this time,’ said Bruno, standing up and dusting himself down. ‘And don’t forget the striped pyjamas.’

Both boys went home in high spirits that afternoon. Bruno imagined a great adventure ahead and finally an opportunity to see what was really on the other side of the fence before he went back to Berlin-not to mention getting in a little serious exploration as well-and Shmuel saw a chance to get someone to help him in the search for his papa. All in all, it seemed like a very sensible plan and a good way to say goodbye.

The next day-Friday-was another wet day. When Bruno woke in the morning he looked out of his window and was disappointed to see the rain pouring down. Had it not been for the fact that it would be the last chance for him and Shmuel to spend any time together-not to mention the fact that the adventure would be a very exciting one, especially since it involved dressing up-he would have given up on it for the day and waited until some afternoon the following week, when he didn’t have anything special planned.

However, the clock was ticking and there was nothing he could do about it. And after all, it was only the morning and a lot could happen between then and the late afternoon, which was when the two boys always met. The rain would surely have stopped by then.

He watched out of the window during morning classes with Herr Liszt, but it showed no signs of slowing down then and even pounded noisily against the window. He watched during lunch from the kitchen, when it was definitely starting to ease off and there was even the hint of sunshine coming from behind a black cloud. He watched during history and geography lessons in the afternoon, when it reached its strongest force yet and threatened to knock the window in.

Fortunately it came to an end around the time that Herr Liszt was leaving, and so Bruno put on a pair of boots and his heavy raincoat, waited until the coast was clear and left the house.

His boots squelched in the mud and he started to enjoy the walk more than he ever had before. With every step he seemed to face the danger of toppling over and falling down, but he never did and managed to keep his balance, even at a particularly bad part where, when he lifted his left leg, his boot stayed implanted in the mud while his foot slipped right out of it.

He looked up at the skies, and although they were still very dark he thought the day had probably had enough rain and he would be safe enough this afternoon. Of course there would be the difficulty of explaining why he was so filthy later on when he returned home, but he could put that down to being a typical boy, which was what Mother claimed he was, and probably not get into too much trouble.

(Mother had been particularly happy over the previous few days, as each box of their belongings had been sealed and packed into a truck for despatch to Berlin.)

Shmuel was waiting for Bruno when he arrived, and for the first time ever he wasn’t sitting cross-legged on the ground and staring at the dust beneath him but standing, leaning against the fence.

‘Hello, Bruno,’ he said when he saw his friend approaching.

‘Hello, Shmuel,’ said Bruno.

‘I wasn’t sure if we’d ever see each other again-with the rain and everything, I mean,’ said Shmuel. ‘I thought you might be kept indoors.’

‘It was touch and go for a while,’ said Bruno. ‘What with the weather being so bad.’

Shmuel nodded and held out his hands to Bruno, who opened his mouth in delight. He was carrying a pair of striped pyjama bottoms, a striped pyjama top and a striped cloth cap exactly like the one he was wearing. It didn’t look particularly clean but it was a disguise, and Bruno knew that good explorers always wore the right clothes.