The Book Thief Page #3

Catch me!

Hey, Dummkopf! Did you hear?

England declared war on us!

We're at war with England!

We're at war!

England declared war!

It's always been the same,

the excitement and rush to war.

I've met so many young men

over the years...

who have thought they were

running at their enemy.

When the truth was,

they were running to me.

Ja!

Excellent.

You should look

where you're going next time.

Drop dead, Franz.

What's up, Jesse Owens?

I thought you liked being black.

Who is Johann?

He used to love to read.

And he was brave.

Just like you.

This is all him.

Everything he knew.

All here.

All in its place.

They never found his body.

If they could have shown me his

body, I would have believed them.

But how can a mother give up?

A mother never

gives up on her child.

I have to go.

Do you think my mother

really loved me?

Of course.

Every mother loves her child.

Even Hitler's.

Do you think she writes to him?

"Dear fuhrer...

"just wait until

your father gets home.

"Love, Mama. "

"Dear fuhrer, clean up your mess. "

"Dear fuhrer, who cut your hair?"

"You're not going

out in that, are you?"

"What's that growing on your lip?"

"Don't raise your voice at me. "

"Stop spitting when you yell. "

Hans...

he's getting bedsores.

Then he needs to get up

and move about.

He can't just walk around.

Why not?

Because people will see in.

He can't lay still forever.

He needs to be moved.

Why?

The mouth on it!

Because I say so.

Rosa.

And what do you propose?

"Propose"?

Listen to this one.

I propose that we

put him downstairs.

It's not good, we know that.

I'm sorry.

Please don't apologize. I've

put you all in such danger.

It's more than I deserve.

Liesel's lessons.

It is a dictionary.

I tried to make it as

comfortable as I could.

I'm sorry, there's no bed.

If anyone saw, you know?

You feel free to do your

lessons whenever you want.

Make sure you knock first.

I'm just downstairs.

I'm not going anywhere.

Promise.

Don't give me that look.

"Jellyfish. "

"Jellyfish. "

Jellyfish.

Tell me, where do you

get these words?

It's a secret.

And who would I tell?

The Brgermeister's wife.

She lets me read her books.

I memorize them.

"Memory is the scribe of the soul. "

Do you know who said that?

A man called Aristotle.

Can you do me a favor?

Can you describe the day for me?

What's it like outside?

It's cloudy.

No, no, no.

Make the words yours.

If your eyes could speak...

what would they say?

It's a pale day.

"Pale. " Good. Go on.

Everything's stuck behind a cloud.

Lind the sun...

doesn't look like the sun.

What does it look like?

Like a silver oyster?

Thank you. I saw that.

We're hiding a Jew.

Johann?

Nein.

It's Liesel.

What's the meaning of this?

Lind he didn't say why?

I don't understand it.

I've always ironed his shirts

in exactly the same way.

Maybe they can't

afford it any longer.

They can't afford it?

We can't afford it.

It's another customer gone.

And four mouths to feed.

Well.

It's two meals a day

from now on, not three.

That's all there is to it.

I've made you a suit.

I want you to wear it

on your 14th birthday.

You'll be back then, Papa.

Won't you?

Hans!

Rosa...

I'm asking you, I'm begging you...

would you please keep your

mouth shut for five minutes?

I brought you something.

Is this today's?

Ja.

A gift from Franz Deutscher.

That boy doesn't know

how generous he is.

"Hitler poised to take Moscow. "

The world has turned mad.

But...

aren't we winning the war?

Max?

Where's my weather report?

You're full of wonders.

I've got an idea.

What on earth are you doing?

Go, go, go!

Max.

I have no more snow!

Get him, Max!

What in God's name are you

Saukerle doing down here?

Rosa!

There's a madwoman on the battlefield!

Nein, nein!

I'm unarmed!

This is the stupidest thing

that I have ever done.

Lind look how happy you are.

What do we do when it melts?

You mop it up, Saumensch.

It won't melt.

It's freezing down here.

I don't know how

you do it every night.

Please, don't think about me.

Nonsense.

We all think about you.

This is the best Christmas.

This is my first Christmas.

Now you know what you've

been missing out on.

We should call it a night.

Nein, Papa. Please.

Listen to your father.

You can stay a little longer.

Oh, you're too soft on that girl.

I've made you a Christmas gift.

It's all I had.

But...

Open it.

"For Liesel...

"from Max. "

What does it say?

"Write. "

In my religion...

we're taught that

every living thing...

every leaf, every bird...

is only alive because it contains

the secret word for life.

That's the only difference between

us and a lump of clay. A word.

Words are life, Liesel.

All those blank pages...

they're for you to fill.

My God.

Is he going to die?

Shut up!

I won't have that talk in this

house. Do you understand?

I haven't starved us all for the

better part of two years...

just so that he could die.

It's my fault.

Why is it your fault?

It was my idea

to build that snowman.

Why did we build it?

Because we had to.

You said you weren't

going anywhere, Max.

You promised.

"The Invisible Man...

"by H.G. Wells. "

"The stranger came

early in February...

"one wintry day...

"through a biting wind

and a driving snow.

"The last snowfall... "

"And none other

will know of them...

"until he dies. "

"The End. "

Max?

"Chapter One. "

Ilsa?

"The eyes in the faces he

passed on the street...

"seemed to look inside him

and finger his guilt.

"But things were

out of his control.

"He had cut himself loose...

"and was drifting faster and

faster towards his fate.

"... was the dustiness

of the floor...

"the feeling that the clothes were

more next to her than on her...

"and the sudden realization that

this would all be for nothing. "

- Did you lose something?

- Rudy!

What are you doing?

Spying on you, obviously.

Give me that!

So, let me guess. You forgot

where the front door was.

I've got to hand it to you,

Saumensch, you've got guts...

stealing from the Brgermeister.

Keep it down.

I'm not stealing.

I'm borrowing.

Whatever you are "borrowing"...

I just wish you let me in on it.

It's not what you think.

Then...

What is it?

I'm borrowing books.

That's all.

Books? Are you nuts?

We are starving out here

and you're stealing books?

Stop using that word.

How about food? Did you ever even

think of looking in the kitchen?

Nein.

We could have planned this

better if you told me.

I'm sorry. I couldn't.

You know, for a best friend,

you keep a lot to yourself.

What's that supposed to mean?

Who's Max?

Who is he?

Liesel!

Tell me what's going on!

Tell me, Saumensch, who is he?

Is he your boyfriend?

What?

Is that what you think?

Then what?

Tell me, who is he?

I can't.

Why not?

It's a secret.

You don't trust me?

It's not like that, Rudy.

I can't.

If I...

If I told you, I'd have to go away.

Papa would have to go away.

God knows what would happen to him.

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