of wheels and a policeman shot past on his bicycle, his cape flying behind him.
“Count its legs!” he shouted as he passed her. “It’s your only chance!”
How could she count Pumpel’s legs? He was like a centipede – his legs were everywhere, moving in great ripples on either side of his long body.
“One, two, three …” Anna began hurriedly, but it was hopeless – Pumpel was still coming towards her, and now she could see his nasty sharp teeth.
She would have to guess.
“Ninety-seven!” she cried, but still Pumpel kept coming and suddenly she realized that since they were in Paris, of course he would expect her to count in French. What was the French for ninety-seven? Her mind was blank, panicked.
“Quatre-vingts …” she stammered as Pumpel was nearly upon her …“Quatre-vingts dix-sept!” she shouted triumphantly and found herself sitting bolt upright in bed.
Everything was quiet and she could hear Max breathing peacefully on the other side of the room. Her heart was thumping and her chest felt so tight that she could hardly move. But it was all right. She was safe. It had only been a dream.
Someone on the opposite side of the courtyard still had a light on and it made a pale golden rectangle on the curtains. She could see the dim outlines of her clothes piled on a chair ready for the morning. There was no sound from Papa’s room. She lay basking in the beautiful familiarity of it all until she felt calm and sleepy. And then, with a surge of triumph, she remembered. She had had a nightmare! She had had a nightmare and Papa hadn’t! Perhaps it had really worked! She snuggled down happily, and the next thing she knew it was morning and Max was getting dressed.
“Did you have any bad dreams last night?” she asked Papa at breakfast.
“Not a thing,” said Papa. “I think I’ve got over them.”
Anna never told anyone, but she always felt that it was she who had cured Papa’s nightmares – and curiously enough, after that day, neither she nor Papa had any more of them.
One evening a few days later Anna and Max had a worse row than usual. Max had come home to find Anna’s drawing things all over the dining-room table and there was no room for his homework.
“Get this rubbish out of the way!” he shouted, and Anna shouted back, “It’s not rubbish! Just because you go to school, you’re not the only person who matters in this house!”
Mama was talking on the telephone and she called to them through the door to be quiet.
“Well, I certainly matter a lot more than you,” said Max in a fierce whisper. “You just sit about all day doing nothing!”
“I don’t,” whispered Anna. “I draw and I lay the table …”
“I draw and I lay the table,” Max mimicked her in a particularly hateful way. “You’re nothing but a parasite!”
This was too much for Anna. She was not sure what a parasite was but she had a vague impression that it was something disgusting that grew on trees. As Mama put down the receiver, she burst into tears.
Mama sorted things out briskly as usual. Max must not call Anna names – anyway it was silly to call her a parasite – and Anna must clear away her things and make room for Max’s homework.
Then she added, “In any case, if Max called you a parasite just because he goes to school and you don’t, there’ll soon be an end to that.”
Anna stopped in the middle of putting her crayons back in their box.
“Why?” she asked.
“That was Madame Fernand on the telephone,” said Mama. “She says she has heard of a very good little école communale not too far from here. So with luck you’ll be able to start next week.”
On the following Monday Anna set off with Mama to the école communale. Anna was carrying her satchel and a cardboard case containing sandwiches for her lunch. Under her winter coat she wore a black pleated overall which Mama had bought her at the headmistress’s suggestion. She was very proud of this overall and thought how lucky it was that her coat was too short to cover it, so that everyone could see it.
They went on the Metro, but although it was only a short distance they had to change twice. “Next time I think we’ll try walking,” said Mama. “It will be cheaper, too.” The school was just off the Champs Elysées, a beautiful wide avenue with glittering shops and cafés, and it was surprising to find the old-fashioned gate marked Ecole de Filles tucked away at the back of all this grandeur. The building was dark and had clearly been there a long time. They crossed the empty playground and the sound of singing drifted down from one of the classrooms. School had already begun. As Anna climbed up the stone stairs at Mama’s side to meet the headmistress, she suddenly wondered what on earth it would all be like.
The headmistress was tall and brisk. She shook hands with Anna and explained something to Mama in French which Mama translated. She was sorry that there was no one who spoke German in the school but hoped that Anna would soon learn French. Then Mama said, “See you at four o’clock,” and Anna could hear her heels clattering down the stairs while she was left standing in the headmistress’s study.
The headmistress smiled at Anna. Anna smiled back. But it is difficult to smile at someone without talking and after a few moments her face began to feel stiff. The headmistress must have felt stiff too, for she suddenly switched her smile off. Her fingers were drumming on the desk and she seemed to be listening for something, but nothing happened, and Anna was just beginning to wonder whether they would be there all day when there was a knock at the door.
The headmistress called “Entrez!” and a small dark-haired girl of about Anna’s own age appeared. The headmistress exclaimed something that Anna thought probably meant “at last!” and launched into a long, cross tirade. Then she turned to Anna and told her that the other girl’s name was Colette and something else which might or might not have meant that Colette was going to look after her. Then she said something more and Colette started for the door. Anna, not knowing whether she was meant to follow or not, stayed where she was.
“Allez! Allez!” cried the headmistress, waving her hands at her as though she were shooing away a fly, and Colette took Anna’s hand and led her out of the room.
As soon as the door closed behind them Colette made a face at it and said “Ouf!” Anna was pleased that she, too, found the headmistress a bit much. She hoped all the teachers were not going to be like her. Then she followed Colette along a passage and through various doors. She could hear the murmur of French voices from one of the classrooms. Others were silent – the children must be writing or doing sums. They came to a cloakroom and Colette showed her where to hang her coat, admired her German satchel and pointed out that Anna’s black overall was exactly like her own – all in rapid French supplemented by sign language. Anna could not understand any of the words, but she guessed what Colette meant.
Then Colette led her through another door
