For Jamie Lynch thank you I would like to express my deep gratitude to David Fickling, Bella Pearson, and Linda Sargent for all their advice and insightful comments on this book and for keeping me committed to its development. creation.In addition, I would like to thank my agent Simon Trevin. I would also like to thank my longtime friend Janet Junkens for her encouragement after reading the first draft of this book. 1. Bruno's discovery One afternoon, when Bruno came home from school, he was surprised to find that the housemaid, Maria - who always kept her head down and never dared to take her eyes off the carpet - was in his room cleaning all the Things were taken out of the closet and put into four large rattan boxes, and even his personal belongings hidden behind the closet were turned out and put into the rattan boxes.

"What are you doing?" Bruno asked in as polite a tone as possible, although he was very upset to see someone messing with his stuff without his consent.His mother always told him to respect Maria and not talk to her the way his father did. "Get your hands off my things!" Maria shook her head and pointed to the stairs behind Bruno, where his mother suddenly appeared.She was tall, with long red hair tied back in a net.Mother rubbed her hands nervously, as if there was something she couldn't say, or something she couldn't believe. "Mom," Bruno asked, walking towards her, "what's going on? Why is Maria touching my things?"

"She's packing," Mother explained. "Packing?" Bruno asked, his mind running fast, thinking that he hadn't been particularly naughty these days, or said things he shouldn't have said loudly, so he shouldn't be sent away now.In fact, he behaved decently with everyone these days, and he couldn't recall getting himself into trouble. "Why?" he continued. "Did I do something wrong?" At this time, the mother had already walked into her own room, and the housekeeper Les was also tidying up things in her room.Mother sighed, walked to the stairs, and spread her hands helplessly.Bruno followed behind, he would not let it go until he figured out the matter.

"Mom," he insisted, "what the hell is going on? Why are we moving?" "Come downstairs with me," my mother said, leading Bruno into the family's large dining room.Last week, the head of state ① had a meal here. "Let's talk over there." Bruno ran down the stairs as fast as he could, even passing his mother down the stairs, so that he could wait in the dining room before her arrival.He looked at his mother for a while, but didn't speak. He thought that his mother must not have put on makeup this morning, because her eye circles looked redder than usual, just like he cried after he got into trouble.

"Don't worry, Bruno," said the mother.The chair she sat in was where the beautiful blonde who had dined with the Führer last week sat.The blonde sat beckoning to Bruno when his father closed the dining room door. "We're going to go through a big change." "What change?" Bruno asked. "Want to send me away?" "No, it's not just you," replied the mother, who thought for a moment and tried to smile. "We're all going. Your father, me, Gretel and you, all four of us." Bruno thought for a moment and frowned.If Gretel is sent away, then she won't react much, because she is a "hopeless" person.But Bruno felt it was a little unfair to let everyone go with her.

"Where are you going?" he asked. "Where are we going? Why can't we stay here?" "Because of your father's work," mother explained, "you understand how important it is, don't you?" "Yes, of course I understand," Bruno nodded, as the house was always full of guests—men in flashy military uniforms, women with typewriters (Bruno couldn't touch them with his shabby hands), They were very polite to their father, saying that his father had a bright future and that the head of state would entrust him with important tasks. "Sometimes, if someone is highly valued," continued the mother, "his superiors will assign him a special mission elsewhere."

"What kind of mission?" Bruno asked, and to be honest - and he always asked himself to be honest - he didn't quite know what his father was up to. One day at school, Bruno and his friends were talking about their respective fathers.Karl said his father was a greengrocer, and Bruno had no doubts about that, because Karl's father had a greengrocer in the city center.Daniel said that his father was a teacher, and this Bruno knew very well that his father taught some big boys, and Bruno didn't dare to mess with those big boys.Martin said that his father was a chef, and Bruno was convinced of this, because Martin's father would sometimes pick him up from school in his chef's robe and apron, as if he had just come out of the kitchen.

But when they asked Bruno what his father did, Bruno opened his mouth to tell them, only to realize that he didn't know.He can only say that his father is very promising, and the Führer will always assign him important tasks.Oh, and of course, his father always wore a very flashy military uniform. "It's a very important job," said the mother, after a moment's hesitation. "A job that requires special people to do it. You understand that, don't you?" "I don't think I understand," Bruno said. "Father will miss us terribly if we don't go with us," continued the mother.

"Who will he miss most?" Bruno asked. "Is it me or Gretel?" "He will miss you just as much," said the mother.The mother firmly believes in the principle of adhering to the principle of keeping a bowl of water level when treating children. Bruno appreciates this very much, especially because he knows that he is the child that his mother really loves the most. "But what do we do with our house?" Bruno asked. "Who's going to look after it when we're gone?" Mother sighed and looked around the room as if she would never see the house again.This is a very beautiful house with five floors including the basement and attic.While the cook prepares the food in the basement, Maria and Les sit at the table arguing and swearing at each other.There was a slanted window in the attic, and from there Bruno could see all of Berlin if he put his feet up and held on tightly to the frame.

"We've got to lock the house," said my mother, "because we'll be back someday." "And what about the cook?" Bruno asked. "And Les? And Maria? Don't they live here?" "They'll come with us," Mother explained. "You've asked enough. I think you can go upstairs and help Maria pack your things." Bruno stood up from his chair, but didn't move.He still has a little question to ask, and he wants to get it out of the way. "How far is that place?" he asked. "I'm talking about Dad's new place of work. Is it a mile away?"

"Oh, my child," the mother laughed, though oddly because she didn't look happy.She turned her back to Bruno, as if she didn't want Bruno to see her face. "Yes, Bruno," she said, "farther than a mile. Much farther, in fact." Bruno's eyes widened and his mouth formed an "O".He felt his arms open from his sides.He felt that way whenever he was surprised. "You don't mean we're leaving Berlin?" he asked.When he said these words, he felt that he could hardly breathe. "I'm afraid so," said the mother, nodding sadly. "Your father's job is..." "Then how do I go to school?" Bruno interrupted his mother, although he knew it was not allowed, but he felt that this time his mother would forgive him. "And Carl and Daniel and Martin? How do they find me when we want to hang out together?" "Now you have to say goodbye to your friends," said the mother, "though I'm sure you'll see them again someday. Also, please don't interrupt when mother is talking." She didn't forget Bruno's mistake. mistake.For, even on such strange and unpleasant occasions, Bruno could not violate the strict rules of good manners. "Say goodbye to them?" he asked, staring at his mother in surprise. "Say 'em goodbye?" he repeated, the words popping out of his mouth like a mouthful of biscuits that he had just chewed but hadn't had time to swallow. "Say goodbye to Carl, Daniel, and Martin?" he continued, his voice approaching a shout, which was not allowed at home. "But they are the best friends of my life!" "Oh, you'll make new friends, too," said the mother, waving her hand in the air as if it were easy for a little boy to make three best friends. "But we still have a lot of plans to implement." Bruno insisted. "Plan?" Mom asked, raising her eyebrows. "What kind of plan?" "I'll tell you," Bruno said, though he'd never be able to tell what the plan was—they were nothing more than plans to cause trouble. , especially when the semester ends and the summer break comes, they don't have to dream about their plans, but put them into action. "I'm sorry, Bruno," said the mother, "but your plans will have to be put on hold for a while. We have no choice." "But, Mom!" "Bruno, that's enough!" Mom got annoyed, standing up to show she was serious now. "Honestly, you've been complaining all week that things have changed so quickly."