70 pages 2 hours read

Morris Gleitzman

Once

Fiction | Novel | YA | Published in 2005

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Chapters 6-10

Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Chapter 6 Summary

On the way to the city, Felix sees a huge fire in the distance. He thinks this must be where the Nazis are burning the Jewish books. However, he soon sees that it is a house on fire. He urinates on his hat to protect his head from the flames and approaches the conflagration in case anyone needs rescuing. The yard is full of dead chickens. The owners are lying dead as well. All have been shot. Shocked, Felix begins to cry. He thinks the dead man and woman must be Jewish book owners who refused to hand over their books. Part of the house collapses. Felix drops and rolls to put out his smoldering clothes. He nearly rolls into a dead little girl.

He begins to wonder if books are not the reason that Nazis are rounding up Jewish people. He rolls the little girl over and discovers that she has a large bruise on her head but is still breathing. As Nazi cars approach, he lifts her unconscious body and carries her away. Felix carries her as long as he can. She regains consciousness but does not answer when Felix asks her name. Exhausted, he decides to risk taking a rest by a haystack.