Chocolate Cake With Hitler Read Online Free
Author: Emma Craigie
looked like she’d got up in a hurry. Her hair was flat on one side and sticking up on the other. She told us that Mummy was having a lie-in because her heart was still bad.
We had hot chocolate and bread and butter anddamson jam for breakfast. You can pretty well have as much butter as you like, which is so nice – the first time in ages that we haven’t had to scrape it really thin to try and make the ration last as long as possible – and the bread was still warm so the butter melted. One of the kitchen orderlies had just collected it from a bakery off William Street. Miss Manziarly says that the kitchen orderlies are braver than half the bunker soldiers. She thinks it is probably the only bakery left in Berlin.
Papa came to see us after breakfast. He told us that the astrologers predict that we will win the war by the end of April. That’s only a week away. Apparently the stars are almost exactly the same as when Frederick the Great won the Seven Year War by a miracle. That time the Empress of Russia died, and this time the American President has just died. Which has got to be more than a coincidence, Papa says. Papa always used to say that only silly old fools like Mr. Goering believed in astrology , but now everyone seems to believe it. I hope it’s true. I couldn’t bear the thought of being cooped up down here for more than a week. When we get back to Swan Island the first thing I’m going to do is cartwheel all the way around the lawn. I can’t wait till it’s warm enough to go swimming – there’s probably only a month to go. Hubi’s going to teach me butterfly this summer.
Mummy stayed in bed all morning. At lunchtime she came and sat with us as we ate our sandwiches butshe didn’t eat anything. She looked very white and tired. One really good thing is that all the little ones know not to bicker if Mummy’s poorly. She told us that after lunch we would have a rest and then she would come and help us get ready for tea with Uncle Leader. A rest! As if there is anything to rest from. All that exhausting drawing and reading. Mummy kissed our heads and went back to her room.
Just before lunch we had a game of hide-and-seek. I was the counter and the others hid. Heide and Hedda were quite easy to find because they had gone back to their igloo, which I guessed. All the others were hiding down in the washrooms in the Leader Bunker where Blondi and the puppies live. They were easy to find too because the puppies were barking like mad in their little high-pitched voices. Papa was in the Leader Bunker corridor, but he had his concentrating face on, so I didn’t say hello. There’s a tall man, Mr. Misch, who is the telephone operator. He came out of his little booth and whispered in my ear, “Best to go back upstairs, those little ones are a making a bit of a racket.” So I gathered them all up and found Miss Manziarly in the upper dining-room corridor setting out our sandwiches.
Some orderlies had put an extra bunk in our room during the morning. When we went for our supposed rest Hedda and Heide and Helmut immediately started squabbling about who should have the top bunk. Theygave me a headache. In the end I read them the story of Hansel and Gretl just to get them to be quiet.
Eventually Mummy and Auntie Eva and Auntie Eva’s maid Liesl came in to get us ready for tea. I like the look of Liesl. She’s sort of cosy and up-together and smells of ironing. She’s one of those people who gives you the feeling that they could cope with anything, without making a fuss. Mummy had put her face on so she looked a bit brighter. Auntie Eva was wearing another swishy dress – covered in red roses. Mummy seemed in a bit of a dream. Auntie Eva was nattering away about how impossible it has been to find good quality dressmakers now all the Jews have left Berlin and Mummy was just nodding as she got out our best clothes – the white dresses, and Helmut’s white shirt and shorts – and gave them to Liesl
We had hot chocolate and bread and butter anddamson jam for breakfast. You can pretty well have as much butter as you like, which is so nice – the first time in ages that we haven’t had to scrape it really thin to try and make the ration last as long as possible – and the bread was still warm so the butter melted. One of the kitchen orderlies had just collected it from a bakery off William Street. Miss Manziarly says that the kitchen orderlies are braver than half the bunker soldiers. She thinks it is probably the only bakery left in Berlin.
Papa came to see us after breakfast. He told us that the astrologers predict that we will win the war by the end of April. That’s only a week away. Apparently the stars are almost exactly the same as when Frederick the Great won the Seven Year War by a miracle. That time the Empress of Russia died, and this time the American President has just died. Which has got to be more than a coincidence, Papa says. Papa always used to say that only silly old fools like Mr. Goering believed in astrology , but now everyone seems to believe it. I hope it’s true. I couldn’t bear the thought of being cooped up down here for more than a week. When we get back to Swan Island the first thing I’m going to do is cartwheel all the way around the lawn. I can’t wait till it’s warm enough to go swimming – there’s probably only a month to go. Hubi’s going to teach me butterfly this summer.
Mummy stayed in bed all morning. At lunchtime she came and sat with us as we ate our sandwiches butshe didn’t eat anything. She looked very white and tired. One really good thing is that all the little ones know not to bicker if Mummy’s poorly. She told us that after lunch we would have a rest and then she would come and help us get ready for tea with Uncle Leader. A rest! As if there is anything to rest from. All that exhausting drawing and reading. Mummy kissed our heads and went back to her room.
Just before lunch we had a game of hide-and-seek. I was the counter and the others hid. Heide and Hedda were quite easy to find because they had gone back to their igloo, which I guessed. All the others were hiding down in the washrooms in the Leader Bunker where Blondi and the puppies live. They were easy to find too because the puppies were barking like mad in their little high-pitched voices. Papa was in the Leader Bunker corridor, but he had his concentrating face on, so I didn’t say hello. There’s a tall man, Mr. Misch, who is the telephone operator. He came out of his little booth and whispered in my ear, “Best to go back upstairs, those little ones are a making a bit of a racket.” So I gathered them all up and found Miss Manziarly in the upper dining-room corridor setting out our sandwiches.
Some orderlies had put an extra bunk in our room during the morning. When we went for our supposed rest Hedda and Heide and Helmut immediately started squabbling about who should have the top bunk. Theygave me a headache. In the end I read them the story of Hansel and Gretl just to get them to be quiet.
Eventually Mummy and Auntie Eva and Auntie Eva’s maid Liesl came in to get us ready for tea. I like the look of Liesl. She’s sort of cosy and up-together and smells of ironing. She’s one of those people who gives you the feeling that they could cope with anything, without making a fuss. Mummy had put her face on so she looked a bit brighter. Auntie Eva was wearing another swishy dress – covered in red roses. Mummy seemed in a bit of a dream. Auntie Eva was nattering away about how impossible it has been to find good quality dressmakers now all the Jews have left Berlin and Mummy was just nodding as she got out our best clothes – the white dresses, and Helmut’s white shirt and shorts – and gave them to Liesl
Readers choose
Zoe Dawson
Aliyah Burke
Carole Lanham
Amelia Atwater-Rhodes
Veronica Heley
Jamie Begley
E. L. Doctorow
Eve Ensler
A. Bertram Chandler