Hero Read Online Free Page A

up. They took their caps from a row of hooks on the wall beside a wooden door and left, followed by Bijke, the dog. Els got up too. She ruffled Izaak’s hair. “I know you will have a good safe place here.” Els took her raincoat off the hook and was off.
    â€œWhere is Els going?” Izaak looked at the closed door.
    â€œWe don’t know,” Aunt Anna said. “She is always on a secret mission.”
    Els was brave, Izaak thought. She could have been caught by the soldiers on the way to Friesland with him.
    Izaak’s eyes followed Annie as she hopped around the kitchen, petting the cats.
    â€œHere.” Aunt Anna held out a red coat. “Skedaddle!”
    Annie smiled at Izaak as she went out.
    â€œAs soon as Nel comes, we’ll get the bathtub ready.” Aunt Anna said. “After, I’ll take you to the stables and the barn. You’re safe here, Jan. The soldiers won’t find you.” She carried the plates and cups to the sink. A large, black kettle on the stove blew ringlets of steam. Izaak watched them curl up.
    â€œHave you been on a farm before?”
    Izaak shook his head. His throatclosed. How he wished he was back in the attic with Mama and Mrs. Waterman.
    â€œNow, now.” Aunt Anna stood beside him and stroked his hair. Her arm tightened around his shoulders. She held him just like Mama, but she smelled of wood and farm and Mama smelled like …
    The door opened and closed.
    â€œGood morning, Nel.” Aunt Anna greeted a tall woman with strawberryblond hair.
    â€œGood morning.” The woman hung her coat on a hook. She shivered. “It’s a good day to stay close to the stove,” she said. “This must be Jan.”
    â€œThis is Nel.” Aunt Anna said. “She’s Albert’s wife. She helps out every morning. Can you get the basin, Nel? Jan needs a little soaking.”
    Nel disappeared again and returned a minute later with a galvanized tub. She placed it in front of the stove. Aunt Anna filled the tub with thewater from the kettle. Nel added a bucket of cold water.
    Izaak shivered. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d taken a bath. Mrs. Waterman had thought it too dangerous.
    â€œI brought some clothes that Jaap has outgrown, but they’ll be too large for Jan.” Nel hung a pair of brown pants and a checkered shirt over the back of a chair and left the kitchen.
    Aunt Anna handed him a washcloth, a towel and a bar of soap. Then she left the kitchen as well.
    Izaak looked around. The cats slept in the dog basket. The grandfather clock ticked.
    He took off his clothes and climbed into the tub. The warm water hugged his shivering body.

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    â€œHere, Bijke!” Aunt Anna patted the dog. “Say hello to Jan, you lazy dog.”
    The dog wagged its tail. Hesitantly, Izaak placed his hand on the dog’s head. Bijke sniffed his pants. The dog’s tongue reached up to lick Izaak’s arm, then his hand. The soft wet tongue tickled his skin. Izaak laughed.
    Aunt Anna took his hand. “We’ll meet the calves next.” Together they walked the length of the barn past farm equipment. Izaak looked up at the high beams and piles of hay in the loft. Bijke followed closely.
    Izaak’s nostrils filled with the smell of hay, manure and animals.
    Aunt Anna opened a door and they entered another part of the barn. Light shone in through two square windows and fanned out through the openings of the gate, leaving a striped pattern on the straw.
    When he looked through the bars of a gate, Izaak discovered black and white calves. The floor was covered with a thick layer of yellow straw. Three calves were lying down, but most of them were gathered around a trough filled with milk. One calf with a black face was pushing aside two others, to get closer to the trough. Another calf stared at the visitors, his eyes large and questioning.
    â€œThere should be fourteen,” Aunt Anna said.
    Izaak