Then

“You know how when you and two friends jump off a train that’s go­ing to a Nazi death camp and you near­ly knock your­self un­con­scious but you man­age not to and your glass­es don’t even get bro­ken but your friend Chaya isn’t so lucky and she gets killed so you bury her un­der some ferns and wild­flow­ers, which takes a lot of strength, and you ha­ven’t got much en­er­gy left for run­ning and climb­ing?

That’s how it is now for me and Zel­da.”

Then begins in medias res, picking up where the narrative of Once concluded. Felix and Zelda are only 10 and 6 years old, respectively, but they have already endured enough trauma for a lifetime and have been forced to make adult decisions in order to survive. However, Felix demonstrates a determination and strength of moral character that carries him through the tumultuous events of the novel.

“I say a si­lent pray­er to Richmal Cromp­ton. I ask her to pro­tect our friends who are still on that ter­ri­ble train. Please don’t let them end up in a pit too.”

Richmal Crompton is Felix’s favorite author of children’s literature. Felix’s “prayers” to Crompton are a motif that runs through the series, serving as a reminder of the fact that Felix is still a child with naïve, childish views, despite the premature maturity that is forced upon him. The desperate elevation of his favorite author to near-godlike status also demonstrates his need to cling to whatever shreds of his former life he can manage to preserve. In this context, his subsequent theft of the Richmal Crompton book is entirely justified.

“Nailed to the side of the cart, right next to my face, is a tat­tered pa­per no­tice with print­ing on it. At the top is one word in big let­ters.

JEWS.

I read the rest of the no­tice.

Re­ward, it says. For each Jew cap­tured and hand­ed over. Two hun­dred (200) zlo­ty and one (1) bot­tle of vod­ka.

Sud­den­ly I’m not hun­gry an­y­more. I’m think­ing clear­ly again. This is why the man wants to take us to town. To get a Nazi re­ward.”

The flyer on the turnip farmer’s wagon demonstrates the perilous situation Felix and Zelda are in. Although the farmer, Mr. Krol, ultimately proves to be friendly, Felix’s instincts are not necessarily misguided.