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1 Why Are You Running?

"I’ll race you to the corner, Ellen!" Annemarie adjusted the thick leather pack on her back so that her schoolbooks balanced evenly "Ready?" She looked at her best friend

Ellen"You know I can’t beat you -- Can’t we just walk, like civilized people?" She was a stocky ten-year-old, unlike lanky Annemarie

"We have to practice for the athletic irls’ race this week I was second last week, but I’ve been practicing every day Co the distance to the next corner of the Copenhagen street "Please?"

Ellen hesitated, then nodded and shifted her own rucksack of books against her shoulders "Oh, all right Ready," she said

"Go!" shouted Anne the residential sidewalk Annemarie’s silvery blond hair flew behind her, and Ellen’s dark pigtails bounced against her shoulders

"Wait for irls weren’t listening

Anneh one of her shoes caade, past the shborhood here in northeast Copenhagen Laughing, she skirted an elderly lady in black who carried a shopping bag e moved aside to make way The corner was just ahead

Anne, just as she reached the corner Her laughter stopped Her heart seemed to skip a beat

"Halte!" the soldier ordered in a stern voice

The Ger Anneh before, but it had never been directed at her until now

Behind her, Ellen also slowed and stopped Far back, little Kirsti was plodding along, her face in a pout because the girls hadn’t waited for her

Annemarie stared up There were two of the at her, and four tall shiny boots planted fir her path to horipped in the hands of the soldiers She stared at the rifles first Then, finally, she looked into the face of the soldier who had ordered her to halt

"Why are you running?" the harsh voice asked His Danish was very poor Three years, Anneht with contempt Three years they’ve been in our country, and still they can’t speak our language

"I was racing with my friend," she answered politely "We have races at school every Friday, and I want to do well, so I--" Her voice trailed away, the sentence unfinished Don’t talk so much, she told herself Just answer thelanced back Ellen was motionless on the sidewalk, a few yards behind her Farther back, Kirsti was still sulking, and walking slowly toward the corner Nearby, a wo silently, watching

One of the soldiers, the taller one, nized him as the one she and Ellen always called, in whispers, "the Giraffe" because of his height and the long neck that extended from his stiff collar He and his partner were always on this corner

He prodded the corner of her backpack with the stock of his rifle Annemarie trembled "What is in here?" he asked loudly From the corner of her eye, she saw the shopkeeper ht

"Schoolbooks," she answered truthfully

"Are you a good student?" the soldier asked He see

"Yes"

"What is your naood student, too?" lie was looking beyond her, at Ellen, who hadn’t moved

Annemarie looked back, too, and saw that Ellen’s face, usually rosy-cheeked, was pale, and her dark eyes ide

She nodded at the soldier "Better than me," she said

"What is her na to Anne at everyone

"My little sister" She reached down for Kirsti’s hand, but Kirsti, always stubborn, refused it and put her hands on her hips defiantly

The soldier reached down and stroked her little sister’s short, tangled curls Stand still, Kirsti, Anne that soe

But Kirsti reached up and pushed the soldier’s hand away "Don’t," she said loudly

Both soldiers began to laugh They spoke to each other in rapid German that Annemarie couldn’t understand

"She is pretty, like irl," the tall one said in a more pleasant voice