Alexander Altmann A10567 by Suzy Zail Read Free Book Online

stable door. His legs felt rubbery. He knew it couldn’t be Lili – wouldn’t be Lili – but still the thought galloped towards him.
    “Make sure they wear a helmet,” the kapo called after him. “It’s only once around the ring, then it’s the next child’s turn.”
    Alexander took a deep breath and stepped into the yard.

Chapter 5
    Alexander’s shoulders slumped when he saw the children waiting in a neat line outside the enclosure. The girls wore pinafores and their hair was in curls. The boys’ socks were pulled up to their knees. None of them wore blue and white striped shirts. They waited with their fathers: SS men dressed in grey uniforms studded with skulls and swastikas. Nazi fathers smiling down at their rosy-cheeked children.
    The kapo strode past the children, swung the gate open and walked into the ring. Alexander followed him, rearranging his face to hide his disappointment.
    “Call them one at a time.” The kapo leaned in to Alexander. “If the officers don’t want you to touch their children, don’t touch them. If they want you to lift their kid onto the saddle, do it. Don’t talk to the children unless they talk to you. Don’t smile at them unless they smile first. Don’t ask their parents for money or food. You’re invisible, unless they say otherwise.” The kapo’s voice was steely. “Got it?” He nodded at the first child waiting at the gate.
    “Got it,” Alexander said, his disappointment spiralling into fear. He turned to his first customer, wondering what the little girl’s father had told her about the bald prisoner in the striped shirt.
    She was four, maybe five, with red hair and lips that sat between dimples. She didn’t talk to Alexander, or smile at him, just tugged on her father’s arm until he hoisted her from the ground and settled her onto the pony. He stood beside her, his hand on her back, staring at Alexander. The helmet! Alexander had almost forgotten it. He lifted it from the fence post and passed it to the girl’s father, who stood thin-lipped and silent on the other side of the pony. Alexander fed the reins through the girl’s fingers with trembling hands.
You can lead a pony around a ring with your eyes closed, so quit shaking
, he berated himself. He squared his shoulders, lifted the lead rope and started to walk.
    He didn’t break into a jog like he did with Strudel, forcing Lili to bounce up and down in the saddle and shriek with excitement. He walked at a dull, even pace, once around the ring, the only sound keeping his footsteps company was the huffy breath of the pony and the crunch of her hooves. The birds were too hot to sing; even the crickets were silent in the sticky heat. The little girl’s father lifted her off the pony, passed her a flask of water and carried her to a waiting car. Neither of them turned to thank Alexander.
    A boy with buck teeth waited his turn by the gate. He was soft and round, his collared shirt stretched awkwardly over his belly, pink skin poking from between the buttons. Alexander wondered what he’d eaten for breakfast, a sausage perhaps or a runny fried egg with a thick wedge of bread to mop up the yolk. Alexander’s stomach growled.
    The buck-toothed boy lunged at Chestnut. “I want to get on by myself.” He swatted his father’s hand away.
    “You heard my son.” The officer turned on Alexander. “Help him.” Alexander did as he was told. He bent down, locked his fingers together and peered up at the boy.
    “Face the back of the pony.” He softened his voice so it wouldn’t sound like a command. “Now hold onto the horn and step into my hands with your left foot,” he said, hoping the boy wouldn’t be too heavy for him. The boy grabbed the horn with his fat fingers, lifted a pudgy leg and slid his foot into Alexander’s cupped hands. Alexander braced himself. “Now spring off your right foot and swing your leg over the pony.” Alexander looked across at the boy’s father, saw the gun poking from