Stealing Magic by Marianne Malone Read Free Book Online Page B

like a typical office building. There was a long line of people waiting to go inside, and Ruthie and Jack knew they didn’t have time for that.
    “You know what I’ve always wanted to do?” Jack suddenly said. “Stand right under the Eiffel Tower.”
    “Now’s your chance!” Ruthie responded. They backtracked to the tower.
    “This is awesome!” Jack said as he found the spot directly under the center of the tower. “If you look long enough, it seems like it’s spinning!”
    The four massive legs sloped up around them and the rays of the sun poked through the metal lattice. It seemed so much bigger than either of them had expected.
    “It is beautiful, no?” Louisa offered.
    “It really is,” Ruthie agreed. Then she heard a man’s voice that seemed to be directed at them, even though she couldn’t make out anything he was saying. Ruthie saw that a vendor a few feet away was calling to them and laughing a bit. “Is he saying something to us?” she asked Louisa.
    “Uh, well, yes,” Louisa answered tentatively.
    “What’s he saying?”
    “He is asking if you are American. He says you are dressed like them,” Louisa translated.
    Ruthie felt a little insulted, but Jack just laughed. “He’s got that right. Hey, what’s he selling?”
    The vendor smiled at them, now that he had their attention, and they decided to look at his wares. They saw postcards of Paris and the exposition, along with a wide variety of souvenirs.
    “Look at this.” Jack pointed to a small red model airplane. It had a single propeller and was the type that would have been big enough for only a few passengers. “It looks familiar.”
    “Bonjour, mes amis américains!”
the man said in a big, friendly voice.
    Louisa automatically translated for him. “He said, ‘Hello, my American friends.’ ”
    “
Vous aimez?
You like?” He picked up the toy plane and handed it to Jack.
    “Yes,” Jack replied.
“Oui.”
    “C’est l’avion d’Amelia, la belle aviatrice américaine.”
    Jack and Ruthie looked toward Louisa.
    “He said, ‘It is the plane of Amelia, the beautiful American aviator.’ ”
    “That’s where I’ve seen it before—it’s Amelia Earhart’s Vega!”
    “Pour les jeunes américains, un cadeau!”
    “He said, ‘For the young Americans, a gift.’ He wants to give you this plane!”
    Jack’s eyes lit up. Ruthie looked at him. “We can’t, Jack.”
    “Sure we can. He wants to give it to us!”
    “Je vous en prie.”
The man was pushing the plane into Jack’s hand.
“J’insiste.”

    “ ‘Please,’ he said. He insists,” Louisa translated.
    “What’s the big deal?” Jack said to Ruthie.
    “Never mind.” Ruthie turned to the vendor.
“Merci beaucoup.”
    Even Jack knew what that meant, and he repeated the phrase.
    “
Vive
Amelia Earhart!” the man said, and then handed Ruthie two small flags, one French and one American. She smiled at him and waved the two flags.
    Louisa explained, “The French like Americans—except the way they dress!”
    Jack looked at the model plane in his hands. It was made of metal and hand-painted with fine details. “This is outstanding.”
    “You know, we’d better start heading back,” Ruthie said.
    “So must I,” Louisa echoed. “My mother will worry.”
    “Do you live near here?” Jack asked as they crossed the bridge.
    “Yes. Just over there.” She pointed across the park to a row of beautiful buildings. “It is very nice. But I miss my home in Berlin. And my school. And my friends.”
    “Where did you learn such good English?” Ruthie asked.
    “It is taught in my school in Berlin. But I also have American relatives. They don’t speak any German at all, so we must speak in English when they come to visit.”
    “Your English is perfect,” Jack admired.
    “Thank you very much!” She beamed at the compliment.
    “How long will your family be staying in Paris?” Ruthie wanted to know.
    “Until we can go back to Berlin.” Louisa’s