Ballet Shoes for Anna Read Online Free PDF Page B

bed.”
    “Fancy, and I do not remember,” said Gussie. “But then I’ve been sick a lot lately.”
    Francesco went on.
    “Anna began to cry, just a little at first but then louder and louder so she went to bed. The Aunt took her.”
    “And you?” Gussie asked. “You stayed?”
    “Yes, not to eat, that I could not, but The Aunt gave me a glass of milk with chocolate in it. The Uncle said she should not give in, children should eat what they were given, but she said it wouldn’t hurt for once, it had been a tiring day.”
    “What else did The Uncle say?”
    Francesco clasped his hands round his knees.
    “He said we spoke English very bad, you remember Christopher said that too. That now it is the summer holiday but soon we all go to school.”
    “Where?”
    “There is a school in this place.”
    “For Anna too?”
    Francesco nodded.
    “That is the bad thing. I told him Anna could not go to an ordinary school, she must go where there is good training to dance, but he made a sort of spitting sound and then he said: ‘I don’t hold with dancing nor ever will.’ ”
    Gussie was shocked.
    “Did you explain what Jardek had said?”
    “Every single word and on each word he made more spitting noises. It is no good hoping, Gussie. The Uncle will not pay for Anna to learn to dance.”
    Gussie was so shocked he did not answer for quite a while. Then he got out of bed and began putting on his clothes.
    “Quick, we must hurry.”
    Francesco watched him.
    “Hurry where?”
    “To S’William, of course, to sell our picture to pay for Anna to learn. We must get it before he goes to Alaska.”
    Francesco shook his head.
    “Do you think I did not think of that? S’William is inLondon, we are a long way from there, we should have to take a train, and we have no money, no money at all.”
    Often when there was to be a picture exhibition Christopher had driven the caravan to a place where there was a telephone. Gussie remembered this.
    “Then we must telephone.”
    Francesco felt under his pillow and brought out Sir William’s envelope. He passed it to Gussie.
    “I thought of that but look, there is only an address.”
    Gussie took out the piece of paper inside the envelope and saw this was true. There was just an address scrawled across it but no telephone number. He put the paper back in the envelope and gave it to Francesco.
    “Then what shall we do?”
    “First take off your clothes and get back into bed. In this house all is arranged. I think we will bath before we dress. The Aunt said so. Then we must learn this address by heart in case we lose the envelope.”
    “Can’t we hide it somewhere?”
    Francesco looked round the room.
    “Where?”
    Gussie had undressed again. Now he put on his pyjamas.
    “Let’s look.”
    At that moment they heard someone coming up the stairs so, quick as a grasshopper, Gussie got back into bed while Francesco shoved the envelope under his pillow.
    Aunt Mabel opened the door. None of them had taken Aunt Mabel in last night for Gussie and Anna were both toowretched and too tired to notice anybody, and Francesco was talking to his uncle. But now the boys had a chance to study her and very odd they thought she was. “Like a mouse,” Gussie described her later, “afraid to move in case a cat is coming.”
    The oddest thing about Aunt Mabel was her voice. It was as if she had to push at her words to make them sound at all, and if she said much she seemed to run out of breath.
    To look at, too, she was to the children surprising. Dressed in a shapeless flowered dress and an apron which seemed to hold her together. She had hair which, though no doubt she had put pins in it, seemed to be falling down. As a result the general effect was crumpled. This amazed the boys for the only British woman they had looked at was the Queen, whose picture Olga stuck up with a pin during lessons. The picture was of the Queen at the Flower Show and was much admired by the three children, who had