The Book of Everything by Guus Kuijer

Author:Guus Kuijer
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Scholastic Inc.
Published: 2004-09-15T16:00:00+00:00

“Ah, yes,” said Father that evening as he cut the meat. “I nearly forgot. This morning when I went out of the front door, there was a frog sitting in the corner of the porch. The poor little thing was so scared, it had clapped its little hands over its eyes.”

Margot choked on her endive. Mother glanced at Thomas, but Thomas pretended not to notice. Her nose was red and swollen. There was a small piece of cotton wool in her nostril.

“I had a strange experience too,” said Margot when she’d stopped coughing. “I was sent out of Dutch class.”

“What?” Father said, shocked. “This can’t be true.”

“It is, though,” said Margot. “Mr. de Rijp said I was a smart aleck and then I had to get out.”

“What’s a ‘smart aleck’?” asked Thomas.

“Someone who thinks he always knows better about everything,” Father explained. “And that is very annoying.”

“I know something better,” thought Thomas. “What if my parents gave me away to an old musician called Vitalis, like in Alone in the World. He would have dogs and a monkey with a difficult name. And the old musician would die on our travels and then I would be alone in the world. With Eliza.”

“But what did you actually say?” Father asked Margot. You could see he was worried.

“I said I didn’t want to read those false books for my list,” said Margot. “I said that the Bible was enough for me.”

It became so terribly quiet that Thomas woke out of his thoughts. He saw that Father had gone red in the face. “Jesus!” he thought, but the Lord did not show up.

“Now you listen to me, Margot,” Father said nervously. “You haven’t understood at all. The books you have to read contain the opinions of people. In the Bible, there are not opinions, but truths. Because the Bible is God’s word. That is what I meant. That doesn’t mean you can go and be insolent to your teacher!”

“I only said what I’ve learnt from you,” said Margot virtuously. She chewed her meat enthusiastically. “Nice meal, Mama.”

Mother glanced at her and smiled.

“So tomorrow,” Father said loudly. “Tomorrow …” His voice cracked. “Tomorrow you will go and see Mr. de Rijp and apologize.”

“Okay, Papa,” said Margot. She did not look at her father. “Shall I do your hair later, Mama?”

“What is this world coming to?” Father exclaimed. “I just can’t believe it. You will read all the books that are assigned, understood?”

“Yes, Papa,” said Margot. “Shall I plait it for you, Mama?”

“That would be nice, Margot,” said Mother.

“Do you know Alone in the World?” Thomas asked Father. “It’s about a boy who is all alone in the world.”

But Father didn’t hear. He angrily mashed his potatoes with his fork.

“That book is sad,” said Thomas. “But it is exciting too.”

He felt Mother’s hand on his head. “Eat up, Thomas,” she said.

When Mother said that, he knew he’d better keep his mouth shut for a while.

“Why don’t you say something?” Father said. “She is your daughter too, you know.

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