"NARRATOR:" "One small fact." "You are going to die." "Despite every effort, no one lives forever." "Sorry to be such a spoiler." "My advice is, when the time comes, don't panic." "It doesn't seem to help." "I guess I should introduce myself properly." "But then again, you'll meet me soon enough." "Not before your time, of course." "I make it a policy to avoid the living." "Well, except sometimes." "Once in a very long time..." "I can't help myself." "I get interested." "(CHILD COUGHING)" "(SINGING LULLABY IN GERMAN)" "I don't know exactly what it was about Liesel Meminger." "But she caught me." "Mama." "NARRATOR:" "And I cared." "(SPEAKING GERMAN)" "Do you want to say a few words?" "(MOTHER SPEAKING GERMAN)" "Goodbye my darling" "(SNIFFLING)" "She would have kept you if she could have." "You know that, don't you?" "Here we are." "Come, Liesel." "Meet your new parents." "Come." "Hans Hubermann." "Heinrich." "Heinrich." "Where is the boy?" "He died." "What do you mean?" "On the way here." "They had to bury him by the tracks." "They promised us two children, with two allowances." "Rosa, you cannot blame the boy for dying." "ROSA:" "No, I blame his mother." "Dragging them across the country unfed, unwashed!" "HANS:" "She was running for her life." "Have you seen that girl?" "Filthy." "Everything they say about communists is true." "Dirty and stupid." "(SHUSHING) I'll speak as loud as I want." "Come." "Come!" "What is the matter with her?" "Your Majesty." "What are you brats looking at?" "(MUTTERS IN GERMAN)" "This is Heaven Street, your new home." "Hey, lover boy!" "Can we get on with the game now?" "Please, go in." "Well, go on." "What do you say?" "They have given us a mute." "Go upstairs." "Where is it?" "That one." "It's for you." "ROSA:" "Hans!" "Ja, my sunshine?" "(SINGING LULLABY IN GERMAN)" "(PLAYING LULLABY)" "Good morning, Your Majesty." "Would you stop that racket?" "(ENDING SONG)" "What do you say?" "Thank you." "It speaks?" "Now, listen, from now on you call me "Mama," ja?" "Say it." "Mama." "Good." "And that Saukerl, that lazy pig over there... you call him "Papa." Understood?" "Papa." "(BANGING ON DOOR)" "Who is that?" "Who is it?" "Rudy Steiner, Frau Hubermann." "What do you want?" "RUDY:" "My mother says you've got a daughter now." "ROSA:" "What's it to you?" "I'm here to take her to school." "Why can't people ever mind their own business?" "Hello, Rudy." "Hello!" "And what makes you think you are good enough for my daughter?" "Rudy." "I'm almost 12." "Liesel, eat your soup and go and get dressed." "Stay outside, you filthy Saukerl." "Hurry up, Liesel." "Do you like to run?" "I bet I could beat you." "No one has ever beaten me in a race." "You don't say much, do you?" "(SPITS)" "Is that one spit, "Yes," and two spits, "No"?" "(SPITS)" "I'm glad we understand each other." "My mother didn't really tell me to come and get you." "I just thought you might need a friend." "(SHOUTS IN GERMAN)" "(BLOWING HORN)" "Danke schön!" "Rudy!" "What are you up to?" "Nothing, Papa." "Then get to school." "(LAUGHS)" "(BELL RINGING)" "Come on." "You are?" "Frau Hubermann's new daughter." "I was not addressing you, Steiner." "Girl, speak." "Liesel Meminger." "Chalk, board, name." "Come, girl." "We don't have all day." "Write it." "(CHILDREN LAUGHING)" "Silence." "(LAUGHING)" "Silence!" "Back to your seat, now." "(CHILDREN LAUGHING)" "Silence." "ALL: (CHANTING) Dummkopf!" "Dummkopf!" "Dummkopf!" "Hey, Dummkopf." "Can't you even read yet?" "Go on." "Read one word." "Read something." "Dummkopf." "(ALL CHEERING)" "She's killing him!" "RUDY:" "I bet that wasn't your first fight." "Franz Deutscher hasn't been hit like that... since he peed in Tommy Müller's lunchbox." "Franz Deutscher doesn't sound very smart." "He's the dumbest kid in school." "But he shaves." "You remember how to get home?" "Just because I can't read doesn't make me stupid." "All right." "I'll follow you, then." "You could join our soccer team, you know?" "Look, you should probably just stop trying to be my friend... because I won't be here long enough." "Why not?" "I'm running away." "That's why not." "Where to?" "None of your business." "Well, let me know when." "Why?" "So I can come with you." "You don't understand." "I'm serious." "I have to find my mother." "Frau Hubermann?" "Nein, Dummkopf." "My real mother." "Great." "I'd like to meet her." "What are you doing now?" "Racing you." "I'll bet you a kiss I can beat you." "Why would I want to kiss you?" "I don't know." "What does that matter?" "I'm the one who's going to win." "Just to the end of the street." "And what if I win?" "You don't have to kiss me." "Ever?" "What do you care?" "You're not sticking around, right?" "Hey!" "Saumensch!" "(BOTH CHUCKLING)" "You cheated." "So what?" "I beat you." "Did not." "It was a draw." "Draw means I get the kiss." "You can stick your kiss." "Oh, my God." "She's going to kill you." "Who?" "If you think that I am some kind of pushover... you are very much mistaken." "Do you hear?" "I have just come to say good night." "What is this?" "Is it yours?" "Why would a nice girl like you want to read such a thing?" "Are you sure this is yours?" "It wasn't always mine." "It belonged to my brother." "I see." "Your brother... his name was Pieter Strauss?" "Do you know what this says?" "Do you want to know what it says?" "I'm not such a good reader myself, you know." "We will have to help each other out." "Ja?" "We better get started." ""The Gravedigger's Handbook."" "(SINGING IN GERMAN)" "Raise the red flags for German effort we want to pave the way to freedom" "For German effort we want to pave the way to freedom" "We do not create a brother pact with Jews or non-Germanics" "Because they falsify the liberty certificate of Germany's people" "(SINGING CONTINUES)" "(PEOPLE SCREAMING)" "(SCREAMING)" "(BANGING ON DOOR)" "(OFFICER SHOUTING IN GERMAN)" "(DOOR OPENING)" "Walter." "(SHUSHES)" "Listen, he told me he can only take one." "Take Max." "No, Mama." "Take him!" "Go!" "I won't leave without you." "Yes, you will." "Upon your father's grave, you will." "There's no time for heroics, Max." "One or none." "Come." "The papers are inside." "They don't look great, but they'll have to do." "Go find him." "Forgive me." "(SIGHS)" "NARRATOR:" "When I finally caught up with Max Vandenberg's soul... it was this moment that haunted him the most." "For leaving his mother." "For feeling that awful, light-headed relief... that he would live." "Jesse Owens is the fastest man on earth." "HANS:" "Hey, watch out, you two." "What are you doing, Papa?" "Working, for once." "I thought you painted signs, not scraped them off." "Well, the scraping-off business is picking up, Rudy." "What can you do?" ""Accountant."" "You make me proud, girl." "She's clever, Rudy." "Ja, sir." "What's an accountant?" "Something we will never need." ""We wish you..."" ""every success..."" ""with your..."" ""career..." Mmm." ""In the funeral..."" "(STAMMERS)" ""Business."" ""Funeral business."" "We made it." "Your first book." "Congratulations." "So, promise me one thing, Liesel." "If I die anytime soon, make sure they bury me right." "Ja?" "Ja." "No skipping chapter six." "Can we start again?" "Tomorrow." "But it is tomorrow." "You sleep now." "His name was Werner." "Come." "I have a surprise for you." "It's very dark here." "We had better turn on the light." "It's a dictionary." "Some of the words we have learned." "Add as many as you like." "It's yours." "Thank you, Papa." "(COMMENTATOR SPEAKING GERMAN)" "(COMMENTATOR SPEAKING EXCITEDLY)" "(CROWD CHEERING)" "He's done it!" "He's made history!" "Jesse Owens... the fastest man alive!" "Hey!" "(SPEAKING GERMAN)" "What is this?" "Ow!" "You want to remain a member?" "Teach your son!" "Why?" "Why Jesse Owens?" "Why?" "He's the fastest man on earth." "(SCOFFS) The fastest man on earth!" "The boy is crazy." "RUDY:" "Ow!" "That hurts." "ALEX:" "Sit still, Rudy." "It's even in his earholes." "Barbra..." "Fine, you deal with him." "Son... you can't go around painting yourself black, you hear?" "Why not?" "Because you shouldn't want to be black people." "Why?" "Because I say so." "Ja?" "LIESEL: "Dear Mama, today is the Führer's birthday."" ""I wish it was mine."" ""Maybe then you could come and see me."" ""I miss you all day long."" ""Sometimes, I think I see you in the street."" ""But it's never you."" ""My new mama is like a thunderstorm." "Always rumbling."" "Hans, where did you put the flag?" "If we don't find it, it's going to look like we're saying something." "All right, all right, all right." "I'm going to look in the basement." "God in Heaven." "(FOOTSTEPS DESCENDING)" "Liesel, I know you like it down here... but don't you think you should be outside a bit?" "I'm writing Mama a letter." "Well, that's very good." "Please tell her, from me, I could do without all the nagging." "Not that mama." "I see." "What are you telling her?" "Everything." "About you und Mama und Rudy." "Can you send it for me?" "Well..." "You could give it to the woman who brought me here." "Frau Heinrich?" "Ja." "I'm sure she would do her best to pass it on." "Ah, found it." "(FOOTSTEPS ASCENDING)" "What is she doing writing to her mother, anyway?" "She's her mother." "I'm not going to waste good money... on a stamp for a letter that's never going to be answered." "What was I to say?" "(KNOCK AT DOOR)" "Hans?" "Alex." "Good man." "Are you ready to go?" "Of course he is." "Liesel!" "Come on, Liesel, we'll miss the parade." "Right." "Come on, let's go." "Saumensch." "Hello, Rudy." "(MAN SPEAKING GERMAN ON PA)" "During this National Socialist revolution as much as our nation prospers, we should not decrease our determination to cleanse ourselves morally and intellectually from within" "(ALL AGREEING)" "Education, theater, films, literature, the press these are the supporting pillars which shape the unique personality of our nation" "(ALL AGREEING)" "And that is why we have gathered here tonight to free ourselves from any intellectual dirt" "(ALL AGREEING)" "(ALL CHEERING)" "We will exterminate the illness that infected Germany for the last twenty years" "We will completely destroy the chains that were forged to enslave us" "We will fight our enemies and if that means war then we will stand by our Führer until the final victory" "(ALL AGREEING)" "Such a war will see our nation restored and bring an end to our enemies" "The end of plutocrats" "The end of communists" "And the end of Jews" "(ALL AGREEING)" "To our great German Empire and to our beloved Führer, Adolf Hitler" "Sieg!" "ALL:" "Heil!" "(ALL REPEATING)" "(SINGING ANTHEM IN GERMAN)" "(ALL CHEERING)" "Hey, Jesse Owens." "Push off, Franz." "Leave him alone." "Did you like the speech, Dummkopf?" "Wereyoulistening?" "What about it?" "Your mother was one, wasn't she?" "A communist?" "That's what they say." "Who's "they"?" "You even look like one." "What are you talking about?" "I'm not talking to you, Steiner." "She knows." "Burn a book." "Go on, burn a book." "Go on!" "I'll be watching." "Both of you." "What was that about?" "Nothing." "(SNIFFLES)" "(GASPS)" "Liesel." "Where have you been?" "I said to meet me at the church." "Sorry, Papa." "Let's go now." "(COUGHS)" "What is it?" "Nothing." "(COUGHING)" "Are you sick?" "Nein." "I'm fine." "Tell me, what is the matter with you?" "(COUGHING)" "What the hell is this?" "You stole it?" "Sorry, Papa." "Are you going to tell Mama?" "Papa?" "Did anyone see you?" "I'll tell you what." "Let's make this our secret." "We'll read it like the other book." "In the basement." "Thank you, Papa." "Good, now." "We better get back before Mama worries." "We don't want that." "Liesel, come." "What is it?" "Liesel?" "My mother isn't coming back, is she?" "Is she a communist?" "Who told you that?" "Is she?" "Did the Führer take her away?" "Then I hate the Führer." "Nein." "You can't say that." "Don't ever say that." "Understand?" "Come." ""The Invisible Man by H.G. Wells."" "Sounds good." ""Chapter one."" ""The Strange Man's Arrival."" ""The stranger came early in Feb..."" ""February." Ah." "Good girl." "(BANGING ON DOOR)" "Who's that?" "(BANGING CONTINUES)" "Papa, who is it?" "Hans Hubermann?" "Ja." "Do you still play the accordion?" "Quickly." "Papa!" "Liesel, go to bed!" "What is this?" "Max." "(GROANS)" "No." "No." "Help me." "We'll put him upstairs." "Liesel, everything is fine." "Here we go." "I'll warm him some soup." "Who is he, Papa?" "I have something very important to tell you, Liesel." "You must listen." "That is not my accordion." "The man who owns that accordion is this boy's father." "You stole it?" "Nein." "I've been looking after it." "Did he die?" "Ja." "Many years ago." "Before you were born." "I saw him die." "In a war." "You were in a war?" "Ja." "His father gave up his life... for me." "And I made a promise to the family... if ever I could help them, I would." "I gave them my word." "Now, I need you to promise me." "I need you to give me your word that you will not tell anyone about our visitor." "Nobody." "Not a soul." "Not even Rudy." "I mean it, Liesel." "Not a soul." "Understand?" "Ja." "A person is only as good as their word, Liesel." "Do I have yours?" "Ja, Papa." "I promise." "Did you talk to her?" "Ja." "She can't tell a soul." "She knows." "Can we trust her?" "She's our daughter." "She's a child!" "Rosa." "We have no choice." "He looks like death." "He's probably forgotten what food tastes like." "What are we going to feed him on?" "We barely have enough to feed ourselves!" "We will make do." ""We will make do."" "We have always known that one day this may happen." "We could turn him in tomorrow." "The authorities would understand." "We could say that it was late at night..." "Rosa." "I know." "He came to us." "I owe his family everything." "I know." "Then, that's all." "We'll just go about things as normally as possible." "(GASPS)" "Hello." "Hello." "What were you dreaming about?" "My mother." "Is that your book?" "Ja." "Nein, it..." "It wasn't always mine." "Did you steal it?" "Nein." "Can I see it?" "It's..." "It's not for children." "(FOOTSTEPS DESCENDING)" "HANS:" "Ah." "Good morning, Max." "You have met Liesel?" "Liesel." "Don't worry." "She's a good girl." "Not a word." "Good, Saumensch." "RUDY:" "What's the rush?" "LIESEL:" "I have to get home." "Race you." "I have to go inside." "What do you want?" "My permission?" "Nein." "I'm just telling you." "Fine." "See you, Saumensch." "Where have you been?" "You're late." "I ran as fast as I could." "And you mentioned nothing to no one?" "Nein, Mama." "Rosa..." "Liesel!" "He's asleep." "(SIGHS)" "Mmm." "At least someone knows how to appreciate my cooking." "I'm sorry." "I'm sorry." "(GRUNTS)" "Is he going to be all right?" "Of course." "You're a curious girl." "I didn't mean to." "(SHUSHING)" "It's all right." "What is it about?" "Hitler." "Are you hiding from Hitler?" "Ja." "Are you a communist?" "I'm a Jew." "Did he take away your mother?" "Probably." "Don't worry." "I cried a lot when I first came, too." "(CHUCKLES)" "The soup is terrible, isn't it?" "You may find this hard to believe, but... it's the best thing I've ever thrown up." "Liesel!" "I have a job for you." "And don't forget to count the money." "Come back with the right amount or don't bother coming back at all." "The Bürgermeister's house." "Are you sure?" "Do you see any other houses looking like this?" "He had dinner with the Fuhrer once." "(GENTLE MUSIC PLAYING)" "(KNOCKING)" "Laundry." "Come in." "Go on." "(DOOR CLOSING)" "Wait." "LIESEL:" "Danke schön." "So, you like books?" "Come." ""The Dream Carrier."" "Rudy." "I have to go." "You can come back whenever you want." "It will be here." "Ja, Frau Hermann." "Call me "Ilsa."" "What shall I call you?" "Liesel." "You are a brave girl, Liesel." "RUDY:" "Come back, Saumensch!" "Catch me!" "Hey, Dummkopf!" "Did you hear?" "England declared war on us!" "We're at war with England!" "(CHEERING)" "We're at war!" "England declared war!" "NARRATOR:" "It's always been the same, the excitement and rush to war." "I've met so many young men over the years... who have thought they were running at their enemy." "When the truth was, they were running to me." "(CROWD CHEERING)" "Ja!" "Excellent." "(THAN KING IN GERMAN)" "You should look where you're going next time." "Drop dead, Franz." "What's up, Jesse Owens?" "I thought you liked being black." "(KNOCKING)" "Who is Johann?" "He used to love to read." "And he was brave." "Just like you." "This is all him." "Everything he knew." "All here." "All in its place." "They never found his body." "If they could have shown me his body, I would have believed them." "But how can a mother give up?" "A mother never gives up on her child." "I have to go." "Do you think my mother really loved me?" "Of course." "Every mother loves her child." "Even Hitler's." "Do you think she writes to him?" ""Dear Führer... just wait until your father gets home."" ""Love, Mama."" ""Dear Führer, clean up your mess."" ""Dear Führer, who cut your hair?"" ""You're not going out in that, are you?"" ""What's that growing on your lip?"" ""Don't raise your voice at me."" ""Stop spitting when you yell." (LAUGHING)" "Hans... he's getting bedsores." "HANS:" "Then he needs to get up and move about." "He can't just walk around." "LIESEL:" "Why not?" "Because people will see in." "(SHUSHING)" "He can't lay still forever." "He needs to be moved." "Why?" "The mouth on it!" "Because I say so." "Rosa." "And what do you propose?" ""Propose"?" "Listen to this one." "I propose that we put him downstairs." "It's not good, we know that." "I'm sorry." "Please don't apologize." "I've put you all in such danger." "It's more than I deserve." "Liesel's lessons." "It is a dictionary." "I tried to make it as comfortable as I could." "I'm sorry, there's no bed." "If anyone saw, you know?" "You feel free to do your lessons whenever you want." "Make sure you knock first." "I'm just downstairs." "I'm not going anywhere." "Promise." "Don't give me that look." ""Jellyfish."" ""Jellyfish."" "Jellyfish." "Tell me, where do you get these words?" "It's a secret." "And who would I tell?" "The Bürgermeister's wife." "She lets me read her books." "I memorize them." ""Memory is the scribe of the soul."" "Do you know who said that?" "A man called Aristotle." "Can you do me a favor?" "Can you describe the day for me?" "What's it like outside?" "It's cloudy." "No, no, no." "Make the words yours." "If your eyes could speak... what would they say?" "It's a pale day." ""Pale." Good." "Go on." "Everything's stuck behind a cloud." "Und the sun... doesn't look like the sun." "What does it look like?" "Like a silver oyster?" "(CHUCKLES)" "Thank you." "I saw that." "(WHISPERING) We're hiding a Jew." "(GASPS) Johann?" "Nein." "It's Liesel." "(DOOR OPENING)" "What's the meaning of this?" "Und he didn't say why?" "I don't understand it." "I've always ironed his shirts in exactly the same way." "Maybe they can't afford it any longer." "They can't afford it?" "We can't afford it." "It's another customer gone." "And four mouths to feed." "(SHUSHING)" "Well." "It's two meals a day from now on, not three." "That's all there is to it." "(INDISTINCT)" "I've made you a suit." "I want you to wear it on your 14th birthday." "You'll be back then, Papa." "Won't you?" "(ACCORDION PLAYING LIVELY TUNE)" "ROSA:" "Hans!" "Rosa..." "I'm asking you, I'm begging you... would you please keep your mouth shut for five minutes?" "I brought you something." "Is this today's?" "Ja." "A gift from Franz Deutscher." "That boy doesn't know how generous he is." ""Hitler poised to take Moscow."" "The world has turned mad." "But... aren't we winning the war?" "Max?" "Where's my weather report?" "You're full of wonders." "I've got an idea." "(MAX AND LIESEL LAUGHING)" "What on earth are you doing?" "(SHUSHES)" "(SHUSHES) Go, go, go!" "Max." "I have no more snow!" "LIESEL:" "Get him, Max!" "ROSA:" "What in God's name are you Saukerle doing down here?" "Rosa!" "There's a madwoman on the battlefield!" "Nein, nein!" "I'm unarmed!" "(PLAYING SILENT NIGHT)" "This is the stupidest thing that I have ever done." "Und look how happy you are." "What do we do when it melts?" "You mop it up, Saumensch." "It won't melt." "It's freezing down here." "I don't know how you do it every night." "Please, don't think about me." "Nonsense." "We all think about you." "This is the best Christmas." "This is my first Christmas." "Now you know what you've been missing out on." "We should call it a night." "Nein, Papa." "Please." "ROSA:" "Listen to your father." "You can stay a little longer." "Oh, you're too soft on that girl." "I've made you a Christmas gift." "It's all I had." "But..." "Open it." ""For Liesel... from Max."" "What does it say?" "(SPEAKING HEBREW)" ""Write."" "In my religion... we're taught that every living thing... every leaf, every bird... is only alive because it contains the secret word for life." "That's the only difference between us and a lump of clay." "A word." "Words are life, Liesel." "All those blank pages... they're for you to fill." "(SHUDDERING)" "(FOOTSTEPS DESCENDING)" "My God." "Is he going to die?" "Shut up!" "I won't have that talk in this house." "Do you understand?" "I haven't starved us all for the better part of two years... just so that he could die." "It's my fault." "Why is it your fault?" "It was my idea to build that snowman." "Why did we build it?" "Because we had to." "You said you weren't going anywhere, Max." "You promised." ""The Invisible Man... by H.G. Wells."" ""The stranger came early in February... one wintry day... through a biting wind and a driving snow." "The last snowfall..." "And none other will know of them... until he dies."" ""The End."" "Max?" ""Chapter One."" "(GRUNTS)" "(FOOTSTEPS APPROACHING)" "Ilsa?" "(DOOR CLOSING)" "LIESEL: "The eyes in the faces he passed on the street... seemed to look inside him and finger his guilt." "But things were out of his control." "He had cut himself loose... and was drifting faster and faster towards his fate." "...was the dustiness of the floor... the feeling that the clothes were more next to her than on her... and the sudden realization that this would all be for nothing."" "Did you lose something?" "LIESEL: (QUIETLY) Rudy!" "What are you doing?" "Spying on you, obviously." "Give me that!" "So, let me guess." "You forgot where the front door was." "I've got to hand it to you, Saumensch, you've got guts... stealing from the Bürgermeister." "Keep it down." "I'm not stealing." "I'm borrowing." "Whatever you are "borrowing"..." "I just wish you let me in on it." "It's not what you think." "Then..." "What is it?" "I'm borrowing books." "That's all." "Books?" "Are you nuts?" "We are starving out here and you're stealing books?" "Stop using that word." "How about food?" "Did you ever even think of looking in the kitchen?" "Nein." "We could have planned this better if you told me." "I'm sorry." "I couldn't." "You know, for a best friend, you keep a lot to yourself." "What's that supposed to mean?" "Who's Max?" "Who is he?" "Liesel!" "Tell me what's going on!" "Tell me, Saumensch, who is he?" "Is he your boyfriend?" "What?" "Is that what you think?" "Then what?" "Tell me, who is he?" "I can't." "Why not?" "It's a secret." "You don't trust me?" "It's not like that, Rudy." "I can't." "If I..." "If I told you, I'd have to go away." "Papa would have to go away." "God knows what would happen to him." ""Him"?" "You're hiding someone?" "You're hiding someone, aren't you?" "Liesel!" "One spit, "Yes." Two spits, "No."" "I knew it." "No one can know, Rudy." "I mean it." "You can trust me." "Don't worry." "I won't tell anybody." "You won't tell anyone what?" "Hello, Steiner." "Hello, Dummkopf." "What's that behind your back?" "Give it to me." "LIESEL:" "Leave him alone!" "I said, give it to me!" "Give it to me!" "What was that?" "What was it?" "None of your business, Deutscher." "(GROANS)" "LIESEL:" "Leave him!" "You're done for, Steiner." "I'm reporting you." "For what?" "Having a diary?" "I know you're up to something." "Come on!" "Come on!" "What are you doing?" "I know where it is!" "I watched it!" "It's freezing, Rudy." "You'll die in there." "Rudy!" "Rudy?" "Rudy!" "Rudy?" "Rudy, I can't swim!" "Rudy!" "Please!" "I got it!" "Rudy!" "I thought you were..." "Never mind." "Trust me now?" "Ja." "Then, how about that kiss?" "Come on." "You're going to freeze." "Good night... book thief." "Good night, fish." "I told Rudy." "Here, come on!" "I'm here!" "(CHILDREN CONTINUE CALLING)" "Look!" "LIESEL:" "What are they doing?" "Checking basements." "They checked my cousin's last night." "For what?" "Can we get on with it now?" "BOY 1:" "Come on!" "BOY 2:" "Here!" "Pass it!" "RUDY:" "Are you nuts?" "I have to go inside." "Oh, great." "RUDY:" "She's hurt." "Never stopped her before." "I'm fine." "Mama!" "Why are you shouting?" "They're coming." "Who?" "They're checking basements." "Hans, come quickly!" "What is it?" "Somebody is coming." "They are checking basements." "We have to hide him." "Get him up here, under the bed." "(CLATTERING)" "Max!" "(GROANS)" "Max!" "Come on." "Come on." "So, do they give you a gun when you join the army?" "Mama!" "Oh, my God." "Hans, leave that!" "(KNOCK AT DOOR)" "Wolfy." "What a surprise." "How are you?" "You want Hans?" "Hans!" "Nein, nein, nein." "We're just checking people's basements." "Oh, Liesel, will you get Herr Edel... a glass of water?" "No need." "This shouldn't take a second." "You should bandage that." "Oh, my God, Liesel!" "Ja!" "Oh, would you do me a favor... and get me the medicine chest?" "It's just on that..." "Where is the man trap?" "The what?" "The door to your basement." "(BANGING)" "Ah!" "Wolfa." "I heard you were coming." "I've been working, tidying up." "Heard from who?" "Who was it collecting our washing?" "Frau Schneider." "Frau Schneider, ja." "She mentioned it." "Come." "WOLFGANG:" "Is there a light in here?" "HANS:" "Ja, of course." "I should probably throw most of this stuff out." "You wouldn't believe what we find in some people's basements." "Oh, it wouldn't surprise me." "Liesel, she is always playing down here." "I keep telling her to get out in the fresh air." "What is this about, anyway?" "WOLFGANG:" "What's this?" "My brushes." "You should look after them better." "Liesel, you know, she never listens to me." "(CLATTERING)" "(SOFTLY) Still no work, eh, Hans?" "Not a lot." "You should have taken my advice and joined the party." "Then your wife wouldn't have to break her back... washing people's underwear to feed you." "Isn't that right, Rosa?" "Ja." "What's wrong with you?" "I've never heard you turn down an opportunity... to give this one some lip." "(SIGHS)" "Well... if the Saukerl would get off his lazy backside and help... then maybe I would have the energy to give him all the lip that he deserves." "(CHUCKLING)" "I don't know how you live with her." "Neither do I." "Never too late to join, Hans." "So, how's our basement?" "Perfectly useless." "The ceiling is too low." "What for?" "Air raid shelters." "Every street has to have one." "You should be more careful." "Ja, Herr Edel." "Hans..." "What if he does die?" "We can't just leave him there." "The smell will give us away." "Hans, I'm afraid." "Look, if it happens... if he dies... we'll simply have to find a way." "He's not dead yet." "All right?" "(CHILDREN MURMURING)" "Frau Hubermann?" "I need to speak to Liesel." "Of course." "Liesel?" "Ow!" "(CHILDREN LAUGHING)" "What did you do with it, you little thief?" "What, Mama?" "Don't "what" me." "I have told you a hundred times to leave that thing alone, but do you listen?" "TEACHER:" "Back to work." "I'm sorry." "Mama, what is it?" "It's Max, isn't it?" "(SNIFFLES)" "He said that this belongs to you." "Who said?" "He woke up." "He's going to live!" "Mama!" "Careful." "I'm sorry if I hurt you." "I couldn't think of any other way to tell you." "I know it's silly of me." "I know." "Nein, Mama, it's not." "Thank you." "Well, you'd better wipe that smile off your face." "Just go back in there... and act like I'm the witch, you know?" "Ja?" "Ja." "Just know that... that I..." "Go on." "Do you need a bit of help with that smile?" "If I ever catch you... doing that sort of thing again, so help me..." "I will string you up by your toes." "Do you hear me, Saumensch?" "Understood?" "Max!" "Max!" "I knew you'd live." "With all that reading, you wouldn't leave me in peace." "You heard me?" "Of course." "Thank you." "So..." "How's Rudy?" "I don't know." "Rudy's a pain in the neck." "The only thing worse than a boy you hate is a boy you like, right?" "(SIRENS WAILING)" "ROSA:" "Liesel, it's an air raid!" "Go on, then." "What about you?" "I'm here." "I'll be fine." "It's a basement, isn't it?" "ROSA:" "Did you hear me, Saumensch?" "Ja, Mama." "(SIRENS CONTINUE WAILING)" "(DISTANT EXPLOSIONS)" "(ACCORDION PLAYING WALTZ)" "(EXPLOSIONS CONTINUE)" "NARRATOR:" "While 10,000 souls hid their heads in fear and trembled... one Jew thanked God for the stars that blessed his eyes." "(VEHICLE APPROACHING)" "It's all I have." "I'm sorry." "I was saving it for my husband's return, but..." "Thank you." "Very much." "(TIRES SCREECHING)" "(BARKING)" "He's a Jew." "They found his birth certificate." "He's a "Lehman" with one "N", not two." "LEHMAN:" "Please!" "My son is in the army!" "He's fighting on the front!" "Please." "In the car!" "(GROANS)" "Please!" "You know me." "Please!" "You know me!" "Please!" "I'm German!" "Please..." "I've known this man my whole life." "We all have." "He's a good person." "What's your name?" "Hans Hubermann." "Please!" "He's a good man." "Get back!" "LIESEL:" "Papa!" "Papa!" "Liesel!" "Rudy!" "Rudy." "Keep still." "What was I thinking?" "He took my name." "Christ on the cross, what have I done?" "(SHUSHING)" "I've ruined us!" "I've ruined us!" "I'm sorry, Rosa." "I'm sorry." "I don't understand." "What did he do so wrong?" "He reminded people of their humanity." "Can't he apologize?" "To who?" "Hitler?" "Will they take him away?" "I don't know." "But... if they come and find me here... they'll take all of you away." "No, Max." "I have to, Liesel." "I'm sorry." "But you promised." "It's for your own good." "For your family." "But you're my family." "You've kept me alive, Liesel." "Don't ever forget that." "I can't lose someone else." "I'm not lost to you, Liesel." "You'll always be able to find me in your words." "That's where I'll live on." "Max... please." "Thank you." "Here." "It's two blankets and a pair of socks." "And a nice piece of cheese that I've been saving." "Rosa..." "It's yours." "Come." "Liesel." "Leave her." "(KNOCK AT DOOR)" "Hans?" "I'll get my coat." "You are Herr Steiner?" "What?" "I'm here to talk about your son, Rudy." "Rudy Steiner." "He lives next door." "What do you want with him?" "He's been selected for elite training." "He starts in the summer." "I'm sorry, Barbra." "Hans Hubermann?" "(FOOTSTEPS APPROACHING)" "What's "conscripted"?" "(MAN SPEAKING GERMAN ON PA)" "Look how you've grown." "I had not noticed." "I will miss you." "Everyone's leaving." "Even Rudy." "Rudy is going to be fine." "Look after your Mama, ja?" "She's not as strong as she makes out." "I know." "Good girl." "Papa?" "Come home." "(SOBBING)" "What do you think?" "LIESEL:" "The shoes let you down." "And the face." "Coming?" "Where are you going?" "Isn't it obvious?" "I'm running away." "LIESEL:" "Have you thought this through?" "Ja." "I don't want to die." "There." "All thought through." "Rudy, where are you going to stay?" ""You"?" "What about "we"?" "I didn't think you were this serious." "What do you call this?" "Packed lunch?" "Is there anything in there besides your soccer ball?" "I miss my dad." "I don't even know if he's alive." "I'm not ready." "I want to grow up before I die." "So did my brother." "I'm sorry." "I didn't ask for this." "Who would?" "I hate Hitler." "Me, too." "I hate Hitler!" "I hate Hitler!" "I hate Hitler!" "I hate Hitler!" "Hitler is a monkey's ass!" "Stick you, Hitler!" "You're all I've got, Rudy." "Let's go home." "(AIRPLANES DRONING)" "NARRATOR:" "The bombs were coming thicker now." "(EXPLOSIONS)" "It's probably fair to say... that no one was able to serve the Führer as loyally as me." "(EXPLOSIONS CONTINUE)" "(LOUD EXPLOSION)" "(BABIES CRYING)" "(ACCORDION PLAYING WALTZ FAINTLY)" "There once was a ghost of a boy... who liked to live in the shadows of things... so he wouldn't frighten people." "What was that?" "Who's speaking?" "What are you doing?" "Telling a story." "Why?" "Whose boy?" "She's telling a story." "Speak up." "(SHUSHES)" "Start again." "There once was a ghost of a boy... who liked to live in the shadows, so he wouldn't frighten people." "His job was to wait for his sister, who was still alive." "She wasn't afraid of the dark... because she knew that's where her brother was." "(EXPLOSION)" "Go on." "At night, when darkness came to her room... she would tell her brother about the day." "She would remind him how the sun felt on his skin... and what the air felt like to breathe... (LOUD EXPLOSION)" "Or how snow felt on his tongue." "And that reminded her... that she was still alive." "(EXPLOSION)" "(ALL CLAMORING)" "(SIREN WAILING)" "Gentlemen... how is everybody?" "Look at this one." "They are starting to conscript grandfathers." "(ALL LAUGHING)" "Hey, old man." "Old man, are they your own teeth?" "(EXPLOSIONS CONTINUE)" "(SIREN WAILING)" "Together, they sat in the forest... and watched the sun rise." "And as he disappeared back into the shadows... she waved goodbye for the last time." "Oh, Liesel." "(SOLDIERS SHOUTING IN GERMAN)" "LIESEL:" "Max?" "Max?" "Max!" "Max!" "Saumensch!" "What are you up to?" "Max?" "Liesel!" "Max?" "Do you know Max?" "Liesel!" "Do you know Max?" "Max?" "Do you know Max?" "Get out of here, you stupid girl!" "Liesel!" "I won't forget you." "I won't forget you." "I won't forget you." "I won't forget you, Max." "Liesel!" "Go out!" "Liesel!" "You're too much like your father, you know that?" "What's wrong with that?" "Nothing." "Hey, Saumensch, want to play?" "Nein, not today." "Then let's steal something." "I don't steal." "I borrow." "Then let's go borrow Franz Deutscher's bike und get out of here." "Can't you see I'm reading?" "Are you still angry with me?" "For what?" "Saving you." "Nein, Rudy." "You're very brave." "(TRUCK APPROACHING)" "Papa!" "You're home!" "What is it, my girl?" "(SIGHS)" "My girl." "My girl." "(PLAYING LIVELY TUNE)" "It's nice to hear you play." "I can't hear properly." "I'm going to bed." "Don't stay up too late, you two." "Your mama told me what you did." "I shouldn't have." "Maybe you had to." "I keep thinking about Max." "Wondering where he is." "Me, too." "I'm not sure what it all meant." "Everything he went through." "Everything we did." "We were just being people." "That's what people do." "Liesel... you are all grown up." "LIESEL:" "All I have learned is that life makes no promises." "So I had better get started." "I have always tried to ignore it... but I know this all started with a train... and some snow... and my brother." "Outside the car, the world was thrown inside a snow-shaker." "Und on a place called Heaven Street... a man with an accordion heart und a woman cloaked in thunder... waited for their new daughter." "(PLAYING LIVELY TUNE)" "He lived under our stairs like a quiet owl with no wings... until the sun forgot what his face was." "The book floated down the river... like a red fish being chased by a yellow-haired boy." "For Max, who gave me eyes." "Good night, Your Majesty." "NARRATOR:" "I've always quite liked the image of me with a sickle and cape." "Dark and formidable." "Unfortunately, I'm far more ordinary and commonplace." "No one intended to destroy a street named after Heaven." "It was a misread on a map." "No sirens that evening." "First were Rudy's brothers." "I read their simple dreams." "Then, I kissed his mother." "And stole the meanness from Franz Deutscher's heart." "Rosa, I caught mid-snore." "I could swear I heard her call me a Saukerl." "Then I felt her regrets for not sharing more of her very big heart." "As for Hans, his soul was lighter than a child's." "I felt his itch for one last tune on his accordion... and heard his final thought..." ""Liesel."" "(CHORD PLAYING)" "Over here!" "Just over." "Your hand." "Mama?" "Papa?" "Papa?" "Papa." "Rudy?" "(WEAKLY) Saumensch." "Liesel." "(SHUSHES)" "I need to tell you..." "Don't speak." "I need to say it." "I..." "Rudy?" "Rudy, nein." "Rudy, wake up." "Rudy, nein!" "Wake up, Rudy!" "Rudy, wake up!" "Rudy, kiss me." "NARRATOR:" "Rudy, his soul just rolled into my arms." "In my job, I am always finding humans at their best... and their worst." "I see their ugliness, and their beauty... and I wonder how the same thing can be both." "(GRUNTS)" "Liesel!" "(HORNS HONKING)" "(DOOR OPENING)" "Max!" "NARRATOR:" "I have seen a great many things." "I've attended all the world's worst disasters... and worked for the greatest of villains." "And I've seen the greatest wonders." "But it's still like I said it was." "No one lives forever." "When I finally came for Liesel..." "I took selfish pleasure in the knowledge that she had lived her 90 years so wisely." "By then, her stories had touched many souls." "Some of whom I came to know in passing." "Max, whose friendship lasted almost as long as Liesel." "Almost." "In her final thoughts... she saw the long list of lives that merged with hers." "Her three children." "Her grandchildren." "Her husband." "Among them, lit like lanterns... were Hans and Rosa... her brother... and the boy whose hair remained the color of lemons forever." "I wanted to tell the book thief she was one of the few souls... that made me wonder what it was to live." "But in the end, there were no words." "Only peace." "The only truth I truly know... is that I am haunted by humans."