once every few years. Your gran would know. Ask her at lunch next Sunday if you’re curious. It’s a nice story, isn’t it? The daughter of the regiment.’
‘Yeah,’ said Harry. ‘It’s a nice story, Mum.’
Harry waited till Mum had gone down to the vegetable garden to pick silver beet for dinner. Then he went to the phone.
Angie would understand. Angie understood a lot of things.
‘Hello? It’s Harry speaking. Can I speak to Angie?’ he asked. ‘Angie. It’s me. It’s Harry. She’s all right, Angie. She’s all right.’
It was cool on the verandah after dinner. Harry sat on the banana lounge and watched the leaf shadows shake over the lawn. The tin on the chookhouse roof gleamed in the last of the light. The hole would be almost faded now, waiting for tomorrow’s light, the light that shone from more than a hundred years away.
What would he see through the hole tomorrow. Next year, ten years time? And what might his children see?
His great-whatsit-grandfather maybe, and Cissie, building their house? Or even dad, or grandad. Or himself and Angie, swimming in the creek, when they too had become the past.
He would leave, like Cissie had. And, like Cissie, he’d come back. The oak leaves shuddered as the breeze grew with the dark. The oaks would have been small in Cissie’s time. Cissie’s oaks …
She would have sat here last century and watched the trees she’d planted. The hills would have looked the same, the dark sky and the moon …
She was happy here, thought Harry. It had been part of her, like it was part of him. No matter where he went, or what he did, this land would always in some way still be his.
‘Goodnight Cissie,’ he said.
About the Author
JACKIE FRENCH ’s writing career spans 12 years. During this time she has written over 100 books for kids and adults, some of which have been translated into other languages, and won various awards for her writing. Jackie has also been a regular on ‘Burke’s Backyard’ in many disguises, and writes columns on gardening and the environment in newspapers and magazines.
Jackie’s love of history began as a child and has been the inspiration for the series of books that began with Somewhere Around the Corner , followed by Daughter of the Regiment, Soldier on the Hill, Lady Dance, The White Ship, How the Finnegans Saved the Ship and Valley of Gold . Jackie feels that the past was not only a fascinating adventure, but also holds the clues to understanding our own time.
Hitler’s Daughter has received wide critical acclaim and in 2000 won the Children’s Book Council Book of the Year for Younger Readers.
‘It is a mark of French’s genius that she can weave deep moral issues into an engrossing, fast-moving story.’
Stephen Matthews, Canberra Times
Other Books By
Fiction
The Roo that Won the Melbourne Cup • Rain Stones
Walking the Boundaries • The Boy Who Had Wings
Somewhere Around the Corner
Annie’s Pouch • Alien Games • The Secret Beach
Mermaids • Mind’s Eye • A Wombat Named Bosco
Summerland • Beyond the Boundaries
The Warrior – The Story of a Wombat
The Book of Unicorns • Dancing with Ben Hall
Soldier on the Hill • Daughter of the Regiment
Stories to Eat with a Banana • Tajore Arkle
Hitler’s Daughter • In the Blood • Missing You, Love Sara
Stories to Eat with a Watermelon • Lady Dance
Stories to Eat with a Blood Plum
How the Finnegans Saved the Ship
Dark Wind Blowing • A Story to Eat with a Mandarin
Ride the Wild Wind • Blood Moon • The White Ship
Phredde and the Leopard-skin Librarian • Valley of Gold
Non-fiction
How the Aliens from Alpha Centauri Invaded My
Maths Class and Turned Me Into a Writer …
How to Guzzle Your Garden • Book of Challenges
Stamp, Stomp, Whomp
(and other interesting ways to get rid of pests)
Seasons of Content • The Best of Jackie French
Earthly Delights
The Fascinating History of Your Lunch
The Secret Life of Santa Claus
Big Burps, Bare Bums and Other
‘Yeah,’ said Harry. ‘It’s a nice story, Mum.’
Harry waited till Mum had gone down to the vegetable garden to pick silver beet for dinner. Then he went to the phone.
Angie would understand. Angie understood a lot of things.
‘Hello? It’s Harry speaking. Can I speak to Angie?’ he asked. ‘Angie. It’s me. It’s Harry. She’s all right, Angie. She’s all right.’
It was cool on the verandah after dinner. Harry sat on the banana lounge and watched the leaf shadows shake over the lawn. The tin on the chookhouse roof gleamed in the last of the light. The hole would be almost faded now, waiting for tomorrow’s light, the light that shone from more than a hundred years away.
What would he see through the hole tomorrow. Next year, ten years time? And what might his children see?
His great-whatsit-grandfather maybe, and Cissie, building their house? Or even dad, or grandad. Or himself and Angie, swimming in the creek, when they too had become the past.
He would leave, like Cissie had. And, like Cissie, he’d come back. The oak leaves shuddered as the breeze grew with the dark. The oaks would have been small in Cissie’s time. Cissie’s oaks …
She would have sat here last century and watched the trees she’d planted. The hills would have looked the same, the dark sky and the moon …
She was happy here, thought Harry. It had been part of her, like it was part of him. No matter where he went, or what he did, this land would always in some way still be his.
‘Goodnight Cissie,’ he said.
About the Author
JACKIE FRENCH ’s writing career spans 12 years. During this time she has written over 100 books for kids and adults, some of which have been translated into other languages, and won various awards for her writing. Jackie has also been a regular on ‘Burke’s Backyard’ in many disguises, and writes columns on gardening and the environment in newspapers and magazines.
Jackie’s love of history began as a child and has been the inspiration for the series of books that began with Somewhere Around the Corner , followed by Daughter of the Regiment, Soldier on the Hill, Lady Dance, The White Ship, How the Finnegans Saved the Ship and Valley of Gold . Jackie feels that the past was not only a fascinating adventure, but also holds the clues to understanding our own time.
Hitler’s Daughter has received wide critical acclaim and in 2000 won the Children’s Book Council Book of the Year for Younger Readers.
‘It is a mark of French’s genius that she can weave deep moral issues into an engrossing, fast-moving story.’
Stephen Matthews, Canberra Times
Other Books By
Fiction
The Roo that Won the Melbourne Cup • Rain Stones
Walking the Boundaries • The Boy Who Had Wings
Somewhere Around the Corner
Annie’s Pouch • Alien Games • The Secret Beach
Mermaids • Mind’s Eye • A Wombat Named Bosco
Summerland • Beyond the Boundaries
The Warrior – The Story of a Wombat
The Book of Unicorns • Dancing with Ben Hall
Soldier on the Hill • Daughter of the Regiment
Stories to Eat with a Banana • Tajore Arkle
Hitler’s Daughter • In the Blood • Missing You, Love Sara
Stories to Eat with a Watermelon • Lady Dance
Stories to Eat with a Blood Plum
How the Finnegans Saved the Ship
Dark Wind Blowing • A Story to Eat with a Mandarin
Ride the Wild Wind • Blood Moon • The White Ship
Phredde and the Leopard-skin Librarian • Valley of Gold
Non-fiction
How the Aliens from Alpha Centauri Invaded My
Maths Class and Turned Me Into a Writer …
How to Guzzle Your Garden • Book of Challenges
Stamp, Stomp, Whomp
(and other interesting ways to get rid of pests)
Seasons of Content • The Best of Jackie French
Earthly Delights
The Fascinating History of Your Lunch
The Secret Life of Santa Claus
Big Burps, Bare Bums and Other
Similar Books
