Summary

When Felix Salinger finds a whole carrot in his bowl of stew at the orphanage where he lives, he believes it is a sign that his parents are coming back. He thanks “God, Jesus, Mary, the Pope, and Adolf Hitler” (2-3). They left him at the orphanage three years and eight months ago with the impression that they would return for him when their troubles as Jewish booksellers improved. Mother Minka, one of the nuns who run the orphanage, yells at Felix when she sees him fishing the carrot out of his bowl. Mother Minka had been a customer at Felix’s parents’ bookstore. For that reason, they chose to leave Felix at that particular orphanage.

Felix feels sad that he will have to say goodbye to the boys he has met at the orphanage, particularly Dodie. That night, Felix makes up a...