Twenty and Ten

Twenty and Ten is narrated by Janet, an 11-year-old French girl writing down her memories of early 1944 so she will not forget them. During the German occupation of France, Janet's group of 20 fifth-graders lives at Beauvallon, a large old house on a mountaintop, under the care of Sister Gabriel, a young nun they all adore. Among them is Louis, Denise's four-year-old brother, allowed to stay despite his age.

One day the children play a make-believe game called "The Flight into Egypt," based on the Holy Family's biblical flight from King Herod. Janet plays Mary, George plays Joseph, and Louis plays the baby Jesus. Janet declares the Holy Family are Jewish refugees. Henry, a clever boy, takes charge, demanding to know about Joseph's ration cards and accusing George of being secretly rich from the Wise Men's gifts. When Henry calls it a trick, a brawl breaks out.

Sister Gabriel stops the fight and brings the children inside, where a tired young man asks whether they know about people the Nazis will kill if found. George answers "The Jews." The young man asks the children to hide 10 Jewish children whose parents are already dead. They agree at once. Sister Gabriel warns them that they must never reveal the Jewish children's presence, no matter what the Nazis do to the French children themselves. The young man reminds her she could be shot; she calmly tells him to bring the children in.

At lunch, Sister Gabriel explains that the new children have no ration cards, so all 30 will share equally. Henry gives his soup to Arthur, a small, exhausted Jewish boy, and Arthur slips him a piece of chocolate in return. That evening, Henry and Janet hide the chocolate up the hill beside a brook. When they return with Arthur the next day, it is gone. They spot the thief, Denise, who stumbles through a crack in a boulder and falls into a hidden underground cave spacious enough for 15 people. Henry decides the cave must remain secret. Denise, who admits she stole the chocolate out of jealousy, swears secrecy. The four children share the last of the chocolate and pledge friendship.

On the third day after the Jewish children's arrival, Sister Gabriel walks to the village of Dieulefit to collect mail and food. She leaves 30 slices of bread and 30 apples, which the children eat immediately. While replaying their game, Suzanne, one of the Jewish girls, spots two Nazi soldiers on bicycles heading toward Beauvallon and screams in terror. Henry instructs Arthur to lead all 10 Jewish children to the cave and stay hidden until a French child brings an all-clear signal. The Jewish children disappear quickly, accustomed to danger. Henry tells the remaining 20 to refuse to speak a single word to the Nazis.

The soldiers search the house but find no evidence of additional children, since the Jewish children own only the clothes on their backs and share beds and blankets with the others. Philip, the tallest boy, whispers that it is lucky they ate all 30 portions earlier, leaving no extra servings. The soldiers demand to know whether Jewish children are among them. The children remain completely silent. When the young soldier claims Sister Gabriel has been arrested, Denise presses her foot against Janet's, signaling her to stay quiet. Janet feigns stupidity.

The younger soldier has Henry taken away for harsher treatment. Henry glances back with a look that tells the others to hold on. George, who understands German because his parents are from Alsace, a border region between France and Germany, cries when the older soldier returns and reports that Henry did not talk. That night, Henry escapes the coalshed by cutting through a plank with his Scout knife. Unable to go to the cave himself for fear the Nazis will check the coalshed and search the hills, he sends Janet and Philip to deliver bread and blankets. At the cave, Arthur reveals that a Nazi soldier sat on the boulder directly above them earlier, but the hidden children stayed perfectly still. Arthur rations the bread carefully.

On the return, Janet narrowly avoids capture when the all-clear signal vanishes and a flashlight sweeps the yard. She walks toward the outhouse as though she has simply come outside. The young soldier stops her at gunpoint, but the older one suggests she was only going to the outhouse. Janet screams and points at it until the soldier drops her in disgust.

The next morning, the soldiers bicycle away. The children celebrate, but Henry warns it is a trap: The soldiers will double back to spy on them. The children spend a tense day pretending nothing is unusual. That afternoon, the young Nazi reappears and confirms they have been watching for hours, mentioning a search for caves. Inside, the soldiers open a box of chocolate, candy, and oranges. Louis, too young to understand the danger, claps and calls the oranges "Pretty ball!" The Nazi seats Louis on his lap and offers treats in exchange for information about Jewish friends.

Louis says "Yes" when asked if he has Jewish friends. Henry argues Louis only wants the orange. When the Nazi asks where the Jewish children are, Louis points to George, Janet, and himself, the children who played Joseph, Mary, and Jesus. The Nazi demands George's name; George answers "Joseph." Janet gives hers as "Mary." Louis shouts "Jesus!" The children erupt in laughter.

A gunshot silences the room. A Nazi officer stands in the doorway with Sister Gabriel beside him. The young soldier reports finding no Jewish children except three who claim to be "Jesus, Mary, Joseph." Sister Gabriel explains the children's game, then stops short when she realizes she is comparing the Nazis to Herod's soldiers. The officer, furious at the soldier's failure, orders him to the Normandy front as punishment, apologizes to Sister Gabriel, and departs with both soldiers.

Sister Gabriel reveals that the Nazis jailed her in Dieulefit and told her the Jewish children had been found, but she refused to talk. The children whisper their story. Arthur sends the Jewish children out of the cave one at a time and proposes they sleep there every night going forward. Sister Gabriel agrees, and the arrangement continues for the rest of the occupation. Janet reflects that when the Americans liberate the country, all 30 children are safe, though thin from hunger.

To lift spirits after learning that rations will remain scarce, George proposes a miracle play. Philip suggests acting out the multiplication of loaves and fishes, and Henry takes over as director. During the performance, Louis slips away and reappears holding an orange, shouting "Pretty ball!" The Nazis have left the box of treats behind under a desk. The story closes on this joyful discovery, which Janet calls a miracle.