Big Black Bike

Little Sonja's vision of a new bike

It was a Saturday, late in the morning in 1955, and I was eight years old. Vati was opening the merry-go-round in a small German town whose name I don’t remember, and Josefa and I were walking around on the fairgrounds, looking at the candy stands the locals were opening.

A boy of about ten or eleven came up to us. “Can I have a free ticket?” he asked.

I shook my head. “No. Vati doesn’t let us give away tickets for free.”

“How about if I give you something for it?”

“Maybe. What do you have?”

“I could give you my old bicycle. But I want five free tickets and five Marks for it.”

Josefa and I stared at each other. A bicycle would be so cool. I was sure we could learn how to ride it.

“I don’t know,” I said. “I have to ask my parents. Can you bring it so we can look at it?”

“Sure. I’ll bring it to your caravan in one hour.”

Josefa and I ran home and burst into the caravan, where Mutti was stirring some soup on the gas stove in the kitchen by the door. Carmen sat on the table doing some homework. From the living room compartment, I could hear baby Eva in her playpen banging some toys.

Josefa pushed past me and said, “Can we have a bike, Mutti? Please?”

Carmen slammed her book shut and rose. “A bike! That would be so great!”

Mutti didn’t quit stirring the soup. “No. Bikes are expensive and we have no money.” She turned to Carmen. “Finish your homework.”

“I am finished.”

I said, “But it would be for all four of us, and when Eva gets older, she can ride it too. Don’t you want us to know how to ride a bike?”

“You’re all a little young still. It can wait a few more years.”

Carmen stashed her book into her satchel and turned to us. “I’m big enough to ride a bike. And Sonja is right. We can all learn to ride it. You could ride it too.”

“It’s way too expensive.”

Josefa pushed forward again. “This boy has one for only five Marks and five free tickets. He’ll bring it to our caravan in an hour.”

“No. Tell him to take it back.”

“At least, you can look at it,” Carmen said.

“I’m busy. Don’t bother me with it. Now go out and play.”

Tomorrow, you can read the rest of the story!