by Kathleen Bennett based on a true story

Your mother died when you were young. Your stepfather abandoned you. The angry woman who owns you now doesn’t care that you are sick and dirty. She has been badgering a "foreign devil" for days to buy you, but the woman has ignored you both—until now. You gasp as the foreigner holds out her hand. In her palm she has only nine pennies!

"She’s yours," cries the child-seller, shoving you at the stranger.

"My name is Ai-weh-deh [I-We-Day]," the woman tells you.

Ai-weh-deh is Chinese for Virtuous One. You hope it’s true, but you decide it’s better to say nothing.

"I’ll call you Ninepence for now, because that’s what I paid for you," the woman continues. "I’ll bet you’re hungry."

When you reach her home, she offers you a bowl of millet grain mixed with vegetables. You gobble it down before she can change her mind. Northern China in 1934 is a cruel place for little girls.

Several days later, you see an older boy begging. Most boys are treated like princes in China, but this one is an orphan like you. Do you pretend not to see him? Go to 3. Do you ask Ai-weh-deh to help him? Go to 8.

1. You walk for hours until you find a large group of refugees struggling along the trail. You ask them to help you and the other children, but they ignore you. Finally, one of them says: "Child, can’t you see we flee for our lives? The Japanese run like starving wolves through our land. Come with us or die." Do you join the refugees? Go to 7. Do you go back to Ai-weh-deh and the children? Go to 2.

2. "Ai-weh-deh," you whisper, "didn’t God part the Red Sea for the children of Israel? We should ask Him to open a way for us to cross this river."

She nods and takes your hand. You feel her tremble as she moves her lips in silent prayer.

Without warning, soldiers rush into the clearing where you are praying! Everyone dives for cover behind rocks and under bushes.

One of the soldiers calls out in Chinese. You recognize his national uniform. He seems friendly. Slowly, you and the others crawl out from your hiding places. Everybody laughs as the soldiers open their packs and share their food.

"We have a boat," the commander says to Ai-weh-deh. "And we can take the children across the river."

God has answered your prayers!

You cross the river where villagers welcome you into their homes. They tell you about something called a train that will come tomorrow to carry everyone the rest of the way to Sian.

The next morning you help the children climb into boxcars. The train roars across the plain with speed you never dreamed possible. Suddenly, it lurches to a stop. Soldiers have destroyed a bridge and everyone must walk the rest of the way.

In front of you, the mountains stand like angry giants. The path is rocky. How will you and the others make it?

"I’m tired," the little ones whine after several hours of climbing. "Can we rest?"

"Not yet," Ai-weh-deh says. Her dusty face is lined with dried tears.

Soon everyone is cold and exhausted. "I’m not sure I even know where we are," Ai-weh-deh whispers.

Do you try to think of a way to encourage Ai-weh-deh? Go to 5. Do you remind Ai-weh-deh how God answered your prayers at the river? Go to 10.

3. You say nothing for several days. Every time you pass the boy, he looks weaker, but many unwanted children wander the streets. One evening, as you prepare dinner, Ai-weh-deh walks in.

"Ninepence," she says, "you have a brother!"

"I have seen the boy begging every day," you admit sadly. "But look." You hold out the cooking pot to show her how little there is.

"Ninepence," she assures you, "have we ever gone without food? God will always take care of us. We will call him ‘Less’ so we will always remember how much more we have than so many others." Go to 9.

4. You sneak away in the darkness to find the Japanese. You lead the soldiers back to Yangcheng, but Ai-weh-deh and the children have vanished!

The Japanese commander glares at you, his eyes black and hard like a beetle’s. He yells to his soldiers in words you don’t understand. You’re pushed roughly to the ground and tied up.

You have paid for your mistake by becoming a prisoner of war.[The End]

5. You have an idea. A little boy has fallen asleep in the grass. He looks up in surprise as you gently take his hand in yours.

"Let’s start singing, and maybe everyone else will sing, too," you tell him. The two of you begin walking—one tired foot in front of the other.

"Yes," Ai-weh-deh agrees. "In fact, let’s see who can sing the loudest."

Your voices tremble at first but grow stronger with each word. "Bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless His holy name!"

With new courage, Ai-weh-deh picks up one of the tiniest children and calls the others to join you.

Older boys carry little kids who are too weak to walk. The others join their hands and voices, hugging and helping each other every step of the way. As you reach the top of a hill, Ai-weh-deh cries out with joy. She points to a small city in the valley below. "Sian, children! That is Sian!" [The End]

6. Just before you begin the journey, the governor visits. Two men walk behind him with bulky sacks strapped to their backs.

"Ai-weh-deh, I think God wants me to help you," he says. "I am giving you this grain. The men will carry it for you until the bags are empty."

"Thank you, Governor, and thank you, God!" Ai-weh-deh smiles at you.

At first the trip seems like a great adventure and the little ones chatter like mice with excitement. By the time you reach the Yellow River, though, the grain and the men who carried it are gone. You cannot swim across, and there are no boats. Do you encourage Ai-weh-deh to pray for God’s help? Go to 2. Do you volunteer to go find help yourself? Go to 1.

7. You walk quickly to keep from falling behind, and you finally reach Puchau with the refugees. The villagers are kind, but you feel sad. You wonder if Ai-weh-deh and the children will make it to Sian, but you will never know for sure. [The End]

8. "Ai-weh-deh," you ask, "if I would eat a little less food, would you be willing to eat less, too?"

"Yes, I would," she answers with a curious expression on her face.

"I met a little boy who has even less than we do. Can we give him some of our food?"

"Go bring him in."

The boy shyly accepts your invitation. You and Ai-weh-deh nickname him "Less" because he had even less than you did. Go to 9.

9. Soon Less is followed by more—more and more children come until you have a hundred brothers and sisters.

One day you hear news that makes your stomach twist with fear. Japanese soldiers are marching across China, killing hundreds of innocent people and burning their homes to the ground.

You hear two men talking. "The Japanese have offered $100 to anyone who will lead them to Ai-weh-deh!" They shake their heads.

Ai-weh-deh has done nothing wrong, but she is a foreigner and that makes her dangerous.

"I have a plan," Ai-weh-deh tells you. "We will take the children to an orphanage in Sian."

"Ai-weh-deh!" you shout, forgetting to be humble. "Sian is so far away. A strong man could walk day and night for a week and still not reach it!"

Ai-weh-deh is sick and has no food or money. If you agree to her plan, you could all die long before you reach Sian. You start thinking about your choices. You feel responsible for the children.

One hundred dollars! That much money would take care of you and the others for many years. Will you turn over Ai-weh-deh to the Japanese and use the reward money to help the children? Go to 4. Will you help Ai-weh-deh take the children to Sian? Go to 6.

10. "Ai-weh-deh," you say, placing your hand on hers, "God helped us when we prayed for help at the river. Let’s ask Him for help again now."

You bow your head and pray for another miracle. After several hours, nothing has happened. But for some reason, you feel a small stirring of hope in your heart. Go to 5.

Ai-weh-deh’s English name was Gladys Aylward. She, Ninepence, Less and all the children made the journey to the city of Sian safely. Most of them continued to write letters to Ai-weh-deh for years. Ninepence grew into a beautiful woman, married and had a little boy of her own. When Less was a young man, communists killed him at Nanking University. Their stories have been written about in many books. And, by the way, it was Ninepence’s idea to adopt Less!

	Q: What is a bird’s favorite game? A: Air hockey. Adam O., 9, Arkansas Clubhouse Jr. Click here to subscribe