Number the Stars · Garden Heights

Part 7

for Number the Stars · Part 7 · Chapters 13–15

8 Parts40 min

What Happens in Part 7

There is no one else. Mama, white-faced on the sofa with her ankle splinted, packs a lunch basket — bread, cheese, an apple — and slides the packet to the bottom: Annemarie will run it to the boat, playing a silly little girl bringing lunch to her forgetful fisherman uncle. If anyone stops her, she must BE that girl — empty-headed, chattering, like Kirsti. The path to the harbor runs through dark woods, and Annemarie steadies herself the only way she can: by telling herself Little Red Riding-Hood, the story she has told Kirsti a hundred times — until, at the path’s bend, the story comes true: four soldiers, and two straining dogs. The questioning is long and mocking. Why so early? Where is the lunch going? The dogs smell meat — the soldiers tear the bread, toss the cheese, and find, at the bottom, the packet: inside, only a folded white handkerchief. Contemptuous, the officer flings it back. Annemarie reaches the Ingeborg breathless and hands Henrik the handkerchief — and his face tells her it was not nothing: it was everything. The boat sails on the morning tide.

What We Will Learn

Section	What you will practice
Vocabulary	Path words: splint, basket, mock, strain, breathless…
Literary Elements	The fairy tale walked into, and courage as performance
Cross-Curricular	How a dog’s nose works

Chapter Summary

Ch.	What happens
13–15	The Run Through the Dark — with every adult spent, Annemarie runs the packet to the harbor in a lunch basket, rehearsing Little Red Riding-Hood; soldiers and dogs stop her at the path’s end; the basket is torn apart down to a ‘worthless’ handkerchief; she plays the silly child perfectly — and delivers, just in time, the thing the whole escape depends on.

Part 1

Vocabulary

Study 10 key words from Chapters 13–15, then answer each question.

🏃Knowledge Bank · How a Dog Reads Scent

Biology · Olfaction and TrackingA dog follows scent by sampling odor molecules released from skin, breath, clothing, food, and disturbed ground. This sense is called olfaction. Inside the nasal cavity, millions of specialized receptors bind to different molecules and send patterns of signals to the brain. Rapid sniffing draws in repeated samples, while the two nostrils help compare which side has the stronger odor. A scent trail is not a neat line: wind stretches it into a shifting plume, moisture can hold molecules near the ground, and footsteps crush plants or move soil. Trained dogs learn to search these changing patterns and give a practiced signal when they locate a target odor. Handlers must read the dog and the wind; the animal is detecting molecules, not understanding guilt or innocence. In Chapters 13–15, meat, a basket, a forest path, and hidden travelers create overlapping odors. That biology explains why the search feels dangerous even when human eyes find nothing—the dog is reading scent.

Visual AidWhy a dog searches a cloud, not a line

Diagram for the Knowledge Bank on olfaction and tracking. It draws what the Knowledge Bank describes: odor molecules leaving a source, stretched downwind into a widening plume, and a dog’s two nostrils comparing which side is stronger. The shape of the plume is illustrative, not measured. Notice that the dog is nowhere near a straight line back to the basket — it works inside a shifting cloud, which is why the search feels dangerous even when human eyes find nothing.

Plume and sampling described in the Knowledge Bank; shape illustrative. Drawn for Garden Heights Academy.

splintn.Ch.13–15

A support holding a broken bone still

“Mama’s ankle was wrapped tight against a splint.”

basketn.Ch.13–15

A woven container with a handle

“The lunch basket hid the packet at its bottom.”

rehearsev.Ch.13–15

To practice before performing

“She rehearsed the silly-girl act as she walked.”

mockv.Ch.13–15

To make fun of cruelly

“The soldiers seemed to mock her little errand.”

strainv.Ch.13–15

To pull hard against a hold

“The dogs began to strain toward the basket.”

contemptn.Ch.13–15

The feeling that something is worthless

“With contempt, the officer flung the handkerchief back.”

breathlessadj.Ch.13–15

Panting; out of breath

“Breathless, she reached the boat at last.”

errandn.Ch.13–15

A short trip made to do a task

“The lunch errand carried the escape’s last hope.”

tiden.Ch.13–15

The sea’s daily rise and fall

“The boat had to sail on the morning tide.”

instinctn.Ch.13–15

Knowledge acting without thought

“Instinct told her to chatter like Kirsti.”

ⓘ The vocabulary words in this list are selected to help you understand and complete this workbook. Some may not appear verbatim in the original novel.

🧠Knowledge Bank question

1According to the Knowledge Bank, a scent trail is 'not a neat line' because ___.Ch.13–15

2To ‘rehearse’ is to practice before performing.Ch.13–15

3To make fun of cruelly is to ___.Ch.13–15

4‘Contempt’ is the feeling that something is precious.Ch.13–15

5Fill in each blank with the correct word.Ch.13–15

Word choices:straintidesplintmock- some words will not be used

The dogs began to toward the basket.

The boat had to sail on the morning .

6Knowledge acting without thought is ___.Ch.13–15

7The ‘tide’ is the sea’s daily rise and fall.Ch.13–15

8Panting and out of breath is ___.Ch.13–15

9Fill in the blanks with the correct words.Ch.13–15

Word choices:basketcontemptrehearsebreathless- some words will not be used

The lunch hid the packet at its bottom.

With , the officer flung the handkerchief back.

10A short trip made to do a task is an ___.Ch.13–15

Part 2

Comprehension

Show you understood what happens in Chapters 13–15.

📋Knowledge Bank · Couriers on the Coastal Route

History & Geography · Guides and MessengersA courier carries information or material between parts of a network; a guide leads people through a particular route. Both jobs reward local knowledge more than rank. During the Danish rescue, coastal residents knew which lanes reached the harbor, which houses could hide a family, when patrols passed, and which captain could be trusted. One documented helper, Preben Munch-Nielsen, was a seventeen-year-old resistance courier from Snekkersten. He helped conceal refugees near the shore and lead them to boats that carried as many as twelve people at a time. One crossing from that area covered about four miles (6.4 km) and took roughly fifty minutes. His age helps readers infer that a young messenger might attract less notice, although the historical record does not prove that age protected him. The chapters’ basket and familiar path turn Annemarie’s errand into the smallest possible link in this historical pattern. A courier succeeds by arriving, revealing little, and preserving the route’s continuity.

🧠Knowledge Bank question

1The Knowledge Bank uses the courier Preben Munch-Nielsen to help readers infer that ___.Ch.13–15

2How is the packet hidden?Ch.13–15

3Annemarie is told exactly what the packet contains before she goes.Ch.13–15

4What role must Annemarie play if stopped?Ch.13–15

5Write the numbers 1–5 in the boxes to show the correct order of events in Chapters 13–15. Number 1 = what happens first.Ch.13–15

The basket is searched down to the handkerchief.
Annemarie steadies herself with Red Riding-Hood.
Breathless, she delivers it to Henrik’s boat.
Soldiers and dogs block the path’s bend.
Mama packs the packet beneath the lunch.

6The soldiers’ dogs are drawn to the basket by the smell of meat.Ch.13–15

7What do the soldiers find at the basket’s bottom?Ch.13–15

8How does the officer treat the handkerchief?Ch.13–15

9Henrik’s reaction shows the handkerchief was truly important.Ch.13–15

10How does Part 7 end?Ch.13–15

Part 3

Literary Elements

Understanding HOW and WHY Lois Lowry tells the story across Chapters 13–15.

🧠Knowledge Bank · Red Riding Hood Rewritten

Literary Craft · Allusion and ReversalAn allusion invites readers to remember another story without retelling it fully. Lowry gives Annemarie a basket, food, a dark wood, and dangerous figures on the path, activating the familiar pattern of Little Red Riding Hood. The old folktale makes the scene legible to a child: there is a route to follow and a threatening “wolf” to recognize. Yet Lowry uses reversal rather than simple imitation. No rescuer appears to defeat the danger for Annemarie. She must use observation, self-control, and performance to continue the errand herself. The allusion also changes the meaning of innocence. In many folktales, innocence makes a child vulnerable; here, Annemarie deliberately performs a younger child’s careless behavior so the soldiers underestimate her. Readers experience two stories at once—the remembered fairy tale and the wartime mission beneath it. Their difference measures Annemarie’s growth from protected listener to active protagonist.

A black-and-white engraving of a small girl in a cap and apron, carrying a covered pot, standing on a forest path beside a large wolf that stands on all fours and looks at her — Engraving by Gustave Doré of Little Red Riding Hood meeting the wolf, from an 1867 French edition of Perrault’s tales. The *Knowledge Bank* explains that Lowry gives Annemarie a basket, food, a dark wood and dangerous figures on the path so that readers recall this pattern, then reverses it: no rescuer comes, and the child must manage the danger herself. Doré drew the old tale, not the novel. Notice how calmly the girl stands beside the wolf — the folktale’s innocence, which Annemarie will deliberately perform.
Gustave Doré, Little Red Riding Hood meets the wolf, illustration for Les Contes de Perrault, 1867. Source: Wikimedia Commons, public domain.

Broken fairy tale

Red Riding-Hood beneath the chapter — but no woodcutter comes; the girl is her own rescue.

Courage as performance

The weapon is an act: Kirsti’s emptiness, studied and worn like armor.

Contempt as camouflage

The soldiers FIND the secret — and toss it back: the plan counted on their scorn.

🧠Knowledge Bank question

1According to the Knowledge Bank, Lowry's use of Little Red Riding Hood is a 'reversal' because ___.Ch.13–15

2Fill in the blank with the correct literary term.Ch.13–15

Word choices:climaxprologueresolutionsubplot- some words will not be used

The run through the dark is the novel’s .

3Annemarie’s courage in the search scene takes the form of ___.Ch.13–15

4The dogs fail to notice anything in the basket.Ch.13–15

5The handkerchief passes inspection because of the officer’s ___.Ch.13–15

6Telling herself the fairy tale on the path shows Annemarie ___.Ch.13–15

7Lowry lets the reader learn the handkerchief’s purpose in this part.Ch.13–15

8Fill in the blank with the correct literary term.Ch.13–15

Word choices:performancemonologuesoliloquyaside- some words will not be used

Her courage takes the form of a .

9Making the dogs RIGHT about the meat strengthens the scene because ___.Ch.13–15

10Part 7 completes Kirsti’s role in the novel by ___.Ch.13–15

Part 4

Think Deeper

Four deeper challenges — no single-word recall. Read, weigh the evidence, and reason it out.

💡Knowledge Bank · Courage as Adaptation

Psychology & Literary Reasoning · Adaptive CouragePressure rarely follows a plan exactly, so courage must be adaptive. Annemarie begins with a destination and a basket, but the soldiers introduce new questions, dogs, and a search. She first observes: their impatience, their contempt, and their assumption that a young girl is harmless. She then turns that assumption into a tool by performing the kind of noisy, offended behavior she knows from Kirsti. This is not fearlessness. It is performance guided by situational awareness. Annemarie watches the soldiers’ reactions and adjusts without forgetting the purpose of her errand. A reckless response would challenge their power directly; a rigid response would repeat a plan even after conditions changed. Adaptive courage keeps the goal steady while changing the method. Readers can trace the sequence: notice, interpret, choose, monitor, revise. Her body remains afraid, but her attention stays active enough to transform fear into useful adaptation.

Think back over these chapters. A kitchen at first light: a mother who cannot stand packs bread and cheese over a flat paper packet, and hands her daughter the most important lunch in Denmark. A path into trees still holding night. A girl’s voice, whispering a fairy tale to keep her feet moving. Then the bend: four gray uniforms, two dogs pulling at their leads, and questions with teeth in them. Bread torn. Cheese tossed. A white handkerchief shaken open, found worthless, flung back. And a fishing boat, minutes later, easing out on the tide with its hidden hold — carrying, thanks to a ‘silly’ girl, the one thing that could blind the wolves’ noses.

Original passage written for Garden Heights — not a quotation from the novel.

1Claim: “The climax argues that Annemarie’s ignorance and her act are one weapon.” — choose the two details that best prove it.Claim & Evidence

2What the soldiers see, or What is really there? Tap each detail to sort it — tap again to switch sides. You can keep tapping to change your answer.Sort into two

◄ What the soldiers seeWhat is really there ►

3Match each cause to its result. For each cause, pick its result.Cause & Effect

Every adult is spent, sailed, or splinted→

A fairy tale is whispered on the dark path→

The dogs smell exactly what they should→

The officer’s contempt flings the prize back→

🧠Knowledge Bank question

4Fill both blanks to complete the reasoning.Build the Argument

The Knowledge Bank calls Annemarie's courage adaptive because , which shows that .

Part 5

Standardized Test

Reading passage · How a Dog’s Nose Works · Inference & Rhetorical Purpose · SAT & TOEFL-style practice

How a Dog's Nose Works

When the patrol dogs strain toward Annemarie’s lunch basket, they are using one of nature’s most sensitive chemical detectors. A dog’s nose holds hundreds of millions of scent receptors — nerve endings that catch odor molecules — compared with only a few million in a human nose. The share of a dog’s brain devoted to interpreting smell is also many times larger than ours. Rapid sniffs direct air into a chamber where odors can be held and sorted, while the two nostrils help the animal locate the direction of a trail. To a dog, the basket does not have one blended smell: bread, cheese, apple, old meat, cloth, and the child carrying them remain distinct.

That biology explains why the meeting at the bend is dangerous even before any soldier asks a question. Training teaches a search dog to follow an assigned odor through other smells, but instinct can still draw it toward food and give a handler a reason to inspect a basket. The soldiers pull apart the lunch with contempt because the meat is real, exactly as the dog’s nose reports. Annemarie’s cover is ingenious — clever in an unexpected way — because her chatter, early errand, and ordinary food all support the same harmless story. The dog’s accurate work therefore raises the pressure on her performance without explaining why the handkerchief matters; at the end of Chapters 13–15, its purpose must remain as hidden from the reader as it is from Annemarie.

Original passage written for Garden Heights — not a quotation from the novel.

1What is the main idea of the passage?SAT · Central Ideas

2In the passage, receptors are ___.TOEFL · Vocabulary

3How does a dog’s brain compare to a human’s for smell?TOEFL · Factual Information

4What do a dog’s quick sniffs do?TOEFL · Factual Information

5Knowing which nostril caught a smell first lets a dog ___.TOEFL · Factual Information

6In the passage, a dog's instinct is ___.SAT · Words in Context

7Why do the soldiers pull apart Annemarie’s lunch?TOEFL · Factual Information

8What can be inferred about why wooden planking alone could not protect hidden passengers?SAT · Inference

9In the passage, soldiers who act with contempt show ___.TOEFL · Vocabulary

10Why does the author end without explaining the handkerchief’s purpose?TOEFL · Rhetorical Purpose

Part 6 · Optional

Creative Writing

A bonus challenge to practice your English. Take your time and have fun with it.

About This Section

This writing task is optional and is not part of your auto-graded score. The feedback below checks only the basics — length, spelling, and grammar — not whether your ideas are right or wrong. It is meant for classroom discussion and creative practice, so feel free to use your imagination!

Writing Task — Part 7 “The Bend in the Path”

Write the search scene from the point of view of ONE of the soldiers or ONE of the dogs at the bend. What does your narrator notice, suspect, and miss? Keep Annemarie’s performance visible from the outside. 6–10 sentences. End with the moment the basket is handed back.

You can start with: “Another early walker on the path — small, this one, and talking far too much...”

0 / 40 words minimum

🗣 Teach It · Just for Fun (optional)

No right or wrong — tell someone nearby what happened in this part. Can’t find anyone? Tell yourself out loud. The moment you teach it, you truly understand it.

Part 7 Complete!

You finished Chapters 13–15 of Number the Stars.

Here are your auto-graded results:

-

points out of 100

Teach it to someone

The best last step is to teach it. In your own words, explain what happened — retell a favorite scene, teach a character’s big choice, or sum up the main idea for a parent, friend, or classmate. When you can teach it clearly, you truly own it.

Move on to Part 8 →

Independent study guide by Garden Heights. Not affiliated with or endorsed by Lois Lowry. Contains original analysis only; no text from the novel is reproduced. Reference text: This workbook follows Lois Lowry’s classic text (the standard Puffin edition sold worldwide). Revised 2023 UK editions change some wording and may not match the vocabulary studied here.