TO LEON WERTH

I ask the children who may read this book to forgive me for dedicating it to a grown up. My first and most serious reason is that he is the best friend I have in the world. My second reason is that this grown-up understands everything, even books for children. And my third reason is that he lives in France where he is hungry and cold. He needs cheering up. If all these reasons are not enough, then I want to dedicate this book to the little boy whom this grown-up once was. All grown-ups were children once, although few of them remember it. And so I correct my dedication:

To Leon Werth, when he was a Little Boy