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Last updated almost 6 years ago
3 questions
The Day I Rescued Einstein's Compass

by Shulamith Levey Oppenheim

1 “When I was five years old, I was quite ill. I had to stay in bed for many
days. My father gave me this compass.” He peered at me. “You know what a
compass is, of course?” I nodded. “Good.” He continued, “It was the first
compass I had ever seen. There was the needle, under glass, all alone,
pointing north no matter which way I turned the compass.”
2 I took a deep breath. “Because the needle is magnetic, and there is a
magnet at the North Pole that attracts the needle.”
3 My sailing partner raised his bushy eyebrows. “Nearly correct. There are
two magnetic poles, north and south. So far away. And there, on the palm
of my hand, was my compass, always pointing north! For me, it was the
greatest mystery I could imagine. And so I decided, then and there, that I
would learn all about the forces in the universe that we cannot see. For I
certainly could not . . .”
4 At that moment a large motorboat zoomed past us, stirring up the water
into high waves. One of them hit Fleet Felix smack against the side,
knocking the compass from the professor’s hand, right into the water!
5 He stared at his empty palm. “The compass, Theo. It is gone!
Overboard?” Suddenly there was so much sadness in his eyes. “I should
hate to lose it. And I cannot swim very well . . . and my eyesight is not
good . . .” His voice trailed off, and he was looking far into space.
6 But I could swim! In a split second I dropped anchor into the water to
keep the boat in place. I pulled off my life jacket. The waves had quieted
down now. The compass would float. If I were lucky.
7 I jumped into the water.
8When I started swimming farther away from the boat. Under and under
and round and round. No compass. I had to find it! Herr Professor Einstein
might be the most famous man alive right now, but he was once five years
old, and his father had given him a compass that he had treasured all these
years. I thought about the splendid binoculars my parents had given me
and how I would feel if I lost them.
Herr = a German word for “Mr.”
I made another dive under the boat. As I came up for air, I felt
something ever so gently hit my cheek. It was the compass, bobbing
alongside Fleet Felix, just waiting to be rescued! Clutching it in my left
hand, I grabbed hold of the boat with my right. Professor Einstein’s eyes
were closed.
9 He opened his eyes. “So,” he said with a smile, “this is why I became a
physicist,” continuing as if nothing had happened. “As you know, a
physicist studies the forces in nature that we cannot know directly, only we
know they are there from what we observe, like the compass needle or . . . ,”
he paused.
10 “Or gravity?” I offered, a bit tentatively.
“Bravo, young man. Or gravity. All these forces keep our planet running
quite smoothly most of the time. And thank you, dear Theo. For me, you
are the most famous boy alive!”
11 His eyes were merry again. I was still trying to catch my breath, but I
had to ask another question. “Would you say it is because of the compass
that you are now the most famous man alive?”
12 He sat very still. “The compass was my first mystery, and all my life I
have worked to solve mysteries.” He put the compass in his pocket—the
one with the hole in it. “And I am not the most famous man alive, no
matter what your dear father says. But you are surely the bravest and
kindest boy I know.”
1

In the story how does Einstein feel about the compass his father gave him? Use two details from the story to support your answer.

1

What does paragraph 6 show about Theo's point of view? Use two details to support your response.

1

From Paragraph 8:
I thought about the splendid binoculars my parents had given me
and how I would feel if I lost them.
How does this sentence support the theme of the story? Use two details from the story to support your response.