1900s, 1500 people worked in the building.

U nder the
Opera House there were stables for horses. A nd there
was a lake!
In 1910, Leroux heard some strange stories about
the O pera House. T h e people of th e O pera House
talked about a ghost. The ghost lived in the building.
Accidents had happened in the building too. Once, a
huge glass chandelier fell from the ceiling. O ne woman
died. Leroux thought about these things and he wrote
his book.

6
 Many films and plays have been made of the story,
The Phantom o f the Opera. In 1925, th e re was an
A m e ric an film of th e story. A n a c to r c alled Lon
Chaney was the Phantom. T he film was very popular.
In 1986, Andrew Lloyd-Webber wrote a musical play
about th e P hantom . M any th ousan ds of people in
London and New York have seen this musical.

The Opera House, Paris

stairs

dressing-
rooms

storerooms stables j
 The People in This Story

Philippe Raoul Christine

fii'liip raul kris'tiin

Christine’s The Persian

The Manager of the Opera House

Madame Richard
maedaem rii'Jair
 1

The Angel of Music

T h e place was th e co ast of B rittan y , in n o rth e rn

France. The time was a summer evening in 1880. Two
people were sitting by the sea. They were sitting on a
sandy beach, near an old church. They were a young
girl and an old man. The girl was singing and the old
man was playing a violin.
The young girl’s name was Christine. The old man
was her father. C hristine and her father were travelling
musicians. They travelled through all the countries of
Europe. Sometimes, they performed music in hotels.
Sometimes, they performed in the streets. C hristine
had a beautiful voice. In every country, people loved
C hristine’s voice.
O n that evening in 1880, C hristine was looking at
the sea. She was singing a sad song. It was a song about
the sea, and about love. A man and a young boy were
walking on the beach. They stopped near C hristine
and her father. They listened to the music.
The boy’s name was Raoul. He was eleven years old.
The man was Raoul’s brother, Philippe. Philippe was
much older than Raoul. He was thirty-one.
T he two brothers stood n ear C h ristin e and h er
father. Christine sang and her father played his violin.
Raoul and Philippe listened to the music.
Christine was wearing a long blue scarf. Suddenly,

9
the wind blew the scarf from C h ristin e’s neck. T he
wind blew the .scarf into the sea.
‘I’ll get your scarf,’ said the young boy. ‘Stay there.
I’ll bring it to you.’
‘No, Raoul, N o!’ said Philippe. ‘D on’t go into the
sea.’

But Raoul did not listen to his brother. He ran into

the sea. He took the blue scarf from the water. He ran
back to the beach and he gave the scarf to the young
girl.
‘T h a n k you,’ said C h ristin e . ‘T h a n k you. I will
always remember you.’
Raoul’s clothes were wet. A nd Raoul’s brother was
angry.
‘We must go home immediately,’ Philippe said. ‘You
must put on some dry clothes.’

10
 But Raoul did not want to go home. He wanted to
talk to the young girl.
‘Will you sing a song for me?’ Raoul asked Chris-
tine.
‘Yes,’ said Christine. ‘Yes, I will sing for you.’
Again, the old man played the violin and C hristine
sang. She sang a sad and beautiful song. It was a song
about love and about the stars.
‘You have a beautiful voice,’ said Raoul. ‘You sing
very well.’

11
 ‘My father teaches me very well,’ said Christine.
‘No, C hristine,’ said the old man. ‘I am not a good
teacher. You will have a better teacher soon.’
‘D on’t say that, father,’ said C hristine. ‘You are a
wonderful teacher.’
The old man spoke to Philippe and Raoul.
‘Christine will have a better teacher,’ he said. ‘I will
die soon. T hen I will send a wonderful teacher to my
daughter. I will send the Angel of Music to her.’
‘D on’t say that, please, father,’ C hristine said again.
But the old m an said, ‘Yes, C h ristin e, I will die
soon. I will send the Angel of Music to you.’
Suddenly, everybody heard a very beautiful sound.
It was the sound of another violin. T he sound came
from the old church, near the beach.
C hristine turned her head. Her eyes were shining.
There were tears in her eyes.
‘O h ,’ she said. ‘T h at is beautiful! Is that the Angel
of Music?’

12
 2

A Party at the Opera House

The Opera House in Paris is a huge building. There are

hundreds of rooms. T here are many corridors. A nd
there are many cellars, deep under the stage.
O ne evening in 1890, the m anager of the O pera
House had a party. The party was in a very large room
behind the stage of the Opera House.
H undreds of people worked at the O pera House.
Som e peo ple were singers and som e p eo p le were
dancers. Some people played musical instrum ents in
the orchestra. Some people took care of the costumes.
Some people took care of the lights. Some people
moved the scenery on the stage. A nd some people sold
tickets for the performances.
All these people went to the manager’s party. The
dancers and the singers were excited. They were talk-
mg together in one part of the room. But they were not

13
talking about the party. They were talking about the
ghost in the Opera House.
A few of the singers and dancers had seen a strange
man in the Opera House. The man always wore a black
cloak. A nd he always wore a white mask over his face. |
He never spoke to anybody. T he singers and dancers
named him, ‘T he Phantom of the O pera’.
‘Have you seen him?’ a young dancer asked one of
the singers.
‘Yes, I saw him last week,’ the singer replied.
‘Tell me about him ,’ said the dancer.
‘He was tall and th in ,’ said the pretty singer. ‘He
was wearing a black cloak.’
‘W as he ugly or was he h a n d so m e ? ’ asked th e
dancer.
‘I don’t know,’ the singer said. ‘He was wearing a
white mask over his face. There were two holes in the
mask, but I couldn’t see his eyes.’
‘Were you frightened?’ asked the dancer.
‘Yes, I was very frightened!’ said the singer quickly.
Her eyes were shining. She was excited.
‘H ave m any people seen th e ghost?’ h e r frien d
asked.
‘Madame Richard knows about him ,’ the singer said.

15
 ‘Madame Richard told me about him. She said, “Every
e v en in g , th e P h a n to m sits in Box N u m b er 5. He
watches the opera. I give him a programme and he pays
me for it - he gives me 20 francs.” She isn’t frightened!’
A t th at moment, Madame Richard came into the
room . M adam e R ich ard was a tic k e t-selle r. Every
evening, she sold tickets for the perform ance at the
Opera House. A nd she sold programmes to the people
in the audience. M adame R ichard was a very large
woman with a loud voice. All the singers and dancers
were frightened of her.
‘A re you talking about the ghost again?’ Madame
Richard asked.
‘Yes, yes!’ said th e young dancer. ‘Please tell us
about him. Does he always sit in Box Number 5?’
‘I d o n ’t sell any tickets for Box N um ber 5 ,’ said
Madame Richard. ‘But somebody sits in Box Number 5.
H e doesn’t go into th e box through the door. A nd
nobody sees him. H e’s a ghost - a phantom !’
‘Do you sell a programme to him?’ asked the dancer.
‘Yes, he always wants a programme,’ said Madame
Richard. ‘Every evening, I put a programme on a chair
in Box Number 5. Every evening, the programme dis-
appears. A nd after the performance there is always 20
francs on the chair.’
‘Oh! Does the Phantom of the Opera have money?’
asked one of the other singers. ‘Is he a rich phantom ?’
‘Yes, Yes! He is rich ,’ said Madame Richard. ‘The
Phantom is a gentleman. He wears fine clothes.’

16
 ‘But you haven’t seen him! You don’t know about
his clothes!’ said the singer.
Suddenly, somebody knocked on the door of the
room. The dancer opened the door. A tall, thin man
stood in the corridor. He was wearing beautiful black
clothes. The dancer screamed.
‘The Phantom !’ she shouted. ‘It’s the Phantom !’
Her friends laughed. ‘T h a t’s not the Phantom ,’ one
of them said. ‘T h a t’s the Persian.’
The tall, thin man looked at the dancer. ‘W here is
Carlotta?’ he asked quietly. ‘Is she here?’
The dancer pointed along the corridor. She pointed
to another door. ‘C arlotta is in her dressing-room,’ she
said. ‘C arlotta is very tired this evening. She will not

Thank you,’ said the th in man.

The dancer closed the door quickly. ‘W ho is th at
man? she asked her friends.
He is the Persian,’ one of the singers said. ‘He is a
ftiend of the Phantom !’
Everybody laughed.

17
 3

Raoul Goes to the Opera

In 1890, Raoul was twenty-one. He was a handsome

and intelligent young man. In the spring, he went to
Paris. He was going to live there w ith his brother,
Philippe.
Philippe was forty-one. He was a rich and im portant
man. He knew many im portant people in Paris. He
knew the manager of the Opera House. A nd he knew
many famous singers.
O ne evening, Philippe spoke to his brother.
‘We will go to the Opera House tonight, Raoul,’ he
said. ‘My favourite singer is going to sing tonight. She
is very famous. Her name is C arlotta.’
‘Everybody knows about C arlotta,’ said Raoul. ‘She
is a very famous singer. I want to hear her voice.’ .
‘You will hear her tonight,’ said Philippe. ‘A nd you
will meet C arlotta tonight,’ said Philippe. ‘I will take
you to her dressing-room. I often visit the singers after
the performance. I often go to their dressing-rooms.’
T he two brothers w ent to the O pera House. But
they did not hear C arlotta that evening. C arlotta did
not sing. She was ill. T hat evening, a different singer
performed. This singer was a very young woman. She
had fair hair and blue eyes. She was very beautiful.
A nd she sang very beautifully.
T he people in th e audience were excited. T hey

18
clapped their hands. They cheered loudly.
‘W ho is th a t singer?’ asked Philippe. ‘She has a
wonderful voice.’
Raoul looked at the young woman on the stage.
‘I know h e r,’ he said. ‘A n d you know h e r to o ,
Philippe! Do you remember the girl on the beach - the
girl in Brittany? She sang for me. She was on the beach
w ith her father. I took her scarf from the sea. My
clothes were wet and you were angry with m e.’
‘Yes, I remember,’ said Philippe. ‘The girl’s father
played the violin on the beach. And the girl sang. But
I have not heard her sing here, at the Opera House.
She’s a very good singer!’

A ll the people in th e audience liked th e young

S1nger very much. A t the end of the performance, they
•flapped their hands and they cheered again.

19
 After the performance, Raoul and Philippe met the
manager.of the Opera House.
‘W hat is that young singer’s name?’ Philippe asked.
‘Her name is C hristine,’ said the manager. ‘She has
a wonderful voice. O ne day, I heard C hristine singing
in the street. She sang very well. I brought her to the
O pera House. She has a very good teacher. She is a
very good singer. Soon, she will be famous. Tonight,
C arlotta was ill. I said, “C hristine will sing in the per-
formance tonight.” A nd she has sung beautifully.’
‘I want to meet C hristine,’ Raoul said to Philippe.
‘Please take me to her dressing-room.’
Philippe took Raoul to a corridor behind the stage.
They were many doors in this corridor. They were the
doors of the singers’ dressing-rooms.
M any people were outside C h ris tin e ’s dressing-
room. Everybody wanted to go into the room. Every-
body wanted to speak to Christine.
The door of the dressing-room was open. But a man
was standing in front of the door.
‘I am a doctor,’ he said to the people. ‘You must not
go into C h ristine’s room. She must rest. She is very,
very tired. Please go away.’
The other people went away. But Philippe knew the
doctor. He spoke to the man. T hen Philippe and his
b ro th e r looked in to th e dressing-room . R aoul saw
Christine. She was sitting on a chair. He smiled at her.
Suddenly, C hristine saw Raoul. She stood up and
she walked to the open door.

20
21
 ‘C hristine,’ said the young man. ‘My name is Raoul.
I have seen you before. I saw you ten years ago. I saw
you on a beach in Brittany. I took your scarf from the
sea.’
‘Yes, I rem em ber th a t evening,’ said C hristine. ‘I
was ten years old. You ran into the sea. Your clothes
were very wet. Your brother was angry!’
‘Yes,’ said Philippe. ‘I was angry.’ He smiled.
‘You sang a song for me that evening,’ said Raoul.
‘A nd your father played his violin. Is your father well,
Christine?’
‘My father died last year,’ C hristine said sadly.
‘I have often th o u ght about you, C h ristin e ,’ said
Raoul. ‘I want to meet you again.’
‘I am very tired to n ig h t,’ said C h ristin e. ‘Please
come another day.’
‘I’ll come tomorrow,’ said Raoul.
‘Please leave now,’ said the doctor. ‘Christine must
rest!’
The doctor closed the door of the dressing-room.

A few minutes later, the two brothers were leaving the

O pera House. They saw the manager again. He was
standing outside the building. He was looking up at
the stars in the dark sky.
‘W hat is wrong with Carlotta?’ Philippe asked him.
‘Is she very ill?’
‘No, she is not ill,’ said the manager. ‘But she is very
worried. A nd she is very frightened. Now, she will not

22
sing- She has seen the Phantom .’
‘The Phantom? Do you believe that?’ said Philippe.
‘No! No! I don’t believe it!’ said the manager. ‘But
she saw somebody or something. Somebody or some-
thing frightened her.’*

Dhilippe and Raoul said goodnight to the manager.

‘Is there a ghost in the Opera House?’ Raoul asked
his brother.
People like frightening stories,’ said Philippe. ‘A nd
people tell foolish stories to each other. T hey talk
about the Phantom of the O pera.’

23
 4

Box Number 5

The next afternoon, Raoul went to the Opera House

again. He went to the corridor behind the stage. He
went to the door of C hristine’s dressing-room.
T he door was closed. Raoul stopped outside th e
dressing-room. He heard two voices. Two people were
speaking inside the dressing-room.
‘You must always love me,’ said a m an’s voice. ‘You
must sing only for me.’
‘Yes. I will sing only for you,’ said a woman’s voice.
It was C hristine’s voice. She said the words slowly.
Suddenly, the door opened. C hristine came out of
the dressing-room.
 Raoul wanted to speak to Christine, but she did not
s e e him . H er eyes were open, b ut she did n o t see

Raoul! Was she asleep? The young man did not under-
sta n d .

Christine walked quickly along the corridor and she

went round a corner.
‘W ho was C hristine speaking to?’ Raoul asked him -
self. ‘1 want to know about him !’
T he door of the dressing-room was open. Raoul
looked into the room. But there was nobody in the
dressing-room. It was empty!

In the evening, there was another party at the Paris

Opera House. The manager invited Philippe and Raoul
to the party. T he party was in the restaurant at the
Opera House. There were many famous and im portant
guests at the party. First, they were going to enjoy the
party. Then, they were going to watch a performance.
The guests ate and drank. The guests talked about
C arlo tta . T hey talk ed a b o u t C h ris tin e . A n d they
talked about the Phantom of the Opera.
Raoul looked around the room. He saw a tall, thin
man. The man was drinking a glass of wine. The man
did not speak to anybody. But he looked at Raoul.
P h i l i p p e , who is that tall, th in man?’ Raoul asked.

T h a t’s the Persian,’ said Philippe. ‘H e’s a strange

man- He’s very intelligent. Once, he was an architect.
He helped the architect of the Paris Opera House. The
Persian is often here in the evenings.’

25
 T h e n th e m anager cam e tow ards P h ilip p e and
Raoul.
‘Have you seen the Phantom?’ Philippe asked him.
‘Everybody is talking about the P h an to m !’ Philippe
laughed.
‘No, sir. I haven’t seen him ,’ the manager replied
angrily. ‘But I know about the foolish stories. Madame
Richard said to me, “The Phantom sits in a box every
evening.” A nd the Persian told me about the Phantom
too!’
‘I have met the Persian,’ said Philippe. ‘He is a very
intelligent man. A nd I have heard the story about the
box. Box Number 5 is empty every evening. Is th at the
Phantom ’s box?’
‘Yes,’ said the manager. ‘Box N um ber 5 is always
empty. People do not like Box N um ber 5. They say,
“Box Number 5 is unlucky. T hat is the Phantom ’s box.
The Phantom watches all the performances from Box
Num ber 5.” Well, I don’t believe that! I have never
seen the Phantom !’
‘But C arlotta has seen the Phantom ,’ said Philippe.
‘W hat did she tell you about him?’
‘Oh, it was a very foolish story,’ said the manager.
She said, “T he Phantom has a white face. It is the face
of a dead m an!” Everybody tells me this foolish story!’
‘Do you believe C arlotta’s story?’ asked Philippe.
‘No, no, I do not believe it,’ said the manager. ‘But
C arlotta is very worried. I want to stop these stories. I
want C arlotta to sing tonight. T he Phantom ’s box - j

26
Box Number 5 - will not be empty this evening. I have
s o l d four tickets for Box Number 5.’

The party ended. All the guests left the restaurant.

They were going to watch the performance.

Box Number 5 was not empty th at evening. Two men

and two women were sitting in the box.
Christine did not sing that evening. C arlotta sang
in the opera. But C arlotta was worried. She did not
sing very well. She often looked at Box Number 5.
The Opera House was lit brightly. There were many
gas lights on th e walls. A nd there were large glass
chandeliers. T he chandeliers hung from the ceiling.
They hung above the audience.

27
 A t the end of the performance, there was a strange
accident. The large chandelier near Box Number 5 fell
suddenly. There was a loud crash - the sound of break-
ing glass. The four people in Box Number 5 were hurt
by the broken glass. The glass hurt one of the women
very badly.
After that evening, nobody bought tickets for Box
N um ber 5. ‘T he Phantom is angry,’ everybody said.
‘Box Number 5 is the Phantom ’s box!’
A fter th at, o ther strange things happened at the
Paris Opera House.
Some scenery was broken.

A musician disappeared. Nobody could find him.

 5

The Mirror in the Dressing-room

A week passed after the accident in Box N um ber 5.!

Raoul did not see C hristine. She did not sing at thej
Opera House.
The young man was unhappy. He could not sleep at
night. He was in love with Christine! He wanted to
meet Christine. He was worried about her. W hat was!
wrong w ith her? Was she ill? A nd who was C hristine’s!
mysterious friend? W ho was the man in the dressing-]
room? T h e m an had a voice, but he had no body!]
Raoul wanted to meet him too!
O ne afternoon, Raoul w ent to the O pera House
again. He asked one of the singers about Christine.
‘C hristine is not here now,’ the singer said. ‘But she
will come soon.’
‘I will wait for her,’ Raoul said.
He went to C hristine’s dressing-room. The door was]
not locked. He opened the door and he went into th e '
room.
The young man sat down on a chair, in a corner of j
the room. He waited for Christine.
Ten minutes later, the door opened. Christine c a m e
into the dressing-room. She closed the door b e h i n d
her. Raoul looked at her. Again, the young singer d i d
not see him. She looked at a large mirror on the wall of <
the dressing-room. Raoul was going to speak.
 But suddenly, another m an’s voice spoke.
‘Christine! Christine! Sing for me,’ the voice said.
The voice had come from the mirror! A nd Raoul had
heard that voice before. He had heard it through the
door of the dressing-room!
 Raoul looked at the big mirror on the wall. He did
not understand.
Christine started to sing a song. She sang softly. She
walked slowly towards the mirror. Suddenly, somebody
knocked on the door of the dressing-room. There was
somebody outside, in the corridor. Raoul turned his
h ead . T h e young m an loo k ed a t th e d o o r for a
m om ent. T h e n he looked back at th e m irror. But
Christine had disappeared!
R aou l sto o d up and he ra n to th e m irro r. He
touched the glass. It was a heavy mirror. It was fixed to
the wall.
‘W here is Christine?’ he thought. ‘W hat shall I do?’ j
R aoul saw some w riting pap er and a p e n cil on]
C hristine’s table. Quickly, he wrote a note.
 The young man put the note on C hristine’s table.
Then he went back to his brother’s house. Raoul was
very unhappy. T h a t n ig h t, he could n o t sleep. He
t h o u g h t about Christine. W here was she? Had she read

his note?

A letter arrived for Raoul the next morning. T he letter

was from Christine! Raoul read it quickly.

In the afternoon, Raoul w ent to a shop near the

Opera House. He bought a black cloak and a w hite
mask. This was going to be his costume for the grand
masked ball.

33
 6

The Masked Ball

It was nearly m idnight. Raoul was wearing his black

cloak and his w hite mask. T h e young m an looked
around him . H undreds of people had com e to the
grand masked ball at the Paris O pera House. Every-
body was wearing a mask over their face. Raoul did not
know anybody. A nd nobody knew him.

Raoul did not speak to anybody. He waited in a

corner. T h e n he heard the bell of a clock. It
twelve times. Midnight!

34
 A t th at m om ent, a woman touched his arm. T he
woman was wearing a white cloak. Raoul could not see
her face. She was wearing a black mask.
‘Christine?’ Raoul said. ‘Are you Christine?’
The woman did not speak. She walked away from
Raoul. Raoul followed her. The woman went behind
the stage. She walked along a corridor. T hen she start-
ed to climb some stairs. Raoul followed her up th e
stairs. They climbed many, many stairs.
A t last, the woman stopped in front of a small door.
She opened the door and she walked through it. Raoul
followed her through the door. They were on the roof
of the huge building. Raoul looked around him. He
saw the lights of Paris below them.
The woman walked towards the edge of the roof.
Then she stopped. Raoul walked towards her. They
both took off their masks. Raoul saw C hristine’s face.
‘Christine!’ Raoul said. ‘Christine, I love you! I saw
you ten years ago, in Brittany. You sang for me and I
loved you. The years passed. T hen I saw you again and
I loved you again! I came to the Opera House two days
ago. I wanted to speak to you, Christine. I saw you in
your dressing-room. But you disappeared. W here did
you go, Christine?’
You must not ask me that question, Raoul,’ Chris-
tine said.
I But I love you!’ said Raoul. ‘Christine, please listen
rne. Please sing for me again. Please m arry me,
■ u-istine.’

35
 ‘I cannot marry you, Raoul,’ said C hristine sadly.
‘W hy not, Christine? W hy not?’ Raoul asked.
‘I cannot marry anybody,’ C hristine said. ‘Erik will
not let me get married.’
‘Erik?’ said Raoul.
‘Erik is my Angel of Music,’ C hristine said. ‘He is ]
my teacher.’
‘Tell me about Erik,’ Raoul asked. ‘W here is he?’
‘Erik is an architect. He is a musician. A nd he is a
wonderful teacher,’ C hristine said. ‘He lives under the
stage of the Opera House.’
‘I want to meet him !’ said Raoul. ‘I want to speak to
him !’

36
 ‘No, Raoul, no!’ said Christine. ‘You must not speak
to Erik.’ Christine was frightened.
‘I’m sorry, Raoul,’ she said. ‘I cannot get married. I
cannot have friends. A nd I cannot sing for you again. I
sing for Erik. I sing only for him. I will sing for him
tomorrow night. I will sing in Faust.’
‘Isn ’t C a rlo tta going to sing tom orrow ?’ R aoul
asked.
‘Carlotta will be ill again,’ C hristine said. ‘Erik told
nte that. Erik knows everything!’
Suddenly, they heard a sound behind them . They
Were not alone on the roof. A tall man was standing
near the door of the stairs. The tall man was wearing a
black cloak and a white mask. He was looking at Raoul
and Christine.

C hristine was very frightened.

‘Goodbye, Raoul, I must not meet you again,’ she
said. ‘Goodbye!’
T hen she ran away from the young man. She ran
across the roof.
‘C hristine! C h ristin e!’ Raoul shouted. ‘W here are
you going? W hat shall I do?’
Raoul wanted to follow Christine. A nd he wanted
to talk to the tall man in the w hite mask. Was this
man Erik? A nd was Erik the Phantom of the Opera?
Raoul looked around him. C hristine had gone. The
tall man had gone too! Raoul was alone on the roof of
the Opera House.
H e lo ok ed up a t th e stars in th e dark sky. He
remembered the girl on the beach. The young man was
very unhappy.
He walked slowly towards the stairs.

38
 7

The Persian’s Story

I am the Persian.
I will tell you the
second part of this
story. It is the story
of C hristine and
Raoul. But it is
also the story of a
strange man.

I know everybody at the Paris Opera House. A nd I

know the building very well. I helped the architect of
the Opera House. I know all the rooms there, and all
the corridors and all the cellars.
I was a guest at the masked ball. I saw Raoul and
Christine on the roof of the Opera House. I saw C hris-
tine run down the stairs. I saw Raoul walk down the
stairs a few minutes later. I followed Raoul and I spoke
to him.

39
 ‘R aoul,’ I said. ‘You are very unhappy. You are in:
love with Christine. You are worried about her. I ana
worried about her too, Raoul.’
‘W ho are you?’ asked Raoul.
‘I am the Persian,’ I said. ‘You have seen me in the
Opera House before.’
I took off my mask.
‘A h, yes,’ Raoul said. ‘Yes, the Persian. I have seenj
you at the Opera House. W hat do you want?’
‘I want to help you,’ I said.
‘How? A nd why do you w ant to help me?’ Raoul
asked.
‘There is great danger for C hristine,’ I said.
‘W hat is the danger?’ Raoul asked. ‘Tell me, please!’
‘C hristine has a teacher,’ I said. ‘His name is Erik.’
‘C h ristin e told me about him . But who is Erik?’j
Raoul asked.
‘I cannot tell you all of Erik’s story,’ I said. ‘Erik has;
a secret. Once, C hristine had a secret too. But Erik’s
secret is not C hristine’s secret.’
‘I do not understand,’ said Raoul.
‘Erik’s face is Erik’s secret,’ I said. ‘A nd once, C hris-
tin e could sing only for Erik. T h a t was C h ris tin e ’s ^
secret. But now, she can sing for everybody. A nd there
is danger for her. We must help her!’
‘W hat shall we do?’ Raoul asked.
‘We must take C hristine away from Paris,’ I said. I
‘We must take h er away tomorrow. We must leave
tomorrow night - after the performance. I will talk to j

40
Christine.’
I looked at Raoul’s face. He did not believe me. He
walked away.

I am the Persian. I live in Paris now. But I was born in

Tehran, in Persia.
W hy did I come to France? I will tell you about
that. Many years ago, I was following a very strange
man. I followed him from Persia to France.
One evening, ten years ago, I was in Brittany. I was
following the strange man along a beach. I saw him go
into an old church. T hen I saw Raoul and C hristine on
the beach. A nd I saw Philippe and C hristine’s father. I
listened to them.
‘I will send the Angel of Music,’ C hristine’s father
said.

And then Christine heard the sound of a violin.

Is that the Angel of Music?’ she asked.
I heard the sound too. It was coming from the old
cburch. The sound was very, very beautiful. But a man
Was making the sound. He was not an angel!

41
 8

Christine Disappears!

Raoul was an unhappy young man. He was in love. He

did not want my help. But I - the Persian - understood
his problems.
T h e m orning after th e m asked ball, R aoul had
breakfast w ith his brother. He told me about this, the
next day.
‘We will hear C arlotta sing tonight,’ Philippe said.
‘I want to go to the Opera House,’ said Raoul. ‘But I
don’t want to hear C arlotta. I want to hear C hristine.’
‘Do you like C hristine very much?’ Philippe said.
‘Yes,’ Raoul said. ‘I love her, Philippe.’
T h a t ev en in g , th e b ro th e rs w ent to th e O pera
H ouse. T h e re was a huge au d ien c e in th e O p era
House. They were waiting to hear C arlotta. There was
going to be a performance of G ounod’s opera, Faust.
C arlotta was going to sing in this famous opera.
But C arlotta did not sing th at night. C hristine came
onto the stage. A t first, the audience was noisy. The
people asked each other, ‘W here is Carlotta?’ But then
Christine started to sing and the audience was quiet.
They listened to Christine.
C hristine sang beautifully. Her voice was strong and
sweet. Everybody loved her voice. A ll the people in
the audience clapped their hands and they cheered.
Raoul saw C hristine standing on the stage. He saw

42
her beautiful fair hair and her beautiful blue eyes. He
heard her wonderful voice. He loved her!
Soon, C hristine walked to the front of the stage.
She saw Raoul in the audience. She sang for him.
Angel o f heaven, my angel o f light,
Let us stay here on this beautiful night.

Suddenly, there was a loud noise. A nd suddenly,

there was no light in the Opera House. The stage was
dark. Christine stopped singing. The audience shouted
angrily.

43
 A few m om ents later, th e re was a n o th e r noise.
T hen the stage was bright again. But C hristine was not
on the stage. She had disappeared!
The people in the audience stood up. They started
to shout. The manager stopped the performance. W hat
had happened? W here was Christine? Everybody w ant-
ed to hear her voice. But nobody could find the young
singer.
T he audience started to leave. T he people were
angry. Philippe and Raoul met the manager.
‘W hat has happened?’ Philippe asked him.
‘W here is Christine?’ Raoul asked.
‘I do not know,’ the manager replied. He was very
worried. ‘C hristine has disappeared. She is not in the
Opera House. I have sent for the police.’

Raoul and Philippe went home. Later, some policemen

arrived at the Opera House. They talked to the m an-
ager. They talked to the ticket-sellers. They talked to
the singers and the dancers. But they did not talk to me.

44
 The policemen asked many questions. They walked
through all the corridors of the O pera House. They
went into all the rooms. They went into some of the
cellars. Two hours passed. But the policemen did not
find Christine.

‘She has run away,’ said a singer.

‘She has a young friend,’ said a dancer.
‘Yes, his name is Raoul,’ said Madame Richard. ‘He
lives in Paris. He lives w ith his brother.’
‘Yes! R aoul has ru n away w ith C h r is tin e ,’ said
another singer.
Raoul had no t run away. He was at his b ro th e r’s
house. But Christine was not there. A nd Raoul was a
very unhappy young man.

45
 9

Under the Opera House

I am the Persian. I know the secrets of the Paris Opera

House. A nd I know the secret of the Phantom of the
O pera. Do you believe me? A t first, R aoul did n o t
believe me.
C hristine disappeared from the O pera House. She
was singing in Faust, but she disappeared! T hat night,
the policemen went into all the rooms and corridors of
the Opera House. They went into some of the cellars.
They did not find Christine. But they did not know
the building well. They did not know about the trap-
doors. A nd they did not know about the cellars on the
other side of the lake! Soon, I will tell you about the
trapdoors and the cellars and the lake.
T he policem en did n ot find C hristine. T he next
morning, I sent a note to Raoul. I waited for him. He
came to my house in the afternoon.
‘W here is Christine?’ he asked. ‘Is she here?’
‘She is with Erik,’ I said. ‘She is w ith the Phantom
of the O pera.’
‘Will you take me to her?’ Raoul asked.
‘Yes, Raoul,’ I replied. ‘Come with me to the Opera
House. We will find C hristine.’

I took Raoul to the Opera House. We went behind the

stage. We went into C hristine’s dressing-room.

46
 ‘There are many secrets in the Opera House,’ I said.
‘Here is one of the secrets.’
I w alked up to th e large m irro r on th e w all. I
touched the side of the mirror. The mirror was also a
door. The door opened! Behind it, there was a dark
corridor.

‘Four days ago, C h ristin e disappeared from this

room,’ Raoul said. ‘I was here with her.’
He pointed at the chair in a corner of the room. ‘I
was sitting there,’ Raoul said. ‘C hristine disappeared. I
did not understand. But I understand now. The mirror
is a door. C hristine went behind that mirror.’
‘There are many strange doors in the Opera House,’
I said. ‘A nd there are many trapdoors - doors in the
floors. There is a trapdoor in the floor of Box Number
5- Erik goes to his box every evening through th a t
trapdoor.’

47
 ‘A nd there are .trapdoors on the stage,’ I said. ‘Last
night, Christine disappeared through a trapdoor in the
floor of the stage.’
‘Did Erik - the Phantom - take C hristine away?’
Raoul asked slowly.
‘Yes,’ I said. ‘But Erik is not a ghost. Erik is a m an.’
I took a lamp from the table. I lit the lamp and I
walked into the dark corridor behind the mirror. Raoul
followed me.
We came to some stairs. We stopped for a moment
and we listened. We heard nothing! T hen we walked
down the stairs and we walked along some more dark
corridors. T h e n we w alked dow n some m ore dark
stairs. We went down and down. We went very deep
below the Opera House.
‘Erik lives here, under the Opera House,’ I said. ‘We
m ust be careful, Raoul. T here are trapdoors in the
floors. Sometimes the trapdoors open suddenly.’
‘W hat do you know about Erik?’ Raoul asked.
‘Erik has a terrible secret,’ I said. ‘But he is a strange
and clever man. In my country, we called him the
Prince of Trapdoors.’
‘W hy did you give him th at name?’ asked Raoul.
‘O nce, Erik was a famous architect,’ I said. ‘Many
years ago, he lived in Persia. He worked for the King of
Persia. Erik was the architect of the famous Palace of
Mazenderan in Persia. T hat building has many secrets
too! There are many secret rooms and secret corridors.
There are many secret doors and trapdoors.’
 ‘W hy did Erik come to France?’ asked Raoul.
‘He was unhappy in Persia,’ I said. ‘He finished his
work at the Palace of Mazenderan. He wanted to leave
Persia. He w anted to com e to Paris. But th e King
wanted him to stay in Persia. Erik ran away. T he King
was angry.’
‘A nd why did you come here?’ Raoul asked.
‘The King of Persia sent me to France,’ I said. ‘He
s a i d to me, “Find Erik! Erik knows all my secrets. Find

him - then kill him !” I left Persia and I followed Erik.’

‘But you haven’t killed him ,’ Raoul said.
‘No, I haven’t killed him ,’ I answered. ‘Erik is very
clever. But he is very unhappy. I know Erik’s secret.
And I am sorry for him .’
‘W hy has he taken C hristine away?’ Raoul asked.
‘Erik is a wonderful musician,’ I said. ‘A nd he is a
wonderful teacher. He taught C hristine about singing.
But he taught her too well. Soon, she will be a famous
singer. Once, she sang only for Erik. Now, she will sing
for other people. Erik is unhappy about that. Erik loves
C hristine.’
‘But I love C hristine too,’ Raoul said. ‘I must take
her away from Erik.’
‘Erik wants her to stay with him ,’ I said. ‘O nce Erik
was her only friend. She sang only for him. But last
night, she sang for you. Erik is very angry!’
‘Does C h ris tin e w ant to stay w ith Erik?’ R aoul
asked.
‘We will ask her that question soon,’ I replied.

49
 , 10

The Lake and the Tree

I am the Persian. I know all the secrets of the Opera

House. I know all the stairs and corridors under the
stage. Raoul walked behind me. But our journey was
dangerous. T he light from my lamp was not bright. We
walked through many dark places.
A fte r te n m in utes, we were in th e deep cellars
under the Opera House.
O n the sixth floor below the ground, we came to a
very large cellar. The scenery for the operas was in this
cellar. There was a huge grey castle. It was made of
wood. There were wooden statues of horses and kings.
T here was a garden of red paper flowers and green
wooden trees.
‘The policemen came to this cellar,’ I said to Raoul.
‘They did not find C hristine here. T hen they turned
round. They went back to the stage. But we must go
o n.’
We w alked to th e o th e r end of the large cellar.
T here was a door in the wall. But the door was two
metres above the floor. We walked up some stairs to
this door.
‘Here is the lake,’ I said.
I opened the door and we looked into the
next cellar. We could not see the floor of
that cellar. It was covered by water.

50
The water came up to the bottom of the door. I held up
the lamp. Raoul looked round the huge cellar.
‘The cellar is a lake,’ I said. ‘The water is about two
metres deep.’
‘W here has all the water come from?’ asked Raoul.
‘The water comes from a river,’ I said. ‘Now we must
cross the lake!’
There was a small boat near the door. Raoul and I
got into the boat and I rowed the boat across the lake.
‘Have you been here before?’ Raoul asked me.
‘I have been here once before,’ I replied.
‘I tried to find Erik. But he was
not at hom e.’
 O n the other side of the lake, there was another
door. The bottom ‘of the door was a few centim etres
above the water. I rowed the boat to the door. I opened
the door and we got out of the boat. We went through
the door and we walked along a short corridor. T hen
we went up some stairs. We walked into another large
cellar.
‘We must be quiet now, Raoul,’ I said. ‘We are close
to Erik’s house. It is in on the fifth floor below the
ground.’
‘A nd where is Christine?’ Raoul asked.
‘She is in Erik’s house,’ I said. ‘D on’t worry about
Christine, Raoul. Erik will not hurt Christine. We will
see her very soon. But we will not go to the front door
of Erik’s house.’
I found a trapdoor in the floor. I opened it and I
looked into a dark hole in the floor.
‘We must go down there, R aoul,’ I said. ‘T here is
another cellar down there. We will go through th a t
cellar. T h en we will go up through a trapdoor into
Erik’s house. I will go first. Hold the lamp, please.’
I sat on the edge of the hole and I put my feet and
legs through into the darkness. T hen I jumped down
into the hole. I jumped onto a stone floor.
‘Give me the lamp,’ I called to Raoul. ‘The hole is
not deep. You must jump down.’
A few moments later, we were both standing on the
stone floor.
Suddenly, there was a noise above our heads. I held

52
up the lamp. Somebody had closed the trapdoor!
‘Erik saw us coming,’ I said. ‘We must be very care-
ful now, Raoul.’
We looked around us. We were in a small cellar.
There was a metal ladder on the wall at the other side
of the cellar. Above the ladder there was another trap-
door. Q uietly, we clim bed the ladder. I opened the
trapdoor and we climbed up through it.

53
 We came up into a very strange room. T he room
was circular. T here were many mirrors on the wall.
There was a metal tree in the middle of the room. A nd
there was a dead man hanging from the tree! There
was a rope round his neck.
We walked towards the tree. I looked at the dead
man. I knew him.
‘This is terrible!’ I said to Raoul. ‘This man was one
of the musicians in the orchestra. He disappeared a
week ago. Erik has killed this musician. Now 1 under-
stand. Erik is mad!’
T h e re was a loud n oise b e h in d us. W e tu rn e d
round quickly. Somebody had closed the trapdoor in
the floor!
I ran to the trapdoor and I tried to open it. But it
was locked!
I looked round the room. I looked at the mirrors on
the walls. In every mirror, I saw Raoul and myself. A nd
in every mirror, I saw the metal tree and the dead man!
We could not leave the terrible room of mirrors.
We went to the metal tree. Raoul cut the rope and I
laid the dead man on the ground.
T hen I looked up. There was a metal grille in the
ceiling of the circular room. There was a trapdoor in
this metal grille. It was two metres above our heads.
We could not touch it.
Light was coming through the metal grille. It was
the light of gas lamps.
‘We are in Erik’s house,’ I said quietly. ‘He is in the

54
room above us.’
We looked up through the grille. We saw the wall of
the room above us. There were two strange handles on
the wall. They were large, metal handles. O ne handle
had the shape of a bird with huge wings - an eagle.
The other handle had the shape of a fish.
There were noises in the room above us. Suddenly,
two people were looking down at us. They were look-
ing down through the grille. O ne of them was a tall
man. He was wearing a black cloak and a white mask.
The other person was a beautiful young woman.

55
 ‘C hristine!’ Raoul called out. ‘C hristine!’
C h ristine looked down through the m etal grille.
She said nothing.
‘C hristine,’ Raoul called again. ‘W ho is this man?’
He pointed at the tall man.
I answered Raoul’s question. I spoke to the man in
the white mask.
‘Erik!’ I shouted. ‘You are mad! We want to leave
this house. A nd we want to take C hristine with us!’
‘No, Persian! You cannot leave,’ said Erik. ‘I must
kill you both! C hristine will stay here. She is mine.
Christine loves me.’
‘Christine, is this true?’ Raoul shouted. ‘Do you love
that man? Tell me, C hristine!’
Erik started to laugh. We heard the laughter of a
madman!
‘Is it h o t in th a t room?’ he asked. His voice was
cruel and mad.
W hat was the meaning of Erik’s words? I was afraid!
Suddenly, Raoul walked to one of the mirrors. He
touched it quickly.
‘The mirrors are h o t!’ he said.
T hen I understood Erik’s question. The mirrors were
very hot. T he room was very hot. T he mirrors were
heating the room. We could not breathe easily. Raoul
and I moved to the centre of the room. But we heard
E rik’s voice th ro u g h th e grille. He was ta lk in g to-
Christine. C hristine was crying.
‘Your friends will die. They will bu rn ,’ said Erik.

56
‘But you can help them, C hristine.’
‘How can I help them?’ asked Christine.
‘You must choose, C hristine,’ Erik said. ‘Choose me
or choose your young lover! You must choose one of us.
And you must choose the eagle or the fish.’
‘I don’t understand you,’ said Christine.
‘Look at the handles on the wall,’ Erik said. ‘T he
handles bring fire and water. You must turn one of the
handles. T he eagle brings fire. The eagle will make the
mirrors hotter. Your friends will die. But they will die
quickly. They will burn!’
‘The fish brings water,’ Erik said. ‘The fish will take
the heat from the mirrors. But the fish has a secret.
Remember, Christine! A fish can breathe under water.
But people cannot breathe under water!’
 11

The Phantom of the Opera

The circular room was terribly hot. The mirrors were

terribly hot. Raoul put his hand on the metal tree. He
screamed. The tree was terribly hot too.
‘C hristine,’ he shouted. ‘We are burning!’
We looked up through the grille again.
‘C hristine,’ Raoul said. ‘Please help us.’
‘Turn the fish!’ Erik said to C hristine. ‘Save your
friends!’
Christine went to the handles on the wall. She put
her hands on the metal fish. She waited for a moment.
Did she believe Erik’s words? Quickly, she turned the
handle. Suddenly, we heard a loud noise.
‘G ood!’ said Erik. ‘Good! But remember my words,
Christine. The fish has a secret!’
A fter a few m om ents, th e room was cooler. We
could breathe easily again.
T hen there was another noise. The trapdoor in our
floor opened. But we could not leave the circular room
through the trapdoor. The cellar under the trapdoor
was full of water. A nd water was coming up through
the trapdoor.
 The water was coming into the circular room very
fast. Soon the water came up to our knees.
‘Stop the water, Erik!’ I shouted.
We heard Erik’s mad laughter again.
‘Christine has saved you from the fire,’ he said. ‘But
I will not save you from the water. You are going to
die!’
‘Erik!’ I shouted. ‘I saved your life - remember that!
The King of Persia said to me, “You must follow Erik.
A nd you must kill him !” But I didn’t kill you, Erik -
remember th a t!’
T he w ater was com ing in to the room faster and
faster. Soon, it came up to our arms. C hristine was cry-
ing loudly.
‘Christine! Please help us!’ Raoul shouted again.
‘Please save them , E rik,’ C h ristin e said. ‘Please,
bring a ladder for them . O pen the trapdoor in this
grille. Let them climb up out of the water.’
Erik said n o th in g . H e was lo o k in g dow n at us
through the grille. T hen he started to laugh again. He
was mad! I was sorry for Erik. I had saved his life. But
he wanted to kill me. He wanted to kill Raoul. He was
going to kill us. T hen he was going to take C hristine
away!
‘C hristine!’ I shouted. ‘Have you seen Erik w ithout
his mask? Have you seen Erik’s face? I have seen it. It is
terrible!’
T he w ater cam e up to our necks. We started to
swim. But our heads touched the grille. More water

60
was coming into the room. In a minute, we were going
to drown.
C hristine had heard my words. Erik was C hristine’s
Angel of Music. But she had never seen his face!
She looked at Erik. She looked at Raoul. A nd she
looked at me.
Suddenly, C h ristin e pulled E rik’s mask from his
face. She looked at his face. I knew about Erik’s face. I
had seen Erik’s face many times. But C h ristin e had
never seen it before! Was she going to scream?
Erik’s face was white. His eyes were dark holes in
the white face. He had no hair. He had no nose. His
face was the face of a dead man! This was Erik’s secret.
C hristine did not scream! She put her hands on her
own face. A nd Erik put his hands on his face too.

‘C h ristin e ,’ Erik said quietly. ‘You have seen my

face. C an you love me?’
‘Yes, I can love you,’ C hristine said. ‘I sang for you.
You were my wonderful teacher. I will always love my
teacher. But I love Raoul too. Please, Erik, save Raoul
and the Persian.’

61
 Erik looked at Christine. Suddenly he opened the
trapdoor in the grille.
‘I am doing this for C hristine!’ Erik shouted.
He held my hand and he pulled me up in to the
room above. I turned round and I pulled Raoul from
the water. I pulled him into the room.
Raoul went to Christine. He held her in his arms.
Erik was standing next to the grille. T he water was
coming through the grille. It was coming into the room
very fast. Soon, the water came over our feet.
Erik was talking to himself. ‘W e’ll go away,’ he said.
‘W e’ll leave Paris. C hristine and I will be happy. I have
never been happy before.’
‘C om e,’ I said to Raoul and C hristine. ‘We must
leave quickly. We cannot stop the water. Erik is mad.’
Raoul and I followed Christine to some stairs. We
ran up these stairs. Behind us, we heard the sound of
the water. A nd we heard the sound of a violin. It was a
sad and beautiful sound. I had heard th a t sound ten
years before. I had heard it on a sandy beach in Brit-
tany. C hristine had heard the sound too.
A t the top of the stairs, we stopped for a moment. I
looked back.
The strange, unhappy man was playing his violin.
The water was still coming into the room. It had come
up to Erik’s arms. He looked up at me and I saw his ter-
rible face again.

62
 A m om ent later, the sound of the violin stopped.
The Phantom of the Opera was dead!

Raoul and C h ristin e and I w alked up th ro u g h th e

rooms of Erik’s strange house. We found some more
stairs. We climbed up and up. A t last, we came out
onto the roof of the Opera House. Above us, we saw
the stars in the dark sky.

63