4. We the People

4 We the People Stanley spotted a pair of police officers strolling toward him. He looked around for a place to hide before he was spotted. Then he saw it: a big framed poster, taller than he was, hung on a side of the building. It showed a crowd of smiling people of every possible shape and shade, wearing traditional garb from all over the world. At the top were the words WE THE PEOPLE. Stanley leaped up and balanced inside the frame, plastering his face into a smile. He silently apologized to the white-bearded rabbi he was covering. The police officers were right in front of him! Their walkie-talkies crackled. "Calling all forces! National hero misplaced. Description: eleven years old, less than one inch

thick, brown hair. Possible kidnapping." "Let's go!" said one of the officers, and they raced away. Stanley allowed himself a sigh of relief… until he noticed two men on the other side of the boulevard. They were both wearing dark suits and sunglasses, and they were staring right at him. They started crossing the street, weaving between cars, their pace quickening. A chill went down Stanley's body. Kidnappers! he thought.

At that moment, a crowd of people came marching down the sidewalk, chanting, "Change the law! Do what's right! Truth and justice must unite!" The two men were pushing their way through the crowd. A placard held high by a marcher, reading AND JUSTICE FOR ALL, slid before Stanley's eyes. He jumped for it. Hanging off the back of the sign, Stanley glanced back. The two men were spinning in circles in front of the WE THE PEOPLE poster, wondering where he had gone. I need a disguise, Stanley thought. A block later, Stanley dived into a recycling bin full of newspapers. He started shoving crumpled-up handfuls of newsprint under his shirt and into the legs of his pants. He'd learned in school how to fold boat-shaped hats out of newspaper, and now he made one and put it on his head. A tour group was gathered on the giant steps of a building nearby. Stanley rustled up to the back of the group, trying to blend in. "Many of the most important buildings in Washington were burned during the War of

Eighteen-twelve," the tour guide was saying. "The Library of Congress was mostly destroyed, as was the Capitol. It is said that the smoke could be seen as far away as Baltimore. Even the White House was ruined—but not before a life-size portrait of George Washington was cut out of its frame and sneaked to safety. "We are all very lucky that the most important documents in our nation's history weren't lost during the burning of Washington. Let's go inside the National Archives and see them."

In a grand room with very high ceilings, Stanley bent over a large piece of yellow parchment, crowded with script. It was the Declaration of Independence, dated July 4, 1776. The tour guide said it was written by Thomas Jefferson. John Hancock's very fancy signature stood out among the names of all the people who had signed at the bottom. The tour guide said that when people first came to America, many of them just wanted to be themselves without getting into trouble. They wanted the right to be different, and that was the first thing that the Declaration of Independence declared: that all people are equal and entitled to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. In the same room, Stanley saw the Constitution, which set up how the government worked: The president ran things, Congress made laws, and a Supreme Court made tough decisions. The building also had the Bill of Rights, which were the first laws to get passed and are still the most important ones. Right at the beginning, in the First Amendment, there was freedom of speech, freedom of religion, and the freedom to protest.

"Excuse me," a small voice said. Stanley turned to see two girls staring at him, holding big, colorful guidebooks. "My name is Sook-ying and this is my sister, Cho. We are from South Korea. Are you Flat Stanley?" "No," Stanley lied. The girl frowned. "Your head is flat," she said. "Please, we are big fans. May I take a picture with you?" At least it's okay to be different in America, Stanley thought. He put a crinkly, newspaper-filled arm around the girl and smiled. Just as the camera flashed, Stanley saw two men in black suits and sunglasses appear in the doorway to the giant room: the kidnappers! Stanley turned his back and bent his head close to the girls. "I need your help," he whispered. A moment later, Stanley spied the men in black as they kicked a mound of scrunched-up newspaper on the floor next to the Bill of Rights. He watched them as he escaped, sticking out of Sook-ying's backpack, folded up to look like a guidebook.