Batman Begins

Batman Begins
CHAPTER 1
THE BLUE FLOWER
Bruce Wayne was in prison in Bhutan, a country far
away from his home in Gotham City in America.
One day, he was waiting for breakfast with all the other
prisoners. They stood in lines. After a long time, Bruce got
his plate of horrible
food. He took the
plate and walked to a
table. A very big man
stood in front of him.
‘Give me your
food,’ said the man.
‘No,’ Bruce said.
The man hit Bruce
in the face. Bruce
dropped his plate and
fell to the floor. When
he got up, there were
seven big men in front
of him. Two of them
took Bruce by the
arms. He used his legs
– hard – and they fell.
Then –
CRRAAACCCCK!
At the sound of the gun, all the prisoners quickly got
down on the floor. A prison officer took Bruce’s arm.
6
‘You’re coming with me,’ he said.
‘Why?’ asked Bruce. ‘So I’m safe?’
‘No,’ said the officer. ‘So they’re safe!’
The officer pushed Bruce into a room and closed the

door with a bang. It was very dark in the room, but Bruce
saw that he was not alone. There was a man in the corner.
He didn’t look like a prisoner. He wore good clothes.
‘My name is Ducard,’ he said. ‘I work for Rā’s al Ghūl.
Do you know him?’
‘Is he a criminal?’ Bruce asked.
‘He is not a criminal,’ said Ducard. ‘He is a great man
with very clever ideas. He knows that you’re in trouble,
Mr Wayne. He wants to help you.’
Ducard walked to the door and shouted. The officer
came and opened it. Ducard turned to Bruce.
‘There is a very special flower,’ he said. ‘It grows on the
mountain near here. It’s blue. Find it and take it to the top
of the mountain. There you will find the answer to your
question.’
‘And what is my question?’ asked Bruce.
‘”Where am I going?”’ said Ducard. And he left.
‘Why is Ducard interested in me? How does he know

about me?’ Bruce asked himself. He sat on the hard bed
and began to think about his life. He remembered that
terrible day in Gotham many years ago.
He is a little boy. He is playing with his friend, Rachel. They are

running in the garden at his home, Wayne Manor. There is an
old well in the garden. Bruce climbs onto the well and laughs.
‘Look at me, Rachel, I’m –’
7
Suddenly he isn’t laughing. He’s shouting.
‘Help! Help! I’m falling –’
And he falls down and down and down into the dark well.
He hits the floor with a bang!
‘Agh! My leg!’ he cries. It feels terrible.
Then he hears some strange sounds. He isn’t alone in the well!
Help! What is it? He looks up and sees a cloud of terrible black
things. Bats! They are flying towards him and into him. Their
teeth are like knives. He thinks he is going to die. He makes
himself into a ball and shouts. ‘Help! Help!’ Then everything
goes black.
The next thing he remembers … he is in bed.

The only person in the bedroom with him is Alfred. Alfred has
always worked for the Wayne family.
‘You had a very bad fall, Master Bruce,’ says Alfred. ‘But you’re
going to be OK.’ Alfred waits for a moment, then he asks, ‘Why
do we fall, Master Bruce?’
Bruce knows the answer, but he can’t remember it.
‘I can’t remember,’ says Bruce. ‘Tell me.’
‘We fall,’ says Alfred with a smile, ‘so that we can learn to get
up again.’
8
Bruce started to climb the mountain. He found the blue
flower easily. He climbed higher. Up and up he went. It
got colder and colder. Soon he was walking on ice. It
started to snow heavily. Bruce was cold and unhappy. And
very tired.
‘I have to get to the top,’ he thought, ‘but I don’t know
if I can.’
Then at last he saw a big building. He pushed open the
heavy door and went in.
Rā’s al Ghūl was sitting in a big chair. Ducard was next
to him. And there was a line of Ninjas with swords in their
hands … ready to fight.
Bruce was frightened. He quickly showed them the blue
flower in his hand. Ducard took the flower.
9
‘Are you ready to start?’ he asked.
‘Ready? Oh no,’ Bruce said, ‘I’m so tired.’
Ducard threw him to the floor. ‘You must always be
ready,’ he said. ‘Here we will teach you to be ready.’
One day, Ducard said to Bruce, ‘You’re not frightened of

me, are you, Bruce? What are you frightened of?’
‘Bats,’ answered Bruce, and he told Ducard about the
bats in the well. ‘My father told me something important
about the bats in the well.’ He said, “The bats flew at you
because they were frightened of you. All things are
frightened of something, even scary things like bats.” I
didn’t know that. My father was very clever. I loved him
very much. But soon after that, he died. A criminal killed
both my parents. His name was Joe Chill.’
10
It’s the evening. They are at a play. Suddenly there are bats in
the show. They fly around above the singers and dancers. Bruce
is frightened, so they leave early. But in the street outside, there
is a man with a gun. He wants money. He takes their money but
he wants more. And then – BANG! – he fires his gun. Bruce’s
mother shouts. Bruce’s father falls to the floor. BANG! He fires
again. Bruce’s mother falls to the floor. This is the worst moment
of Bruce’s life. And it is all his fault.
‘It wasn’t your

fault, Bruce,’
said Ducard.
‘You were very
young.’
He was giving
Bruce a lesson
on a river. It was
thick ice. They
were fighting
with swords.
‘You must
always look very
carefully at the
things around
you, Bruce,’ said
Ducard.
Suddenly he hit
the ice with his
sword.
CRRAAACCCCK!
The ice broke and Bruce crashed into the black water
below.
11
Bruce had lessons with Ducard for many months. He
learned to fight with his hands and his feet. He learned to
fight with a sword and climb tall buildings quickly and
quietly. He learned many things. But most of all he learned
to use his ears and eyes, and he learned how to think
quickly.
‘It’s time to test you,’ said Ducard one day. ‘Today you
must fight all the Ninjas.’
So Bruce fought all the Ninjas with his sword. It was a
very long fight, but in the end he won.
‘You fight very well now,’ said Ducard. ‘I think you are
ready.’
12

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Why was Bruce in prison in Bhutan?

What did Ducard want Bruce to do and why?

The officer pushed Bruce into a room and closed the

‘Why is Ducard interested in me? How does he know

He is a little boy. He is playing with his friend, Rachel. They are

The next thing he remembers … he is in bed.

One day, Ducard said to Bruce, ‘You’re not frightened of

‘It wasn’t your

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