EDITH NESBIT The Railway Children

The Railway Children
Student’s Book
by Edith Nesbit adapted by H. Q. Mitchell - Marileni Malkogianni

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Produced in the EU

ISBN: 978-960-478-297-0

C2007006542-17884

Introduction

Edith Nesbit (1858-1924) was an English author and poet. She is most famous for her children’s books. Her biographer Julia Briggs said that Nesbit “was the first modern writer for children.” Amongst her most well-known books are The Story of the Treasure Seekers (1898), The Wouldbegoods (1899), Five Children and It (1902), The Phoenix and the Carpet (1904), The Story of the Amulet (1906), The Railway Children (1906), The Enchanted Castle (1907) and many more.

Nesbit was born in Kennington, Surrey. Her father died before her fourth birthday and then the family started moving from place to place, trying to find a better climate to help her sister Mary’s poor health. They lived in various places in England, France, Spain and Germany, before they returned to England. When they got back, they spent three years at Halstead Hall in Kent, and that place most probably inspired The Railway Children. Nesbit dedicated her book to her eldest son, Paul.

The Railway Children is the story of Bobbie, Peter and Phyllis. When their father suddenly goes away (later they find out that he was in prison because somebody falsely accused him of treason) the family has to leave their London house and go live in the country. Their new house is near the railway and the children have a lot of adventures as they explore the place.

The Dreyfus Affair, a famous case at the time, was definitely an inspiration for the father’s story in the book. Also, Peter Kropotkin and Sergius Stepniak, both Nesbit’s friends in London, were probably her models for the Russian man’s story. There have been many film and television adaptations of the book. The most famous are a 1970 film by Lionel Jeffries and the 2000 TV adaptation of The Railway Children.

Contents

1. Chapter 1........................................................... 4
2. Chapter 2........................................................... 7
3. Chapter 3........................................................... 12
4. Chapter 4........................................................... 16
5. Chapter 5........................................................... 19
6. Chapter 6........................................................... 22
7. Chapter 7........................................................... 26
8. Chapter 8........................................................... 30
9. Chapter 9........................................................... 33
10. Chapter 10.......................................................... 36
11. Activity Section
12. Chapter 1........................................................... 40
13. Chapter 2........................................................... 42
14. Chapter 3........................................................... 44
15. Chapter 4........................................................... 46
16. Chapter 5........................................................... 48
17. Chapter 6........................................................... 50
18. Chapter 7........................................................... 52
19. Chapter 8........................................................... 54
20. Chapter 9........................................................... 56
21. Chapter 10.......................................................... 58

chapter 1

T hey were not railway children at first. They lived with their Mother and Father in a beautiful red-brick home in London. Roberta, the oldest, was a very sweet child. Everybody called her Bobbie. Peter, the middle child, wanted to be an engineer when he grew up. The youngest child, Phyllis, was always trying to be good but was always a bit clumsy. Peter’s favourite toy was a train engine. He loved it more than anything else. One day, however, his toy engine broke, and Peter was very sad. “Don’t worry, my dear,” Mother told Peter. “Father will fix your toy engine when he comes home tonight.” In the evening, Father arrived and Peter ran straight to him. “Oh, Father, can you please help me fix my toy engine?” Peter asked right away. “Hmmm,” Father said while looking at the engine, “Of course I can help you. Let us wait until Saturday afternoon, and we will fix the engine together!” Then, suddenly, there was a knock on the door. Ruth, the housemaid answered the door, and told Father that two gentlemen wanted to speak with him. Father went to speak to the gentlemen and after awhile, Ruth returned and called Mother into the study. The children were very curious. They heard the gentlemen talking with Father and Mother. Then, they heard the sound of boots walking down the steps and out of the front door. A little later, Mother came into the room. She was very pale, and her eyes were red. “It’s bedtime children,” she said. “Ruth will put you to bed.” “But you promised we could stay up late tonight with Father,” said Peter. “Father had to go away… on business,” said Mother. “Come, darlings, go at once.” The three children were wondering what was the matter, but they kissed her and went to sleep. Mother looked very sad and they didn’t

want to upset her more. The next day, Mother was out all day until seven in the evening. When she had her cup of tea, she said, “My darlings, I want to tell you something. Those men last night did bring very bad news, and Father has to be away for some time. I am very worried about it, and I want you all to help me, and not make things harder for me.” The children agreed, because they did not want to see Mother looking so sad. The days passed, and Mother was always out. Ruth had to leave and Aunt Emma came to help out at home. She was very strict and the children did not like her very much, so they didn’t spend a lot of time with her. Then one day, Mother announced to the children that they would be moving to a new house. “My dears, everything is settled. We are going to leave this house and go live in the country,” she told them. Days of packing followed. When everything was ready, they all took a cab to the railway station, and Aunt Emma waved goodbye to them. The children were quite sad to leave their home in London, but they were also very excited about their new life in the country

chapter 2

Mother, Bobbie, Phyllis, and Peter arrived at the Three Chimneys, the country house, late in the evening. They were all very tired and hungry. “Well, here we are,” said Mother. “Now let us find some candles and see if there is any food.” The children lit candles and looked around. It was a small house, with very simple furniture - nothing like their old home in London. The children looked in the kitchen and they looked in the dining room, but there was nothing for dinner. “Oh well,” said Mother. “Maybe Mrs Viney forgot about it.” “Who’s Mrs Viney?” asked Bobbie. “She’s a woman from the village. She’s going to help me with the house,” answered Mother. “What are we going to eat now?” asked Peter. “I’m hungry!”

“Don’t worry. There are some things from the old house in that box,” said Mother. There were biscuits and dried fruit, a tin of sardines and marmalade. It was a strange dinner, but they all enjoyed it very much. Then they made their beds and went to sleep. “Look, children,” said Mother in the morning. “There’s another room next to the kitchen. And last night’s dinner is in there! We can have it for breakfast.” “There’s cold meat and bread and butter and cheese,” said Bobbie. “And apple pie!” said Peter. “I love apple pie!” After breakfast, Mother went to her room to work. The children looked at each other. “Let’s go outside and explore!” shouted Peter. “That’s a good idea!” said Phyllis. “Let’s go and see the garden!” “Oh, never mind about the garden!” cried Peter. “Let’s go to the railway!” Bobbie and Phyllis liked that idea and followed Peter. They walked to the railway and explored the railway lines. They visited the station and the tunnel, and they saw a lot of interesting things. They even saw a real train coming out of the tunnel. A few more days went by. One very cold morning in June, Mother was in her room, writing. “Oh, Mother,” said Peter. “It is so cold in here! Can we please light a fire?” “My dear Peter,” Mother said. “We cannot light a fire. Coal is very expensive, and we do not have a lot of money now. That is why I am writing. I will try to sell my stories so we can have more money.” Peter said nothing, but he went to his sisters. “Hey listen! I have an idea - I know where we can find some coal. Come on!” he said. Bobbie and Phyllis followed Peter to the railway station, and he took them to a big pile of coal. Peter had brought a small wagon with him, and he started filling it with coal. Suddenly, he heard a noise and a hand grabbed him by the jacket. “Hey you, thief! Stop there!” a voice called out. It was the Station Master. I’m not a thief, sir!” Peter yelled. “I’m a coal miner!”

“A coal miner, eh?” said the man. “Well, this is NOT your coal and stealing is wrong! Now, come on, let’s go to the station!” “Oh, please!” shouted Bobbie, “Not the Police Station!” “Ah, so there are more of you!” shouted the Station Master. “Please, sir,” begged Phyllis. “We did not mean to steal. But Mother said we were too poor to have a fire.” The Station Master looked at the three children. “Hmm… you must be the children from the Three Chimneys,” he said.

“A coal miner, eh?” said the man. “Well, this is NOT your coal and stealing is wrong! Now, come on, let’s go to the station!” “Oh, please!” shouted Bobbie, “Not the Police Station!” “Ah, so there are more of you!” shouted the Station Master. “Please, sir,” begged Phyllis. “We did not mean to steal. But Mother said we were too poor to have a fire.” The Station Master looked at the three children. “Hmm… you must be the children from the Three Chimneys,” he said.

chapter 3

Despite their adventure with the Station Master, the children could not keep away from the railway. One day, they were sitting on a hill near the tunnel, waiting for the 9:15 train to pass. Then, suddenly, they heard a loud noise and saw the train. It looked like a large, loud monster. “Let us call this train the Green Dragon,” said Peter. “It is loud and long, just like a dragon!” “The Green Dragon is going where Father is,” said Phyllis. “Let’s all wave to it as it goes by. It may take our love to Father.” The three children stood up and waved their handkerchiefs to the train. Suddenly, a hand waved back. It was the hand of an old gentleman. From that day on, the children waved to the 9:15 train and the old gentleman always waved back at them. On their way back, they saw the Station Master. “Good morning children,” he said. “Here’s an orange for each of you.” He gave the children the oranges and kept walking. Well, that is strange,” Peter said. “Perhaps he does not remember us from the other day.” “He’s a good fellow, he is,” said a voice from behind. The children turned to look. “I’m Perks, the Porter, nice to meet you,” said a tall, thin man. “Nice to meet you too,” the three children responded. The Porter was a nice man and told them many stories about the railway. The three children liked him very much and they promised to visit him again. The children arrived back home excited and full of stories for Mother. However, they found Mother quite ill. Her head ached, her throat was sore, and her hands were burning hot. “Children, your mother is sick and needs help. I think we must call Dr Forrest,” Mrs Viney said. The doctor came and examined Mother. “Well, your mother has the flu,” he finally said. “Make her some beef tea, and give her milk and soda water. And here’s a list of things

she will need. Now let her rest, and she will be fine in no time.” When the doctor left, Mother told Bobbie, “Dear, we cannot afford all those things the Doctor said. Tell Mrs Viney to make a simple soup and I will be fine.” Bobbie was quite upset by this, but she had an idea. She decided to write to the old gentleman from the 9:15 train, asking for his help. The next morning Bobbie and Peter waited for the Green Dragon to pass. When they saw the train, they held up a sign that said, “LOOK OUT AT THE STATION.” The old gentleman saw the sign, and when the train arrived at the station, Phyllis ran to him and quickly placed a letter in his hand. This is what the letter said: “Dear Mr We Do Not Know Your Name, Mother is ill and we need these things at the end of the letter, but we have no money. Father is away and we do not know anybody here only you, so please help us. Father will pay you when he comes back or Peter will pay you when he is older. We promise. Roberta, Phyllis, Peter” In the evening, there was a knock on the door. It was Perks the Porter. “Hello, children, this package is for you,” he said and left the package on the table. “Oh, look!” Bobbie said as she opened the package. “Everything we asked for is here and even more! We must thank the old gentleman.” A few days later, when the old gentleman looked out of the train he saw the children holding a big sign that said, “SHE IS ALMOST WELL, THANK YOU”. He smiled and waved his handkerchief out of the window

chapter 4

When Mother was well again, she decided to take the train to Maidbridge to take care of some business. At the end of the day, the three children went to the station to wait for their Mother. At the station, they saw a crowd of people gathered around someone or something. “Come on girls!” shouted Peter. “Something’s happened!” and he started running towards the crowd. They all ran down to the platform but there were too many people and the children couldn’t see anything. The Station Master was trying to get rid of the crowd. They heard his voice shouting, “Come on now, move along everyone!” Then, they also heard another voice coming from the centre of the crowd. The voice spoke in a strange language and it belonged to a man with long hair, wild eyes, and dirty, old clothes. “What language is he speaking, sir?” Peter asked the Station Master. “I have no idea,” replied the Station Master. “I have never heard such a language before.” Then Peter had an idea. “Parlez-vous Francais?” he asked the man. The man jumped up, caught Peter’s hands and started talking fast. “What is he saying?” asked the Station Master. “I don’t know,” said Peter. “I’ve already used all the French I know.” “Mother knows French!” cried Bobbie. “And she will be here with the next train from Maidbridge!” she told the Station Master. The Station Master decided to wait for Mother. He took the stranger and the three children into his office and shut the door, leaving the crowd out. When Mother arrived, the strange man rose and bowed to her. Then, Mother spoke in French, and the man replied. He spoke for a long time, and then Mother replied in a soft, kind voice. “Well, what is the problem, ma’am?” the Station Master asked Mother. “Oh,” she said. “This man is Russian, and he has lost his ticket. I’m afraid he is very ill. If you don’t mind, I will take him home with me now.”

The Station Master agreed. “You girls run home and light a fire in the sitting room,” Mother said to Bobbie and Phyllis, “and Peter, you go for the Doctor.” “He needs a lot of rest,” said Dr Forrest. “And let him have a fire at night.” So Mother decided to put the Russian in her bedroom, because it had a fireplace. When the Russian was asleep, she went into the girl’s room. Peter was there too. “Oh, Mother, won’t you tell us what the Russian man told you?” all three children asked at once. “It’s a long story,” she said. “You see, dears, this man is a writer. He wrote a beautiful book because he wanted to help poor people. But some important people did not like it, and sent him to prison. Later, he managed to escape and heard that his wife and children had come to England. He is here looking for them.” “Oh, Mother!” cried Bobbie. “We must help him!” “Yes, dear,” said Mother. “I will write some letters and try to help him find his family. Now, let us all go to sleep and rest.”

chapter 5

The next day, the children went down to the Station, as usual, and met up with Perks, the Porter. “I hear you are taking care of the Russian,” Perks said to the children. “Yes, he is doing better,” Roberta said. “He just needs some rest.” “Well, here are some strawberries from my garden,” Perks said, “Why don’t you take them and give them to the poor man.” The children thanked Perks and brought the strawberries home to the Russian. He liked them so much that he ate them all at once and smiled sweetly at the children. Bobbie, Peter and Phyllis decided to find some other surprise for their Russian friend. So, the next morning, the three children walked towards the railway tracks, where there were many wild cherry trees. They started to pick the fruit, when suddenly, Bobbie heard a noise. “Hush. Stop! What’s that?” she asked.

“Look!” cried Peter, “the tree over there is moving!” and he pointed to the opposite hill. Then, suddenly, more trees started moving down towards the railway tracks, along with stones and rocks. “Oh no! It’s all coming down!” Peter shouted. The three children watched as the rocks and trees fell on the railway tracks. “What a disaster!” Peter yelled. Then he said: “The 11:30 train hasn’t passed yet… We must stop it or there’s going to be a horrible accident!” “But what can we do?” asked Phyllis. “I know!” Bobbie yelled. “We are wearing red petticoats. We can take them off and make flags. We will wave them and make the train stop!” Bobbie and Phyllis took off their petticoats and tied them to sticks. Then, they all waited on top of the hill for the train to pass. Suddenly, they heard the train coming. The three children started to wave their flags, but the train did not stop. Then, Bobbie ran down the hill and onto the tracks. “Don’t stand on the line, Bobbie!” shouted Peter. But she wouldn’t listen. She was waving her flag in front of the tracks, but the train still did not stop. She saw the train coming towards her, and finally the big black engine stopped right in front of her. Bobbie fainted. The engine driver got out and picked her up while Peter and Phyllis came running. “Oh, sir!” cried Peter. “We were trying to stop the train. There was a landslide a little further down and the railway tracks are filled with rocks and trees. We were waving our flags from the hill, but you did not see us, so my sister, Bobbie, came down to the tracks to stop you.” “Oh my! You are very, very brave children! You did a wonderful thing! Now come along, let’s all get back to the Station,” the engine driver said. At the station, everyone was cheering and hugging them and telling them how brave they were. Bobbie felt silly for fainting, but she quickly forgot about it. “Well, children! I am very proud of you all!” the Station Master said, as he hugged them. “You will hear from the Railroad Company about this very soon!”

chapter 6

A few days went by. One morning, a letter came for Peter, Bobbie and Phyllis. The children were very excited because they did not often get letters. The letter read:

When the day came, the children got dressed in their best clothes, with the help of their Mother, and made their way down to the station. There were many people there, and the District Superintendent of the Railway made a speech, along with their old gentleman! Then, the old gentleman gave the children three gold watches with the names Phyllis, Roberta, and Peter written on them. “These are for you, children. They are a thank-you present from the railway,” he said, as the crowd cheered. The children were very, very happy, but Bobbie was thinking about something else. She took the old gentleman aside. “Sir, I would like to thank you very much for your present, but there is something else I would like to say.” “Well then, say it child,” the old gentleman said, in a kind voice. So, Bobbie told him about the Russian and how he was searching for his family. The story made the old gentleman sad. “What is the name of your Russian friend?” he asked. “Mr Szezcpansky,” replied Bobbie. “THAT man?” asked the old gentleman. “I’ve read his book! It’s

a fine book! Well, dear, I will see what I can find out,” he said and patted her on the back. Bobbie smiled and returned home with Peter and Phyllis. About ten days later, the old gentleman visited the Three Chimneys. “Hello there! Well, I came to tell you in person that I have found your friend’s family!” he said to Bobbie when he saw her. “Oh my! Thank you so very much, sir! You are a dear!” she said and hugged him. Bobbie ran to Mother and Mr Szezcpansky to tell them the news. Mr Szezcpansky started to cry out of happiness, and hugged everyone. Then they all helped him gather his things and saw him off at the station. It was hard for the children to say goodbye, but they were happy because their friend was finally going to meet his family.

chapter 7

O ne day, Peter had an idea. “Hey, girls,” he said to Bobbie and Phyllis, “Let’s go down to Canal Bridge and go fishing!” The girls found Peter’s idea exciting, and followed Peter to the bridge. “C’mon girls! Let’s sit here by the river. We will surely catch some fish!” The three children sat down and waited. Suddenly, they heard a shout. “Hey you! Stop that!” The voice came from a man on a barge. The barge came closer and a very large man came out. “You can’t fish here, now move along!” the bargeman said as he stepped off his barge. Roberta and Phyllis were scared and moved away, but Peter stayed. The man pushed Peter aside and shouted to his wife, “Maria, I will be up at the Rose and Crown pub!” A little later, his wife got off the barge. “Don’t be afraid of my husband, Bill,” she told the children. “He won’t be back for another two hours, so you can stay and fish,” she said as she got off the barge and followed her husband. The children decided to listen to Maria and stay and fish. However, they did not catch anything and were getting bored. Suddenly, they saw smoke coming from Bill’s barge. “Oh no!” Bobbie shouted. “The barge is on fire! We have to stop it!” She jumped onto the barge and Peter and Phyllis followed. They heard a dog barking and a baby crying. “Bobbie, you grab the dog and I will find the baby!” Peter shouted as he went into the cabin. “Phyllis, run to the Rose and Crown and call Bill!” Peter found the baby and brought it safely out of the barge. Bobbie also found the dog and carried him off the barge. In a few minutes, Bill and Maria arrived. “Oh! My Reginald Horace!” Maria shouted as she took her baby

from Peter’s arms. “Oh, my dear! You are safe! Oh, and so is Spot!” she said as she looked at the dog. Bill was busy throwing buckets full of water onto the fire. When the fire went out, he looked at the children. “Well, you certainly are heroes. My wife and I thank you very much!” Bill said.

“Oh, yes, you are indeed heroes!” Maria said, as she hugged and kissed Reginald Horace. “Now, you can fish here as much as you like and I will tell all the bargemen to leave you alone!” Bill said, as he patted the three children on the head.

chapter 8

P eter, Bobbie, and Phyllis were very proud of themselves. They told Mother the whole story and she was very pleased. “I’m very proud of you, my dears! As a reward, I want to give you each a little piece of the garden, so you can plant whatever you like!” she said. The children were very happy with their reward and got to work right away. Bobbie was using the rake when Peter grabbed it from her. “Hey! I was using the rake,” said Roberta. “Well, I’m using it now,” said Peter. “But I was using it first!” Bobbie said. They both were pulling at the rake, when suddenly, Bobbie let go of it. Peter fell back with a shout and the rake ended up in his foot. The boy started screaming in pain. Mother heard his screams and came outside. “What on earth happened? Is everything all right?” Mother asked. Then, she looked at Peter. “Oh my! Phyllis, run and call Doctor Forrest!” she said, as she lifted Peter and took him inside. Doctor Forrest came and looked at Peter’s foot. “He will be OK. He just needs to stay in bed for a week,” the Doctor said. Mother thanked the Doctor and walked him out. Bobbie stayed with Peter. “Oh, I’m sorry Peter, please forgive me!” she said to her brother. “I forgive you, silly,” Peter said, “Now let me rest.” Bobbie left, but she wanted to make Peter feel better. Then, she had an idea. She knew that Perks had lots of old magazines and newspapers, so she decided to go down to the station and bring some back for Peter to read. “Well, of course, dear! Anything to make Peter feel better,” Perks said, and he gave her a large pile of newspapers and magazines. But the pile was heavy, and Bobbie had to stop on the way home. She put the newspapers and magazines on the ground and sat down. Then, she looked down at the newspaper on top. It read: “End of

Trial. Verdict. Sentence.” Her father’s name followed by ‘sentenced to five years in prison’. Bobbie ran straight to Mother and showed her the newspaper. “Oh, Mother, is it true?” she sobbed. Mother could not hide the secret from Bobbie any longer. “Yes,” she said. “Father is in prison. That night in London, those men arrested Father. They found some letters in his desk and said he was selling state secrets and that he was a traitor,” Mother said in a soft voice. “Oh, it can’t be true! Father is not a traitor!” Bobbie cried. “No, my dear, he is not. Someone else placed those letters on his desk,” Mother said, as she hugged Bobbie. “Oh, this is really terrible, Mother! Can’t we do anything?” Bobbie asked. “All we can do is be brave and patient, my dear,” Mother said. “Now, go and rest, my sweet, and please, do not tell Peter or Phyllis any of this.” Bobbie went to her room. But she did not sleep. She tried to think of a solution and finally decided to write a letter to the old gentleman. “Maybe he can help Father,” she thought.

chapter 9

Peter soon became well, and Bobbie tried to be brave and patient with her secret. “There’s going to be a paper chase at the railway today, Perks said,” Bobbie told Phyllis and Peter. “Let’s go and see.” The paper chase was exciting. A tall boy, carrying a bag of paper, started to run along the railway lines and then disappeared into the tunnel. As he ran, he left pieces of paper behind. Then, about thirty children appeared and followed the paper trail. The last one was wearing a red shirt. “Come on!” said Peter. “Let’s go and see them come out of the other side of the tunnel!” The three children climbed to the top of the hill. They saw the tall

boy run out of the tunnel, followed by the children. “Wait, someone is missing,” said Peter. “The boy in the red shirt did not come out of the tunnel!” “Maybe you missed him,” Phyllis said, “Now, come on, let’s have something to eat! I’m hungry!” “No, Peter’s right,” said Bobbie. “We must go into the tunnel to look for him!” So the children went into the dark tunnel. “Hello!” Peter shouted, but no one answered. Then, suddenly, they saw the boy in the red shirt lying down next to the railway line. His eyes were closed. “Is he dead?” asked Phyllis. “Don’t be silly,” said Peter. Then the boy groaned and opened his eyes. “I think I broke my leg,” he told them. “It hurts so much!” “Don’t worry, we’ll help you,” said Bobbie. “Peter, go with Phyllis and get some help! I will stay with him.” Peter and Phyllis ran quickly. “What is your name?” Bobbie asked. “Jim,” the boy said quietly. “And yours?” he asked. “Roberta,” she said. “But everybody calls me Bobbie. Now stay still, Jim.” “You’re a good little nurse, Bobbie,” said Jim and smiled. About an hour later, Peter and Phyllis returned with some farmers and they carried Jim home. When Mother saw the hurt boy, she immediately called for the doctor.

chapter 10

“W ell, the lad’s leg is broken. I will set the bone, but he needs to rest for two or three weeks,” Dr Forrest told Mother after examining Jim. “Well, children,” Mother said to Bobbie, Peter and Phyllis when the doctor left. “I think we must write to Jim’s grandfather. Jim told me he lives with him.” “Oh, Mother, can’t Jim stay here?” Peter asked. “My sisters are OK, but I miss having a boy around the house!” “Dear Peter, I guess he could, but we do not have much money and I cannot give Jim everything he will need,” Mother responded in a kind tone. Peter was sad, but he was happy that Jim could stay, if only for a little bit. After a couple of days, there was a knock on the door and Mother answered it. “Children! Jim’s grandfather is here. He wants to see you!” Mother called to the children from the dining room. Bobbie, Peter and Phyllis quickly ran down to meet the man. They looked at him and could not speak - it was their old gentleman! After a while, Bobbie yelled, “Oh, it’s you! How do you do, sir?” “Very, well, young lady,” the old gentleman said. “Your Mother agreed to let Jim stay here until he is better. I will give her some money to take care of my Jim. She is a very sweet lady!” “Oh, thank you!” Peter shouted, and smiled at the old gentleman. Bobbie walked the old gentleman to the front door. “You’re a good child, my dear - I got your letter,” he told her. “I’m trying very hard to help your father.” “Oh, thank you so very much, sir,” she said and a tear ran down her cheek. More days went by. Jim was getting better and the children spent a lot of time with him. One day, Bobbie said, “We haven’t waved at the 9:15 train for three days. How is it going to take our love to Father?” So the three children went down to the railway and waited for

the 9:15 train. When it finally arrived, the strangest thing happened; when they waved at it, everybody on the train waved back at them! The children were very surprised. “How extraordinary!”said Peter. “Yes,” said Bobbie. “It’s as if something is going to happen.” A little later, Bobbie decided to go to the station. “Hello, missy!” said Perks with a smile. “Did you read it in the paper?” “Read WHAT in the paper?” Bobbie shouted, but Perks disappeared as the 11:45 train arrived at the station.

Then, she knew. She saw him from a distance and could not believe her eyes. “Daddy! Daddy! My Daddy!” she screamed and ran towards her Father. “My sweet little girl! What would I do without you? You and your old gentleman! They have caught the man that did this to me, and now I am free!” he said as he hugged Bobbie tightly. “Oh, Father! I’m so happy! We have all missed you so much! Come on! Come on! Let’s go home,” she said, taking her father by the hand and leading him to the Three Chimneys.

chapter 1 Comprehension Vocabulary

Follow-up activities

chapter 2 Comprehension

Vocabulary Follow-up activities

chapter 3 Comprehension Vocabulary

Follow-up activities

chapter 4 Comprehension Vocabulary

Follow-up activities

chapter 5 Comprehension Vocabulary

Follow-up activities

chapter 6 Comprehension Vocabulary

Follow-up activities

chapter 7 Comprehension Vocabulary

Follow-up activities

chapter 8 Comprehension Vocabulary

Follow-up activities

chapter 9 Comprehension Vocabulary

Follow-up activities

chapter 10 Comprehension Vocabulary

Follow-up activities