There were three children: Roberta (Bobbie), 12, Peter, 10 and Phyllis, 8. Bobbie was a friendly girl with long brown hair and blue eyes. She was clever and pretty. Peter had blond hair and blue eyes and wanted to be an engineer. Sometimes he did not get on with his sisters. Phyllis was their little sister with red hair and green eyes. She always wanted to play with Bobbie and Peter. They were lucky children because they had pretty clothes, lots of toys and a friendly nanny.
They lived with their mother and father in a beautiful house near London. They were a happy family. Their mother played with them and read them stories that she wrote. Their father worked in a government office. He was never angry and always had time for them.
Of course I can,' he said, smiling.Just then someone knocked at the door. Two men wanted to see father and mother. The children could hear them talking. The men were angry. When mother came back to the sitting room, her face was white and her eyes were red from crying.
`Father must go away on business,' she said. 'That's all I can tell you'.
The children did not ask her any questions because she looked very unhappy.
`This is terrible,' said Bobbie, when they were in bed. 'Father is going away and we don't know why.'
The children were very sad.
The next day Father was not there and mother went out.
`Something's wrong,' said Peter, 'very wrong.'`Yes, but what?' asked Bobbie and Phyllis.
Mother came home very late and she was tired and sad. The next morning she was ill and stayed in bed.
One morning she came to breakfast. Her face was white but she tried to smile.
`Children, listen to me carefully,' she said. 'Father is not coming home for a long time. We can't live here anymore. We must go and live in a little house in the country. Life in the country is great fun for children. Tomorrow we can start packing.'
`Packing?' asked Peter. 'That's exciting.'
like a game,' said Phyllis happily.
Bobbie looked at her mother's face and knew it was not a game.
`How brave mother is,' she thought. 'But where's father?'
`Father must go away on business,' she said. 'That's all I can tell you'.
The children did not ask her any questions because she looked very unhappy.
`This is terrible,' said Bobbie, when they were in bed. 'Father is going away and we don't know why.'
The children were very sad.
The next day Father was not there and mother went out.
`Something's wrong,' said Peter, 'very wrong.'`Yes, but what?' asked Bobbie and Phyllis.
Mother came home very late and she was tired and sad. The next morning she was ill and stayed in bed.
One morning she came to breakfast. Her face was white but she tried to smile.
`Children, listen to me carefully,' she said. 'Father is not coming home for a long time. We can't live here anymore. We must go and live in a little house in the country. Life in the country is great fun for children. Tomorrow we can start packing.'
`Packing?' asked Peter. 'That's exciting.'
like a game,' said Phyllis happily.
Bobbie looked at her mother's face and knew it was not a game.
`How brave mother is,' she thought. 'But where's father?'
They travelled by train and arrived at their new house at night. It was cold and windy. They followed mother up a dark road.
`Here's the house, she said at last. The house was small and had a garden. It was near the railway. She took the key and opened the door.
The next day the children helped mother clean the house. Late in the afternoon they went to look at the railway. A train went past them and made a loud noise.
`It's like a green dragon,' said Bobbie.`Trains are exciting,' said Peter. 'I love them.'`Is it going to London?' asked Phyllis. 'That's where father is.'`Let's go to the station and ask,' said Peter. They soon arrived at the station and looked around. Everything was interesting: the ticket office, the platform, the waiting room and the porter's room. They saw a big pile of coal 2 behind the station.
The Station Master was friendly and started talking to them.
`What's the coal for?' asked Peter.
The coal makes the train engine move,' said the Station Master.
`What's that white line on the wall above the coal pile?' asked Peter.`When I see the white line, I know I need to have more coal,' he said.
In June it started raining and it was cold.
Can I make a fire, mother?' asked Bobbie.
`No,' mother said, 'coal's very expensive and we don't have much money now. Go and run around a bit. That will make you warm.'
That evening Peter had an idea.
`Here's the house, she said at last. The house was small and had a garden. It was near the railway. She took the key and opened the door.
The next day the children helped mother clean the house. Late in the afternoon they went to look at the railway. A train went past them and made a loud noise.
`It's like a green dragon,' said Bobbie.`Trains are exciting,' said Peter. 'I love them.'`Is it going to London?' asked Phyllis. 'That's where father is.'`Let's go to the station and ask,' said Peter. They soon arrived at the station and looked around. Everything was interesting: the ticket office, the platform, the waiting room and the porter's room. They saw a big pile of coal 2 behind the station.
The Station Master was friendly and started talking to them.
`What's the coal for?' asked Peter.
The coal makes the train engine move,' said the Station Master.
`What's that white line on the wall above the coal pile?' asked Peter.`When I see the white line, I know I need to have more coal,' he said.
In June it started raining and it was cold.
Can I make a fire, mother?' asked Bobbie.
`No,' mother said, 'coal's very expensive and we don't have much money now. Go and run around a bit. That will make you warm.'
That evening Peter had an idea.
I have an idea,' he said to his sisters, 'but I can't tell you about it.' `Why not?' asked Bobbie and Phyllis.`My idea could be wrong,' he said.
Peter went out alone that night when his sisters were sleeping.
The next day there was some coal in the coal box in the kitchen and mother made a fire. The coal came from the station. At night Peter brought home small bags of coal, but mother did not know about this. Then something terrible happened.
One night Peter went back to the station to get more coal. Bobbie and Phyllis followed him secretly. But the Station Master caught him. The two girls were afraid and hid behind a tree.
`Stop, you young thief!' cried the Station Master.`I'm not a thief,' cried Peter.`Yes, you are,' said the Station Master angrily, 'and I'm taking you to the police station.'
When the girls heard this they ran to the Station Master and said, 'Please don't take him to the police statio ', Sir.'`You're the children from the white house,' said the Station Master, looking at them carefully. 'Why are you taking coal?'`We're cold and we don't have enough money to buy coal for a fire,' said Bobbie.`You have a big pile of coal here,' said Peter. 'I'm not a thief. I'm a coal miner.'`A coal miner!' the Station Master laughed. 'This time you can go home, but remember, it's wrong to steal.'`Oh, thank you, sir,' they cried.They went home quickly and silently. Peter was very embarrassed.
Peter went out alone that night when his sisters were sleeping.
The next day there was some coal in the coal box in the kitchen and mother made a fire. The coal came from the station. At night Peter brought home small bags of coal, but mother did not know about this. Then something terrible happened.
One night Peter went back to the station to get more coal. Bobbie and Phyllis followed him secretly. But the Station Master caught him. The two girls were afraid and hid behind a tree.
`Stop, you young thief!' cried the Station Master.`I'm not a thief,' cried Peter.`Yes, you are,' said the Station Master angrily, 'and I'm taking you to the police station.'
When the girls heard this they ran to the Station Master and said, 'Please don't take him to the police statio ', Sir.'`You're the children from the white house,' said the Station Master, looking at them carefully. 'Why are you taking coal?'`We're cold and we don't have enough money to buy coal for a fire,' said Bobbie.`You have a big pile of coal here,' said Peter. 'I'm not a thief. I'm a coal miner.'`A coal miner!' the Station Master laughed. 'This time you can go home, but remember, it's wrong to steal.'`Oh, thank you, sir,' they cried.They went home quickly and silently. Peter was very embarrassed.
The children liked watching the big noisy trains go by.
They knew the times of some trains and they gave them names. They called the 9.15 train 'the green dragon'.
Every morning they sat on the fence and waited for 'the green dragon'.
`Let's wave at the train,' said Phyllis. 'It can take our love to father in London.'
When the train went by, they waved at it. They made a friend on the 9.15 train — a nice old gentleman with white hair and glasses. When he saw the children waving, he waved at them.
Mother was always working at her desk. She wrote stories and sold some of them to a publisher to make some money. She often read them to the children. She was very happy when the stories were published, and they all celebrated with delicious cakes at teatime.
The children often went to the railway station and became friends with the Station Master and Perks. Perks was the porter and he told them exciting stories about the trains.
1. wave : move your hand from side to side to say 'hello' or 'goodbye'.
One morning mother was ill, so Bobbie called Dr Forrest from the village.
`She must stay in bed near a warm fire, and eat good food like milk, meat, eggs and fruit, because she's weak,' he said.
The children were worried. 'We don't have enough money to buy meat, eggs and fruit,' said Bobbie. 'How can mummy get well?' `Who can help us?' asked Phyllis. `Perhaps the nice old gentleman on the 'green dragon' can help us,' said Peter. Nes, that's a good idea, Peter,' said Bobbie. They sat down and made plans.
The next morning the people on the 9.15 train saw a big sign on the fence:
`She must stay in bed near a warm fire, and eat good food like milk, meat, eggs and fruit, because she's weak,' he said.
The children were worried. 'We don't have enough money to buy meat, eggs and fruit,' said Bobbie. 'How can mummy get well?' `Who can help us?' asked Phyllis. `Perhaps the nice old gentleman on the 'green dragon' can help us,' said Peter. Nes, that's a good idea, Peter,' said Bobbie. They sat down and made plans.
The next morning the people on the 9.15 train saw a big sign on the fence:
When the train arrived at the station many people looked out of the window. The old gentleman looked out too. Phyllis was on the platform with a letter in her hand. She quickly gave it to the old gentleman. The letter said:
To Mr we don't know your name,Mother is ill. The doctor says we must give her good food to eat, but we don't have any money. Father is away and we don't know his address. Can you help us please? We can pay you back later. Thank you.Roberta, Peter and Phyllis
Under their names they wrote a list of all the things they wanted for their mother.
That evening Perks came to their house with a big box. Inside there was a lot of good food and a letter: Dear children,here is the food for your mother. I'm happy to help you.Your friend,R.P.
Mother rested and ate the good food. Two weeks later the children put up another sign on the fence. It said: MOTHER IS MUCH BETTER. THANK YOU.
That evening Perks came to their house with a big box. Inside there was a lot of good food and a letter: Dear children,here is the food for your mother. I'm happy to help you.Your friend,R.P.
Mother rested and ate the good food. Two weeks later the children put up another sign on the fence. It said: MOTHER IS MUCH BETTER. THANK YOU.
When mother was well again, Bobbie told her about the letter to the old gentleman. She got angry and said, 'You must never ask strangers ' for anything.' But she knew the children only wanted to help her.
One morning mother went to town and in the evening the children went to the station to meet her. It was a rainy evening in July and there were a lot of people on the platform.
`Something's happening on the platform,' said Peter. 'Let's go and see.'
Among the people there was a thin man with long hair, frightened eyes and old clothes. He spoke another language and no one could understand him.
`Parlez-vous francais?' Peter asked, and the man answered in French. But Peter only knew a few words in French.
1. strangers : people you don't know. 2. Parlez-vous francais? : (in French, the language of France) Do you speak French?
'My mother speaks French,' he said, 'and she's coming on the next train.'
The man was confused and the Station Master did not know what to do. Just then mother's train arrived and she got off. `Oh, mummy,' said Bobbie, 'please follow me.' `What's happening, dear?' she asked. `There's a foreigner here and he only speaks French,' said Bobbie.
Mother went to the foreigner and started speaking French with him.
`Everything's fine,' said mother to the Station Master. 'This gentleman comes from Russia and he lost his train ticket. He was a writer in his country and I know his books. The poor man has problems — he can come home with us.'
`Thank you for your help,' said the Station Master.
The children followed mother and the Russian home. She made him a cup of tea and they talked for a long time.
At bedtime mother went to the children's room and said, 'The Russian gentleman can sleep here tonight. He was a famous writer in his country but the Tsar didn't like his books and ideas.
So the Tsar sent him to prison. He escaped and is now looking for his wife and children in England.'
The children were surprised when they heard the story.
Can you help him, mum?' asked Peter.
`I want to try,' she said, smiling at her children.
1. foreigner : a person from another country. 2. Tsar : the ruler of Russia (before the Russian Revolution of 1917).
`Everything's fine,' said mother to the Station Master. 'This gentleman comes from Russia and he lost his train ticket. He was a writer in his country and I know his books. The poor man has problems — he can come home with us.'
`Thank you for your help,' said the Station Master.
The children followed mother and the Russian home. She made him a cup of tea and they talked for a long time.
At bedtime mother went to the children's room and said, 'The Russian gentleman can sleep here tonight. He was a famous writer in his country but the Tsar didn't like his books and ideas.
So the Tsar sent him to prison. He escaped and is now looking for his wife and children in England.'
The children were surprised when they heard the story.
Can you help him, mum?' asked Peter.
`I want to try,' she said, smiling at her children.
1. foreigner : a person from another country. 2. Tsar : the ruler of Russia (before the Russian Revolution of 1917).
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