Level One - The Lost Backpack

​The Lost Backpack

Every day, Sid wakes up a 6. He gets up, has a shower, brushes his teeth and gets dressed. He has breakfast with his parents. They all talk and joke. Then, his parents go to work. "Have a good day, honey," says his mum and kisses Sid. Sid stays alone. Well, not really alone. His dog Mardy is always with him! Before school, Sid takes Mardy for a short walk.

Every day, Sid takes his backpack to school. He loves it. Inside are his books, his lunch, his lucky pen, his pencil and his rubber. Every morning, Sid takes the tram and the underground to school. It's a long way. At school, he puts his backpack in his locker and runs to his classroom. Today, he has Maths, Science and English. He likes Maths, but he doesn't like Mr. Jones, his Science teacher. Sid sits next to his best friend Mike. At break, they play tag with their friends. Sid loves tag! They all run and laugh. "You're it!" shouts Mike and Sid chases him.

After school, Sid is very tired. He sits on the underground, his eyes close and... he falls asleep! Suddenly, he wakes up. Oh no, it's his stop! Sid runs out and climbs the steps to the street. His tram is there. Sid runs to catch it, but the doors close. Sid is angry. He walks back to the pavement, and waits for the next tram. He sits at the stop. His eyes close all the time. His tram comes. He gets on it and sits down by the window. He just wants to go back home and play with Mardy.

At his stop, he gets off. But...he feels too light. His backpack! He doesn't have his backpack! "Oh, no! It must be on the tram!" Another tram comes. Sid asks the driver for help. "Go to the last stop. Your tram is there," says the man. Sid hopes his backpack is there. At the last stop, he runs to his tram. "Excuse me, I think my backpack is here. Can I look for it?" he asks the driver. "Sure," says the man. Sid looks everywhere. "Look under the seats," says the driver. But it's not here. "Maybe it's in your locker?" Sid can't remember, but he goes back to school.

The school is empty but the doors are open. Sid runs to his locker and opens it... No backpack! That's it. It's lost. Sid walks back to the underground. He feels really sad. He catches his train and then goes to the tram stop. What can he tell his parents? He is very late and he hasn't got his backpack. Suddenly, he hears barking. "Mardy?" Sid looks around. But it isn't Mardy. It's a very funny small dog in a jacket. The dog is with a girl Sid's age. The dog tries to catch its own tail. "His name is Twigs. He is very silly," says the girl and smiles. "I have a dog, too," Sid tries to smile too.

The girl looks at him. "Are you okay?" she asks. "You look very sad." "My backpack is lost. I'm in trouble." "Oh really?" the girl stops smiling. "Yes, my favourite backpack. A present from grandpa. It's green and has a lot of badges on it," Sid hopes the girl can't see tears in his eyes. The girl looks at him carefully. "You mean this one?" she says and points under the bench. Twigs is there now. Sid look down. He can't believe it. He really can't believe it. His backpack! He looks inside. All his things are here!

His school books! His lucky pen! Everything! "Thank you!" Sid is so happy. He puts the backpack on one shoulder and stands up. His tram comes. He gets on it and waves at the girl and her funny dog from the tram window. The girl waves back and smiles.