BR10: Dino's Day in London

Sam and his wife are having breakfast with their children, Billy and Katy. (p2)

Tommy Grant is a taxi driver in London. He works for TOP TAXI. One day in a early morning, Tommy's boss, Sam, telephones him. "Can you be at The Ritz hotel at 9:00 o'clock?" Sam says. Gloria Brash who is a film star is in London. Sam wants Tommy to drive her son. There is a letter for Tommy at The Ritz. There is £50, too. That is for Dino who is Gloria's son. Sam says "be very nice to the boy." It is 8:45. Tommy is at The Ritz hotel fifteen minutes early. He goes to the desk. The woman behind the desk gives him the letter and the money. The letter says, 'It's Dino's first time in London. Please take him to all these place (1) Buckingham Palace (2) Harrods (3) the British Museum.' He sees a boy in a chair. "Are you Dino?" Tommy says. "That's me," says the boy. "Are you the driver from TOP TAXIS?" The boy stands up and get in the taxi. Tommy drives to Buckingham Palace. "What are you doing?" ask Dino. "I don't want to see this old place." Tommy remembers Sam's words: 'Be very nice to the boy.' Five minutes later Tommy stops the taxi. It is a video palace. "Can I have ￡20, please," Dino says. Tommy gives Dino the money. Three hours later, Dino comes back. They are hungry. Tommy drives to Harrods. But Dino wants to eat at a different place. Dino goes into the Big Burger Bar with another ￡20. He eats a mountain of food and drinks four milkshakes. Tommy eats his lunch in the taxi. An hour later Dino comes out of the restaurant. Tommy drives to the British Museum and gives Dino ￡10. But Dino goes into a cinema across the road from the museum. At 4:15 Dino comes out of the cinema. Tommy is very angry. "Where - do - you - want - to - go - now?" he asks. "Oh, back to The Ritz, I think," says Dino. "I'm tired and I want to have a bath before dinner." Tommy starts the car again. At 4:30 Tommy stops in front of the hotel. He opens the door for Dino. Then he sees a very beautiful woman in a very expensive coat. She is walking out of The Ritz. She is Gloria Brash. "Are you the man from TOP TAXIS?" asks Grolia. She walks back into the hotel. There is a boy sitting in a chair. He looks very sad. "This is Dino," she says. "But, but..." Tommy can't speak. Grolia is very angry. Tommy's face goes white. He looks out of the window. His taxi is there, but 'Dino' is not. It is 5:00 o'clock in the afternoon. Tommy's bos is at home. The door opens and their son, Billy, walks in. "Good day at school?" says Sam. Billy looks very happy. "Yes, thanks," he says. "Very happy!"
'Dino' who sees in London with Tommy is Sam's son! I think Sam and Billy are in cahoots. It is wrong, but Billy is very bad boy! I don't like him. And Tommy is bad, too. He must not wrong!

Stephen Rabley(1998). Dino's day in London. Penguin readers

BR09: SIMON AND THE SPY

"Do you know this man?" (p1)

Simon Simple is at the station. He is going on a train. There is a lot of policemen. They are all working very hard because they are finding a spy. Simon looks at the newepaper. 'Do you know this man? He is a spy! Find him! Stop him! Catch him!' Simon looks at the people in the station. He can not see any spies. Simon's train goes at 11:00 and it is 10:57 now. So he runs to the train. There is an old woman with an umbrella near Simon. She is walking very fast. The old woman's bag hits Simon's foot. He falls and his bag opens. Old woman falls and her bag opens, too. A letter falls out. Simon puts his things into his bag and he puts the letter into his bag, too. He doesn't see it. He closes his bag and runs to the train. Simon sits down in the seat beside a beautiful girl. The old woman is on the train, too. She is looking at his bag. She wants the letter. Simon likes the girl and the girl likes him, too. Simon takes his bag and goes to the restaurant to bring a cup of cofee for the girl. The old woman is waiting for him. Simon does not see her. The train is going fast. Simon falls and the old woman falls, too. He looks at her shoes and her face. He thinks that they're not woman's shoes. Simon buys the coffee and goes back to the girl. The train stops and Simon and the girl are going on a boat now. They sit near the water and wait. The boat is coming. "What is your name?" Simon asks. "Samantha," the girl says. They are talking. They don't see the old woman. "Look out!" a man shouts. "There's a lorry!" Simon and Samantha look. They jump back and the old woman jumps back, too. Simon sees her trousers. "They're not women's trousers," Simon thinks. Simon and Samantha get on the boat. Simon opens his bag and takes his lunch out. He takes the letter out, too. The old woman is behind them. They don't see her. The boat is going fast now. The wind is strong. The letter flies along the boat. He thinks that it is his boat ticket. He runs and the old woman runs, too. "Woof!" A dog is running very fast and catch the paper in his mouth. Samantha catches the dog. Simon and the old woman run to Samantha. "That is not my ticket," he says. "No," the old woman says. "It's my letter." The dog likes Simon and Samantha but he doesn't like the old woman. So he takes her coat in his mouth and pull it. The coat falls to the ground. The wind takes the old woman's hair. Simon and Samantha look at the old woman. It is not old woman. It is a man! "The spy!" Simon says. Police come here. Police catch the man. They find a letter. But it is in the dog.
There are many policemen in every pictures. It is strange that Simon didn't notice a old woman is a man. Simon looked at the man's leg hair.

Elizabeth Laird(1998).Simon and the spy. Penguin readers