A Letter in a Bottle
New Horizon Book 3 (S46) pg. 68-73
| A Letter in a Bottle | |
|---|---|
| ? | |
| Details | |
| Word count | 581 |
| Book | New Horizon |
| Grade | 3 |
| Year | 1971 |
John was the only son of a lighthouse keeper. The lighthouse where he lived with his parents stood at one end of a long island. At the other end was a little village where his school was. Though he had to walk a long way, he liked to go to school. He had a lot of good friends there. But he had no friends to play with near his house. After he came home from school, he often went to the beach. He liked to watch the birds flying above his head.
John's uncle, Bob, was the captain of a big boat. John liked to talk with his uncle. But Uncle Bob was too busy to visit him often. John usually had to wait for a long time for the day when he could see his uncle.
One spring day Uncle Bob came to visit him. John asked him to talk about his new experiences at sea.
"One day, when my boat was sailing off Scotland," the captain began, "one of the sailors picked up a bottle from the sea. It was an ink bottle, and there was a letter in it."
"What did the letter say?" asked John.
"Well," Uncle Bob went on, "it was written by a girl in South Africa. She wanted to have a pen friend in a foreign country where people understood English. In the letter she introduced herself, and told something about her town. The young sailor who picked up the bottle was very interested, and said he would write to her."
"It's interesting to put a letter in a bottle and drop it into the sea," said John. "I want to try it myself."
"All right," said the captain. "Let me help you, John."
John brought several bottles, and put a letter in each of them. "Some may break or go to places where no one can read English, but one or two will go across the wide ocean and reach someone who wants to be my pen friend," John said.
He asked Uncle Bob to drop the bottles into the sea from his boat.
"It'll be exciting to wait for the day when I'll receive an answer to one of these," said John. "I wonder when an answer will come."
Uncle Bob's boat left for Europe, and a month went by. Every day, as soon as he got home from school, he said to his mother, "Is there any mail for me, Mother?" But the answer was always "No."
"I've waited for a long time since my uncle left. I wonder where my bottles have gone," he said.
He went to the beach, and looked far across the sea toward the horizon. He thought that the answer might also come in a bottle. He walked along the beach, but found only an old shoe, a few dead fish, and a broken bottle. There was no answer to his letter.
A few months later, the mailman brought a letter to John. It was a letter sent from England by air mail. John was excited. He read the letter quickly.
Dear John,
I found your letter in the bottle on the beach where I was having a swim. I am a girl of twelve who lives in the south of England. I would like to be your pen friend. It will be nice to hear more from you. But please send your letter by air mail, because I can hardly wait.
Your new friend,
Kate
