Tom was going for a holiday with his parents. At the railway station, his mother gave him a small bag to hold and they all rushed into the train. Tom raced after his parents through the crowd. His mother was wearing a brown overcoat and he kept his eyes fixed on that.
People were getting into carriages and Tom quickly followed his mother as she went in. He wanted a window seat. Charging in, he found a place and turned to smile happily at his mother, saying, “I found a window seat, Mum!” But suddenly, the words stopped. The lady near him was wearing a brown coat, but she was not his mother at all!
“Oh, Good Heavens! Where’s my mother?” he said aloud, suddenly frightened.
The lady in the brown coat looked at him. “Hullo!” she said, “What’s your name?”
“Thomas Healy,” replied Tom. He explained that he was following his mother, who was also wearing a brown coat and had got mixed up. The lady smiled kindly. “Don’t worry, my dear. I am Mrs Foust. We’ll tell the Ticket Checker when he comes and he’ll find your mother,” she said. Tom tried to smile back at her but he was so frightened that he could have cried! He sat looking out of the window, clutching his bag, but all he could think of was his mother’s face.
Mrs Foust gave him a sandwich and he took it, thanking her. He didn’t feel like eating a thing. He just wanted to be with his Mum! When the Ticket Checker came, Mrs Foust explained Tom’s problem.
“I’ll see what I can do. But we’ll have to wait till the next station,” he said, “Where were you going, young man?”
“To Manchester, sir,” said Tom.
“Oh, good! Then they’ll be on this train. You just wait here, Tom, and we’ll sort this out,” he said smiling at Tom.
Everyone in the carriage had learnt about Tom by now. They did not want him to be scared. So, they played word games, sang songs, performed card tricks and told him stories. At the station Tom looked out. The Ticket Checker was speaking to someone who looked like an official.
People were walking up and down and soon Tom saw his parents running towards his carriage! Tom jumped up and waved to them. Mrs Healy ran in and hugged Tom, tears running down her face. Mr Healy smiled and shook hands with the Checker and Mrs Foust and with everyone. What a story for Tom to share with his friends!
Moral: Be kind to people in distress.
