One afternoon little peter,12 years old, and his younger brother John were playing in the garden. Suddenly a strange man entered the garden, ran up to the two boys and picked up John. He hurried out of the garden into the street, where a car was parked. The man got in and drove away, together with the boy. The whole thing didn’t take more than1 minute. For a moment Peter couldn’t move, then began to shout and ran into the house to his mother, screaming that his brother had been kidnapped.
His mother telephoned the police, who immediately came to the house .One hour later twelve policemen were already looking for john.
But only two hours later, while the police were still looking for clues, the little boy walked into the garden. He ran up to his mother and told her and the police his very strange story.
‘He put me in the back of his car and told me to be quiet ‘, John began. ’We stopped in front of an old house, just outside our village. I knew exactly where I was, because we often play there. He took me into a room. There was no furniture in it . Only a bed. There were no other people. The man said he had kidnapped me because he knew that Daddy has a lot of money and he was sure that Daddy would pay. After a while he left the room. I listened to his footsteps. He was going down the stairs. Then I heard him open the door. He started his car and left. I looked round and tried to find a way to get out. But the window was locked and it was too high. Then I went to the door. I was very surprised that it opened. I saw nobody and heard nothing, so I went down the stairs, opened the front door, and I was free. Then I looked for the name of the street and the number of the house. It’s only two miles from here.
At first the police thought that the whole thing was a joke, made up by the two boys. They went to the street where the house was, but there was nobody there. Two policemen went into the house and waited. Just before nightfall they heard a car stop in front of the house. The man who got out was taken to the police station. There they found out that he was a 42-year-old workman from London, who had indeed kidnapped John that afternoon. He had left the boy in the room. Then he sent a letter to John’s father, saying that he had his son and that he wanted 200,000 pounds if he wanted to see his son back alive. But he didn’t know that the lock in the door was out of order. Therefore John could easily escape.
The kidnapper is now prison, of course. But John’s parents are afraid that his sort of thing can happen again. So the family has moved to the big city, where there are more people and policemen in the streets. They feel safer there. But John and Peter don’t like it there very much. They hate traffic and miss their garden.
His mother telephoned the police, who immediately came to the house .One hour later twelve policemen were already looking for john.
But only two hours later, while the police were still looking for clues, the little boy walked into the garden. He ran up to his mother and told her and the police his very strange story.
‘He put me in the back of his car and told me to be quiet ‘, John began. ’We stopped in front of an old house, just outside our village. I knew exactly where I was, because we often play there. He took me into a room. There was no furniture in it . Only a bed. There were no other people. The man said he had kidnapped me because he knew that Daddy has a lot of money and he was sure that Daddy would pay. After a while he left the room. I listened to his footsteps. He was going down the stairs. Then I heard him open the door. He started his car and left. I looked round and tried to find a way to get out. But the window was locked and it was too high. Then I went to the door. I was very surprised that it opened. I saw nobody and heard nothing, so I went down the stairs, opened the front door, and I was free. Then I looked for the name of the street and the number of the house. It’s only two miles from here.
At first the police thought that the whole thing was a joke, made up by the two boys. They went to the street where the house was, but there was nobody there. Two policemen went into the house and waited. Just before nightfall they heard a car stop in front of the house. The man who got out was taken to the police station. There they found out that he was a 42-year-old workman from London, who had indeed kidnapped John that afternoon. He had left the boy in the room. Then he sent a letter to John’s father, saying that he had his son and that he wanted 200,000 pounds if he wanted to see his son back alive. But he didn’t know that the lock in the door was out of order. Therefore John could easily escape.
The kidnapper is now prison, of course. But John’s parents are afraid that his sort of thing can happen again. So the family has moved to the big city, where there are more people and policemen in the streets. They feel safer there. But John and Peter don’t like it there very much. They hate traffic and miss their garden.