Max’s Secret in the Attic
Max and a friend discover a hidden door in the attic. What waits behind it?
It was raining on the first day of the holidays. Max was bored. ‘Why don’t we explore the attic?’ suggested Dani the piglet. They fetched a torch and climbed the creaky ladder.
The attic was full of old boxes and trunks and dust. A single round window let in a grey light. Max sneezed. Dani giggled. They opened box after box, finding old hats, curtains and a lamp.
‘Wait,’ said Max. He tapped the wall behind a tall bookcase. It sounded hollow. He pushed the bookcase aside. There, hidden in the wood, was a tiny, round door, no bigger than a tea tray.
Dani looked at Max. Max looked at Dani. ‘Ready?’ they whispered. Max turned the tiny brass handle. The door creaked open slowly. A cool breath of air drifted out, smelling of lavender and old paper.
Inside was a little hidden room. In the middle sat a dusty wooden box. On the lid, in faded gold letters, was a label: ‘For whoever finds this.’ Max’s heart thumped. He lifted the lid.
Inside, there was a wooden toy train and a note that said, Play with me. And a letter from Grandma. ‘Dear finder,’ it said. ‘I hid these here when I was your age. I hope you enjoy them as much as I did. Please remember to hide something for the next child.’
Max and Dani read the letter again and again. Then they ran downstairs to show Nico the pony. Nico smiled with tears in his eyes. ‘I remember that room,’ he said. ‘I put that box there long ago.’
That evening, Max wrote a letter of his own. He popped it in the box with a favourite toy, and placed it back behind the bookcase. ‘For whoever finds this,’ he wrote, ‘be curious. And be kind.’
The little lesson
The things people leave for us can teach us something about who they were, and who we can be.
Let’s talk about it
- Would you open the door? Why or why not?
- What would you put in a box for people in the future?
Finish stories to collect Max as a sticker in your Sticker Book.
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