典范英语8-7

7

The Wrong Letter

送错的信

1

One morning the postman came down Elm Road. In his bag were two letters. They looked like this: ?Miss P Jones 10 Elm

Road Bilton?; ?Miss F Jones 79 Elm Road Bilton?

There were two Miss Jones in Elm Road. Pippa Jones lived at

number 10. She was mad about ponies. Flo Jones lived at

number 79. She was mad about football. But that morning the postman had broken his glasses and he couldn’t see very well.

That’s how the mix

-up began.

Pony-mad Pippa was out at the stable when her letter came. Pippa had a pony called Blossom who was a champion jumper.

She gave Blossom some oats and a kiss on the nose. Then her dad stuck his head out of the back door. ?Pippa, there is a lette

r

for you.?

Football-mad Flo was in the garden when her letter arrived. Flo played for Redland Rovers. She was wearing her Rovers kit as

usual.

She

dribbled

past

the

cat

and

swerved

round

the

swing.

?Thud.?

the

ball

hit

the

back

door.

?goal.?

cried

Flo.

?Flo!? called her mum. ?Stop that racket and come inside. There’s a letter for you. ?

Flo tore open her letter. It said: Dear Miss Jones, The Junior Cup is on Saturday at Chestnut field. We hope to see you there.

?Wow!? said Flo. ?I’m playing in the Cup Final on Saturday. Redland Rovers will win for sure.? At 10 Elm

Road, Pippa

was

also

reading

her

letter.

?Dear

Miss

Jones,

The

Junior

Cup

Final

is

on

Saturday

at

Redland

Park.

We

hope

to

see

you

there. ? ?Fantastic,? said Pippa. ?I’m riding Blossom in the Junior Cup. We are sure to win.?

2

Pippa and Flo couldn’t wait for Saturday to come. They didn’t notice that they had got the wrong letter. They were both

going to the wrong place. On Saturday morning Pippa rode Blossom to Redland Park. Down the road they passed Flo on her

way to Chestnut Field. Pippa stared at Flo in

her red and white football kit. ?Fancy dressing up like that to play a stupid game

of football,? she thought to herself. Flo stared at Pippa in her black riding hat and boots. ?Fancy dressing up like that to

ride

a boring old pony,? she thought to herself

.

Pippa arrived at Redland Park. But where were the other ponies? All she could see was the Redland Rovers team kicking a ball.

?Excuse me,? said Pippa. ?Where are the fences to jump??

The Rovers team laughed. ?This is a football match. Ponies can’t play.? said one. Rovers’ captain went over to Pippa.

?Have you seen Flo Jones? She hasn’t come yet and we’re one player short.? ‘I don’t know anyone called Flo,’ said

Pippa.

‘My

name

is

Pippa

Jones.’

‘Well,

you’ll

have

to

play

then,’

said

the

captain.

‘Hurry

u

p

and

get

changed,

kick-

off is in five minutes.’

Pippa was horrified. She didn’t want to play football. She wanted to ride Blossom in the Junior Cup. She tried to explain but

the Rovers team didn’t listen. They pushed her into the changing room. They gave

her football boots and a shirt. The shirt

came to her knees. And the boots pinched her feet. When Pippa ran she kept tripping over her laces. They lined up for kick-off

and the referee blew his whistle to start the game.

The ball came whizzing towards Pip

pa. ‘What shall I do with it?’ she wailed. ‘Just kick it that way,’ shouted Rovers’

captain. Pippa kicked the ball. ‘Youch, my toe.’ she yelled.

The ball went to one of the Blue team. Pippa tried to get it back. But she tripped over her laces and fell in a muddy puddle.

‘This is all a mistake.’ moaned Pippa. ‘I’m in the wrong place.’

3

Flo was in the wrong place too. She was in Chestnut Field. But where was the Cup Final? All she could see were girls trotting

round on ponies. ‘What is all this?’ Flo asked

a man in a brown hat. ‘It’s the Junior Show. I am Mr. Trotter, one of the

judges. What is your name?’

‘Flo Jones. I am here to play football.’ Mr. Trotter wasn’t listening. He was busy looking at a list of names. ‘Ah yes.

Here you are. Miss Jones. You are jumping twenty-

third.’ ‘Jumping? Me?’ Flo turned pale. ‘But I can’t ... I haven’t

even got a pony.’ Mr. Trotter laughed. ‘Dear me! You’ve come without your pony? Then we’ll have to find one for you.

Five minutes later Flo was sitting on a big, black pony

. It snorted and stamped its feet. ‘His name’s Thunder. You have to

show him who is boss.’ said Mr. Trotter. Flo looked at Thunder. She was pretty sure he was boss. ‘I don’t know how to

ride,’ she said. ‘There’s been a mistake...’

‘You’ll be fine. Good luck.’ said Mr. Trotter and slapped Thunder on the back. Thunder galloped off with Flo holding

on tight. The fences looked very high. Flo wanted to jump off but Thunder wouldn’t stop. The loudspeaker boomed: ‘And

the next rider is Miss Pippa Jones on Thunder

.’ The crowd clapped. ‘But my name isn’t Pippa!’ cried Flo. ‘Somebody

get me down.’

It was too late. Thunder was heading for the first fence. Flo shut her eyes. She was sure they were going to hit it. Just in time

Thunder jumped. They landed with a bump a

nd Flo’s hat slipped down over her eyes. Now she couldn’t see where she was

going.

Thunder

sailed

over

the

next

jump.

And

the

next.

But

Flo

was

slipping

out

of

the

saddle.

She

was

almost

upside

down,

hanging onto Thunder’s neck. ‘What an odd way to ride,’

said Mr. Trotter. Thunder took the next three fences at a gallop.

They came to the last one, a high brick wall. Thunder took off. ‘he

-

lp.’ cried Flo, flying in the air.

They landed with a thud. Then Flo fell off onto the grass. Everyone crowed around her. They picked her up and patted her

on the back. ‘Are you all right?’ ‘Well done.’ ‘Jolly good riding.’ ‘What happened?’ asked Flo, getting up.

‘You won. You jumped all the fences in the fastest time,’ said Mr. Trotter. He pinned a rosette on Thunder and g

ave Flo a

silver

cup.

‘This

year’s

winner

of

the

Junior

Cup

is

Miss

Pippa

Jones,’

she

said.

‘My

real

name

is

Flo,’

smiled

Flo

happily.

4

Back at the Cup Final, things weren’t going well for Pippa. Her legs hurt. She was wet and muddy and the boots were kil

ling

her. There were two minutes left. The score was 2-

2, but Pippa didn’t care. She just wanted the game to end so that she could

go home.

The Blues’ goalkeeper kicked the ball out. It bounced straight to Pippa. She wasn’t pleased to see it. ‘Go away!’ s

he

shouted crossly and gave the ball a mighty kick. To her surprise the ball soared through the air towards the Blues’ goal. The

goalkeeper dived-

but the ball hit the back of the net. ‘Goal!’ shouted the Rovers. ‘What a goal!’

At that moment the final whistle blew. Pippa was Girl of the Match. Her team carried her off the pitch, cheering. Everyone

wanted to pat her on the back. Pippa had won the Junior Cup for Rovers. After the game Pippa set off home with Blossom. On

her way up Elm Road she passed Flo. Pippa and Flo both stopped. They both stared. Both of them were covered in mud and

holding silver cups. ‘Is your name... Pippa Jones?’ asked Flo. Pippa nodded. ‘Then you must be Flo Jones.’ then they

understood. So that’s what had happened.

‘I must have got your letter,’ said Flo. ‘I went to a pony show.’ ‘And I must have got your letter,’ said Pippa. ‘I

went to a football match.’

They both started to laugh. ‘Football is fun,’ grinned Pippa, ‘When you get used to it.’ ‘And riding a pony is really quite

exc

iting,’ said Flo.

After that, Pippa and Flo became the best of friends. Not only did they share the same name, they also liked the same things.

Now, on one Saturday Flo goes riding with Pippa. And, on the next Saturday, Pippa plays football with Flo. The postman still

brings letters to both their houses. But these days he’s got a new pair of glasses.