Text of The Friendship Trip

Picture book by Wolfgang Slawski

In a big station, in a big city, trains from near and far came and went all day long.

And all day long a man in a checked cap sat on a bench and watched the trains coming and going. He watched people saying hello and good-bye, greeting visitors and seeing them off.

Whenever a train pulled in, the man in the checked cap, whose name was Arthur, stood up to see if someone had come to visit him. But no one ever came. When the train pulled out again, he was still alone.

One day Arthur had an idea. "I'm waiting at the wrong station!" he decided. "People coming to visit me must think I'm somewhere else." He bought a ticket, jumped on a train, and hurried off to the next town to see what would happen there.

When Arthur got off the train, he met another man with a cap. Arthur sat down next to him and asked, "Has anyone come here looking for me?"

"No," said the man with the cap. "Nor for me either, I'm sad to say. No one ever gets off here."

"Perhaps this is the wrong station too," said Arthur. "Let's give the next one a try."

"Good idea," said the other man, and off they went.

At the next station they met a woman who told them she had never had any visitors either.

"Why don't you come with us?" suggested Arthur. "We're looking for a station where people do come to visit you."

The woman was happy to join them.

As their journey went on, more and more people tagged along.

Soon there was no room on the station benches for everyone to sit and wait. So they brought their own chairs.

Before long there was hardly enough room on the station platforms for them all to stand.

And finally there were enough passengers to fill a small town. Arthur couldn't believe how many other people had been waiting for someone to visit them.

The train journeyed far and wide. Then one day Arthur realized there wasn't a single place they hadn't visited.

"What do we do now?" he asked the man with the cap. "We've been everywhere, but we still haven't met anyone who was coming to visit us."

"You're quite right," said the man with the cap.

They stopped the train and everyone stood around wondering what to do.

"I've got it!" cried Arthur. "We can visit each other. After all, we're friends now."

"Of course!" said the man with the cap. "I'll send you an invitation."

"And I'll send one to you," said Arthur.

That night all the passengers had a party with good food and music and bright paper lanterns swaying overhead. They laughed and sang and made plans to visit each other when they got home.