Lesson15 Fifty pence worth of trouble

Children always appreciate small gifts of money. Father， of course， provides a regular supply of pocket-money， but uncles and aunts are always a source of extra income. With some children， small sums go a long way. If sixpences are not exchanged for sweets， they rattle for months inside money-boxes. Only very thrifty children manage to fill up a money-box. For most of them， sixpence is a small price to pay for a satisfying bar of chocolate.

My nephew， George， has a money-box but it is always empty. Very few of the sixpences I have given him have found their way there. I gave him sixpence yesterday and advised him to save it. Instead， he bought himself sixpence worth of trouble. On his way to the sweet shop， he dropped his sixpence and it rolled along the pavement and then disappeared down a drain. George took off his jacket， rolled up his sleeves and pushed his right arm through the drain cover. He could not find his sixpence anywhere， and what is more， he could not get his arm out. A crowd of people gathered round him and a lady rubbed his arm with soap and butter， but George was firmly stuck. The fire-brigade was called and two firemen freed George using a special type of grease. George was not too upset by his experience because the lady who owns the sweet shop heard about his troubles and rewarded him with a large box of chocolates.