大象传媒

They said that the London Children were coming. So we went to the Bottom Station to see them arrive. In our town we had a Bottom Station and a Top station, but the top Station was only for coal trucks.
We stood on the footbridge and waited. There were more people than usual on the platform but they were all grown-ups. They didn鈥檛 want us so we went up on the footbridge. We could see better up there anyway.
We could see the engine smoke down the valley so we knew the train would be here soon. Then it pulled into the station. We leaned forward. The grown-ups on the station stood back near the wall. Some of them had papers and looked important. The train stopped. Some men opened the doors and children came out.
They looked as if they didn鈥檛 know what to do so they just stood still, in groups holding hands and looking scared. They had gas masks around their necks and carried small bundles. None of them spoke. Neither did we. In other circumstances we could have been them. They looked at us鈥nd we looked at them.
Grown-ups moved amongst them, separating and marshalling. They all moved up hill to where they were going to live.
They came to our schools. They played with us. We got used to their funny voices. We got to like them and they became our friends. We didn鈥檛 believe the grown-ups when they whispered to each other that the London children wet their beds.

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