Cedric’s Lost Direction

Cedric and Hector join Mum for a simple direction game in the park. They have a picture map and a small compass. Their first clue asks them to start at the picnic table and walk towards the north path.

Cedric sets the compass beside Mum’s metal lunch tin while Hector opens the map. The needle settles towards one side of the table. Cedric points to a path, but it does not match the north arrow on their map.

Hector thinks the map may be upside down, so they turn it carefully. The paths still do not seem to agree. Mum asks them to stop at the table rather than start walking while they are uncertain.

Mum notices how close the compass is to the metal tin. She explains that nearby metal can affect its needle. She moves the tin away. Cedric places the compass flat on the clear wooden bench.

They wait for the needle to settle again. This time it points towards the open grassy path beside the trees. Hector lines up the map’s north arrow with that direction, and the two paths on the picture begin to make sense.

Before leaving, Cedric checks the compass once more on another clear part of the wooden bench. The needle points the same way. Mum agrees that they can now follow the clue together along the wide north path.

At the next marker, they find a picture of an oak leaf matching the one on their clue card. Hector gives Cedric a pleased smile. They have found the right place without wandering away from their planned route.

Back at the picnic table, Cedric keeps the compass away from the lunch tin. “The map was not the problem,” he says. He has learned to check where his compass is resting before trusting the direction it shows.