Piers’s Island Map
School Readers · Level 18Piers and Una join Dad for a treasure walk in the park. Their map shows a small island in the pond, a wooden seat and three tall trees. The final clue promises a surprise beside the seat, but first they must choose which path leads there.
At the first turning, Una points towards a seat beside the water. Piers thinks they have found the right place already. Dad asks them to check all the details on the map before rushing ahead. This seat has only two tall trees behind it, not three.
They follow the broad path around the pond, keeping the island fence between them and the water. Across the pond, another seat comes into view. Three trees rise behind it. Piers studies the map again, trying to match the picture with what he can see.
When they reach the seat, the island seems to be on the wrong side. Una turns the map around until its paths line up with the real ones. The drawing has not changed, but the children can now see how their position fits the whole park.
A small wooden box stands beside the seat. Inside are coloured pencils and blank postcards, left there by the family organising the walk. A note invites each visitor to draw something from the park. Piers had expected a prize to take away without doing anything else.
Una chooses to sketch the island, while Piers draws the two seats and their different groups of trees. Dad helps them find a dry place to sit. The children add small arrows to their postcards, showing which route they took and where they first changed their minds.
At the collection table, a volunteer pins their postcards beside the other visitors’ drawings. Piers notices that several people have drawn the same pond from different places. Each picture shows something slightly different, even though all the artists have looked at the same small island.
On the way out, Piers passes the first seat again and smiles at its two trees. Una turns their map to match the path without being reminded. Their surprise was not only the drawing box. It was discovering how carefully they could look at a familiar park.