I was twelve years old and my parents and I were on

holiday in Cornwall. They are both biologists and we all

love nature. One morning, Dad suggested walking along

the beach to a distant village.

It was a lovely day for a walk, but after an hour, I noticed

some dark clouds. I asked my parents if they thought

we should go back. They smiled at each other, and then

Mum said we were nearly there.

What was going on? Mum usually made me go indoors

during storms. What’s more, we were still far away from

the village. Anyway, suddenly, there was loud thunder

and it started to rain. “Come on, quick!” my father said.

“We’re almost there.”

I noticed a cottage not far away. Dad started running

towards it so we ran after him. When we got there, he

seemed really excited, which I must admit was a bit

strange. Unfortunately, there was no one home. ’That’s

unlucky,’ said Dad ‘but wait...’ Suddenly, he took a key

from his pocket, unlocked the door and pushed it open.

He was silent for a moment. Then with a smile he said:

“Come in. And welcome home!” What a surprise!

In fact, thinking back to my parents’ behaviour during

the first part of our holiday, I knew something strange

was going on – but I had no idea what! Our new holiday

home was the perfect place for nature lovers. It was

awesome!

We still live in London, but our cottage in Cornwall is our

dream house, and I will never forget the day I first saw it.


Read the story again and put events in the correct

order.

a Nobody answered the door.

b The weather changed.

c The family went into their new holiday home.

d The family went to Cornwall on holiday.

e Paul saw a cottage in the distance.

f The family went for a walk along the coast.​