The Railway Children by E. Nesbit
Edith Nesbit’s classic story, in which three children, Roberta, Phyllis, and Peter are living a comfortable suburban life with their parents, a cook, and servant. One day two men arrive to visit their father and he leaves with them. The children wonder what’s going on, but their mother doesn’t want them to worry and tells them not to ask questions. Due to their father’s continuing absence, they are forced to move to the country, and are now in poorer circumstances, their mother providing what she can through the stories she writes. Delightfully, the children’s good and cheerful natures serve them well in this turn of events, and they resiliently find things to enjoy in their new life. They come to know and love the ways of the nearby railways, developing the habit of waving to the train as it goes past and sometimes the people in the coaches wave back. Their friendly habit draws the attention and eventually friendship of one old gentleman who rides the trains, and he comes to help them in various ways. Eventually they find out what happened to their father, and to their great joy, he returns to them, quite fittingly, by train. A happy ending to an engaging story, another great book by E. Nesbit!
4 Hours and 58 Minutes.
You can purchase The Railway Children by E. Nesbit here.