Far far away...

Far far away, there is a land not so different from our own. A land with towns, roads, cars and buildings, but no people. Instead of people, there live objects of every kind. These objects do all the things we do, like go to school, play games and even watch TV. They live in houses on streets like we do and live in families with children like we do too.

On one particular street there was a big house, and in that house there lived a family of Brown Paper Bags. Brown Paper Bags are very useful, and come in all shapes and sizes. But even though they might often look similar, every Brown Paper Bag has their own personality, just like you and I. The Brown Paper Bags were a happy and loving family, but like all families, they were sometimes too busy with themselves to enjoy each other’s company.




There were a total of eight Brown Paper Bags in the Brown Paper Bag family. Grandma Paper Bag and Grandpa Paper Bag were the eldest, and had spent their entire lives working, but now they were retired and came to live with their children. Then there was Mummy Paper Bag and Daddy Paper Bag, along with all their children. Daddy Paper Bag worked at a Green Grocers whilst Mummy stayed at home to look after the house and the children. There were four children altogether, three boys and one girl. The eldest were The Twins and they liked to do everything together, especially racing one another. Then there was Jen, their sister, who liked to spend all her spare time with her friends from school. Bradley was the youngest, and wanted desperately to be like his older brothers, the twins, and his older sister Jen, who were always allowed to do things he couldn’t because they were older. But no matter how hard he tried, Bradley could not grow up any faster.

One Saturday during the summer holidays, Bradley awoke to find his brothers and sister already out of the house. Bradley knew the twins would spend most of their time running around town racing one another as they often did. Bradley also knew where Jen was too; out shopping with her friends. Bradley walked downstairs and went into the kitchen where Mummy and Grandma were busy cooking.

‘Why are my brothers and sister never home to play with me?’ Bradley asked.

‘Because they’re teenagers’ Mummy replied.

‘And teenagers like to spend as little time at home as they can. Don’t worry Bradley, one day you’ll be a teenager and then you’ll know all about it.’

This only made Bradley want to grow up even more. Bradley could not wait to be big like his brothers and sister, and always tried to copy whatever they did.

Later that Saturday, Mummy and Daddy wanted to go to town to do some shopping and told Bradley to get ready to go with them.

‘But I don’t want to go.’ Whined Bradley.

Just then, the doorbell rang. It was Bradley’s best friend Sissy at the door. Sissy was a Shower Gel Bottle and lived next door to The Brown Paper Bag family with her own family of Shower Gel Bottles. Sissy wanted to know if Bradley could come out and play.

‘Please can I stay at home and play outside with Sissy’ Pleaded Bradley.

‘No, you can play with Sissy when we get back. Come along.’ Said Daddy.

Sissy waved to Bradley as he left.

‘Knock for me when you get back.’ She said.

Bradley sulked his way to the car and did not reply. Car lived in the Brown Paper Bags’ garage, and was happy to drive them wherever they wanted to go.

‘Hello Bradley.’ Said Car, but Bradley was still in a mood and would not say a word.

When Bradley returned home a few hours later, he went and knocked for Sissy so they could play outside. Sissy and Bradley spent all afternoon playing on the street outside their houses. Bradley was still a little cross from being forced to go shopping with his parents.

‘I wish we could play somewhere else.’ Bradley complained.

‘Why?’ asked Sissy.

‘My brothers and sister are allowed to go wherever they like, but we aren’t allowed to go past the third lamppost on this street.’ Explained Bradley.

‘We can play inside.’ Suggested Sissy.

‘No, I like playing outside.’ Said Bradley.

Sissy could not think of anywhere else to play, but knew that Bradley was getting bored.

‘We can’t go past the third lamppost or we might get lost.’ Sissy warned Bradley. But Bradley had already made up his mind about what he wanted to do.

‘I know!’ Said Bradley. ‘Lets have a race!’

‘Okay.’ Agreed Sissy.

‘On your marks, get set, GO!’ They both shouted as they raced down the street. Sissy was winning the race and stopped once she reached the third lamppost.

‘I’m the winner!’ She screamed happily. But Bradley kept on running.

‘Bradley, stop! You’ve gone past the third lamppost. I’m the winner!’ Sissy shouted.

But Bradley just ignored her and kept going. Bradley knew that he was being a very naughty boy by not stopping at the third lamppost. Even though Bradley was still a small child, he thought he could act bigger by breaking the rules. Bradley did not know that everyone has rules to obey, even grown ups. Bradley ran and ran and did not look back.

‘I’m telling of you!’ Shouted Sissy as she ran back the other way to tell Bradley’s parents.

Sometime later, the whole Brown Paper Bag family had gathered at their house. Bradley had not yet returned home and everyone was worried about where he could be. The police had been called and said they would look for Bradley, but they also said they were very busy and that the family should wait and see if Bradley came home by himself.

The family were too worried to sit at home and wait, so they decided to search for Bradley themselves. Grandpa stayed at home incase Bradley returned or if the police found him.

‘What should I do?’ Asked Sissy.

‘You’ve already done enough by telling us what Bradley did. Thank you very much Sissy, you’re a good girl.’ Said Daddy.

‘You should go home to your parents Sissy. Don’t worry, we’ll let you know when we’ve found Bradley.’ Added Mummy.

So Sissy went home and waited. Each person in the Brown Paper Bag family wanted to do their best to help find Bradley, so they all decided to search separately; that way they could search in many different places at once.

Bradley could have gone to the house of one of his schoolmates, thought the twins. To be sure, the twins would have to knock for all the children in his class.

‘Wait a minute.’ Said one of the twins. ‘There are over twenty children in Bradley’s class.’

That was a lot of houses to go to and would take all night.

‘We can split up.’ Replied the other twin. ‘I’ll check one half, and you can check the other.’ That was a good idea they thought.

‘It will still take us a long time.’ Said one twin.

‘Why don’t we make a game of it and race each other.’ Said the other twin.

That was an even better idea. The winner would be the person that checked all their houses and reached home first.

‘On your marks, get set, GO!’ They both said as they ran off in opposite directions.

Jen already missed her little brother very much, and could not think of where to look for him.

‘What did I like doing when I was Bradley’s age?’ She thought.

‘I liked toys and I liked sweets.’ She said to herself.

‘I know! I’ll go to town and check all the sweet shops and toyshops to see if Bradley’s gone there.’

Jen loved to go to the shops in town, but it was getting dark and Jen knew it wasn’t safe for her to go there by herself. So she phoned all of her friends and asked if they could help her look for her little brother.

All Jen's friends liked Bradley and agreed to help her look for him. Together Jen and her friends visited every toy and sweet shop in town. In fact, just to be sure, they visited all the shops in town. If Bradley had gone to a shop, they were sure to find him.

Meanwhile Daddy had taken Car, and together they drove around all the roads near their home to see if Bradley may be walking somewhere.

‘Don’t worry, I know my way around all the streets in town’ said Car to reassure Daddy.

‘How far do you think he could have gone Car?’ Daddy asked.

‘He won’t have gone far if he was walking. I’m much faster, so catching up to him won’t be a problem.’ Said Car confidently.

‘You’re right, but if he has gone inside somewhere, he won’t be on the street anymore, and we won’t be able to see him.’ Replied Daddy.

‘We’ll just have to look very carefully then.’ Said Car.

Daddy and Car continued to drive, carefully checking all the nearby streets.

‘Where could he be?’ Sighed Daddy, as there was still no sign of Bradley.

‘Lets double check.’ Suggested Car.

So they drove around the same roads and streets a second time, hoping this time they would find young Bradley.

The Sun was beginning to set, and the sky grew darker. Bradley was still walking, but the streets were all unfamiliar to him. Bradley was getting tired and didn’t know the way back home, he began to regret going past the third lamppost. Just then, someone called out to him.

‘Little Boy, what are you doing?’ the voice came from a Plastic Bottle near a fence on the side of the pavement.

‘I shouldn’t talk to strangers.’ Said Bradley.

‘Ah yes.’ Said the Plastic Bottle. ‘But you shouldn’t be walking the streets by yourself either, especially as it will soon be dark.’ The Plastic Bottle continued as Bradley stopped and listened.

‘I am Plastic Bottle, and I live with my friends in this Junkyard.’ Plastic Bottle pointed to the Junkyard, which was next to where they stood.

‘My name is Bradley, and I’m a Brown Paper Bag.’ Said Bradley.

‘Yes you are. Come in, the world isn’t safe for young children to be walking all alone. Meet my friends, we call ourselves The Junkyard Jockeys.’ Said Plastic Bottle as they walked inside the Junkyard.

As they entered the junkyard, Bradley was greeted by all the different objects that together, made up the Junkyard Jockeys. First Bradley met Crushed Can, who was made of metal, and was once full with fizzy drink. Crushed Can hopped over to meet Bradley.

‘Meet Crushed Can, he likes to tell jokes’ Said Plastic Bottle.

‘If you’re down, then I’m your clown.’ Crushed Can said with a smile on his face. Then an old truck tyre rolled up to meet Bradley.

‘My name is Used Tyre, because that is what I am.’ Said Used Tyre.

‘But I’m still quite fast, so if you need to get around, just talk to me.’ He continued.

Plastic bottle then took Bradley to a square bundle of used newspapers.

‘This is Old Newspapers.’ He said. ‘He is the oldest and wisest of us all. He is very well read.’

‘Hello Bradley.’ Said Old Newspapers. ‘If you ever want to know anything, then talk to me and I’ll look it up.’

The last object Bradley met was a wine bottle that looked like it came from very far away.

‘And this is our leader, Vino Tinto.’ Said Plastic Bottle. ‘Vino helped us all come together and be friends.’

Bradley recognised that Vino Tinto was an old wine bottle, but she looked very different to any wine bottle he had seen before.

‘Vino Tinto, why have you got feathers in your head?’ Asked Bradley.

‘I used to keep flowers there after my cork was popped and all my wine was drunk. There are no flowers in this Junkyard, but I still want to look pretty.’ Answered Vino Tinto.

‘They look nice.’ Said Bradley politely.

‘Yes, but maybe someday I’ll have flowers again. What brings you here?’ Vino Tinto asked.

‘My Mummy and Daddy never let me do the things my brothers and sister do. They always make me go with them everywhere. So I ran away.’ Explained Bradley.

‘You are very far from home, I can tell.’ Remarked Old Newspapers. ‘Maybe we could help you get back?’

Deep down, Bradley wanted to go back home, but he was afraid that he would be in trouble for disobeying his parents. He was also still cross at being forced to go shopping.

‘I don’t want to go back home.’ He said bravely.

Vino Tinto seemed surprised to hear Bradley say this, as the junkyard was not the most cheerful of places.

‘We are all in this junkyard because no one wants us. My friends and I should have been recycled, but instead we were thrown away and ended up here. Forgotten by everyone.’ Vino Tinto told Bradley.

A sad look began to appear on Bradley’s face. The junkyard was full of forgotten objects, all used up and abandoned. The Junkyard Jockeys had done their best to stay happy, but the junkyard was still a very lonely place to be.

‘Will my family forget me too?’ He asked.

Vino Tinto did not know, but she told Bradley what she did know.

‘All I know is that everyone in this Junkyard is here because they have been forgotten.’ She said. ‘And no one has ever left.’

Tears began to roll down Bradley’s face.

‘Don’t cry,’ Said Crushed Can. ‘You’ll get all soggy!’

Plastic Bottle hopped towards Bradley.

‘Cheer up.’ He said. ‘We can play a game, anything you like.’

‘I know!’ Said Crushed Can excitedly. ‘We can go for a ride inside Used Tyre.’

Used Tyre rolled up. ‘Hop in.’ He said. They all hopped in and whizzed around the junkyard.

Old Newspapers and Vino Tinto watched the others play.

‘We should talk.’ Said Old Newspapers, so they both went to a corner of the Junkyard to do just that.

‘What is it Old Newspapers?’ Vino Tinto asked.

‘Vino Tinto’ Began Old Newspapers ‘I am old and have seen much in my life. I know that deep down Bradley misses his family very much, and that they must miss him too. We should help him.’

Old Newspapers was right, but Vino tinto was confused.

‘Why did he leave home, and then say he does not wish to return? Was he lying?’ She asked.

Old Newspapers took a deep breath and began to explain.

‘People mostly lie when they have something to hide.’

‘What can someone so young be hiding?’ Pondered Vino Tinto.

‘Bradley is very young, and because he is very young he made a mistake. It his mistake that he is trying to hide.’ Said Old Newspapers.

‘What mistake?’ Asked Vino Tinto.

‘I don’t think Bradley meant to come this far. I think he got lost because he was upset, and is afraid he may be in trouble if he goes back. Really, he wants to go home.’ Replied Old Newspapers.

Vino Tinto thought about what Old Newspapers had said.

‘You’re right.’ She told him. ‘We will help Bradley get home.’

Mummy and Grandma did not go looking for Bradley, instead they had gone to seek the help of the oldest and wisest living thing they knew of. He lived far from town, deep within the forest.

‘Are you sure he can help us? Mummy asked Grandma.

‘He is the oldest life I know of. His experiences over the past hundreds of years have given him great knowledge and wisdom. He is sure to know where Bradley may be.’ Grandma explained.

Together Mummy and Grandma came to a great big tree deep within the forest. It was the biggest tree they had ever seen, and so old that all its leaves had turned white from age.

‘Great Waga tree, can you help us please?’ Cried out Grandma.

The old tree began to stir and shake. It spoke very slowly.

‘If I can help you, I will.’ It said.

‘My daughters youngest son has wandered away. Can you please tell us where he is? Asked Grandma.

Mummy had never been to the Waga tree before, and was unsure of what to do.

‘Let me speak to the Mother.’ The Waga tree commanded.

‘Yes Mr Waga tree.’ Said Mummy nervously.

‘The boy has disobeyed your orders. I have seen it happen many times, to many children. Why would your son do this?’ The Waga tree inquired.

‘Some children are just independent I suppose.’ Replied Mummy.

‘True.’ Said the Waga tree. ‘But nothing is without reason. He is the youngest of your children you say. So why does he want to be independent?’ There was a moment of silence. The Waga tree knew the anwer to his question, but he wanted Mummy to realise it herself.

‘Of Course!’ Mummy suddenly cried. ‘He wants to be out all the time like his brothers and sister! But that still doesn’t explain where he has gone.’ Mummy sounded disappointed.

‘There is a place full of objects that are rejected or thrown away. The creatures that live there have nowhere else to go. If your son has no where to go, he too may have ended up there.’ Hinted the Waga tree.

‘Where do objects that are thrown away, end up?’ Wondered Mummy.

‘In the Junkyard dear.’ Replied Grandma knowingly.

‘Oh thank you Mr Waga tree!’ Said Mummy gratefully, as she and Grandma rushed to get home.

Back in the junkyard, Old Newspapers and Vino Tinto walked over to Bradley to talk to him.

‘Bradley, when you told us you did not want to go home, did you mean it or were you just saying that because you were upset and still angry with your parents?’

Bradley did not reply to Vino Tinto, because he was afraid his lie would be caught.

‘We know that you really do want to go back home, and there’s nothing wrong with that.’ Explained Vino Tinto.

Old Newspapers looked into Bradley’s eyes and gave him some words to think about.

‘Bradley, when your parents give you rules to follow, it means they love you and want you to be safe. By obeying those rules it shows that you love them too. Your parents will be searching for you right now.’

‘Won’t they be cross with me?’ Asked Bradley.

‘Yes, but seeing you again will make them very happy indeed!’ Replied Old Newspapers.

‘I want to go home.’ Smiled Bradley.

‘We know, and the Junkyard Jockeys will help you get there.’ Vino Tinto assured him.

‘But if you had told the truth from the start,’ She continued. ‘You would be home by now!’

At the Brown Paper Bag family home, almost everyone had returned.

‘I went to every shop in town.’ Said Jen sadly. ‘But I couldn’t find Bradley anywhere!’

The twins were also disappointed.

‘We ran to every child’s house in his class, but nobody knew where he was.’ They complained.

‘Me and Car drove around every street we could think of, but we never once saw Bradley.’ Explained Daddy.

‘Well, I waited here all day, and the Police never came with any news, and neither did Bradley!’ Grandpa said angrily.

They all sat around the dining table with sad looks on their faces, waiting for Mummy and Grandma to return home with better news. As soon as Mummy came home, she told them what the Waga tree had said. Right away she and Daddy took Car and went straight to the junkyard. It was now night, and they did not want to waste any more time.

‘I know a short cut.’ Said Car as he drove to the junkyard. ‘We’ll be there in two minutes.’

As soon as they got there, Mummy and Daddy jumped out of Car and had a look around. They expected to find Bradley waiting for them.

‘Bradley!’ They both called. ‘It’s your Mummy and Daddy. Where are you sweetie?’

Car turned his headlights on to help them look, but it was no good. Bradley was nowhere in sight, and all around were forgotten objects. Mummy was so sad that she began to cry.

‘Where is he? I’m so worried for him.’ She sobbed.

Daddy was upset too, but did not want Mummy to see him cry. He tried to put on a brave face and told Mummy that they would carry on looking until they had found Bradley. Car was also upset, and the drive home seemed to go so slowly. All they could think about was how disappointed the family would be.

‘We’ll tell everyone to keep searching.’ Said Daddy as they came to the front of the house.

‘Everyone will be so sad.’ Said Mummy.

They stopped at the front door and sighed.

As soon as they opened the door, the first thing they saw was Bradley!

‘Mummy! Daddy!’ He screamed as he ran into his mother’s arms.

‘Bradley!’ Cried Mummy as she gave him a great big hug. ‘Don’t you ever do that again! You had us all worried sick.’

‘I’m sorry.’ Said Bradley, still in his mother’s arms.

‘That’s all right sweetie. We’re just glad to have you back home.’

Both Mummy and Daddy gave Bradley a great big cuddle, and lots and lots of kisses. When they finally stopped and looked up, they saw some strangers in the house.

‘Who are your friends?’ Asked Daddy.

‘They’re the Junkyard Jockeys, and they helped me get home.’ Replied Bradley.

Daddy shook all of their hands and thanked them for looking after his son.

‘You’re welcome.’ Said Vino Tinto. ‘We’ll be going back to the junkyard now.’

Bradley was sad to hear this, but Daddy stopped them.

‘There’s no need to leave, I’m sure I can find jobs for you all right here.’ Said Daddy.

‘In the mean while, please stay and be our guests. It is the least we can do for you, especially as you rescued our son.’

‘Thank you, we appreciate it.’ Replied Vino Tinto.

‘Yippee! No more junkyard!’ Shouted Crushed Can.

They were all very happy, and began celebrating.

Once the celebrations had died down, Daddy called Bradley over to speak to him.

‘Bradley.’ He said.

‘Do you see how we all love you very much. Your brothers, your sister, all of us spent all this time searching for you.’ Explained Daddy.

Bradley was a little embarrassed to have caused such a fuss, but was glad to be back home.

‘Enjoy being the youngest son, because when you’re all grown up, you’ll look back at these days and they will make you feel very very happy!’ Daddy continued.

‘And Jen, twins, spend more time at home playing with your little brother.’

‘Yes Daddy.’ They replied. Everyone was very happy to be together again, and now with the Junkyard Jockeys, they were an even bigger happy family. The next morning, they all sat down together for breakfast and exchanged stories about how busy and exciting their day had been. None of the Brown Paper Bag family ever forgot that Saturday, and afterwards they all spent more time with each other.

Sissy and Bradley enjoyed the rest of the summer playing games outside with the Twins, Jen, and the Junkyard Jockeys. It was the best summer any of them ever had!

The End… For now.