Un cuento: una sorpresa en una maleta

The wrong suitcase

Lena was tired after a long week by the sea. At the station, she took her red suitcase from the shelf, got off the train and took a taxi home.

At home, she opened the suitcase to get her pyjamas. But there were no pyjamas inside. Instead, she found three thick books about birds, a pair of large walking boots, a camera and a notebook full of drawings of birds. It was not her suitcase!

Lena looked at the suitcase carefully. It was red and the same size as hers, with the same black wheels. The two cases were almost identical. Then she noticed a small label under the handle with a name, Tomás Ruiz, and a phone number.

She called the number at once. A man answered. He sounded worried. "Yes, I'm Tomás," he said. "I think I have your suitcase. I'm a bird photographer, and my notebook is in that suitcase. It has two years of work in it!"

The next morning, they met at a café near the station and swapped suitcases. Tomás was so grateful that he bought Lena breakfast. He showed her some of his photos of rare birds, and she told him about her holiday.

Now Lena always puts a big yellow ribbon on her suitcase. And every spring, Tomás sends her a postcard with a new bird on it.