The Desk That Traveled the World
In 1920, a man named George made a beautiful wooden desk. He lived in a small, cold town in England. He used strong oak wood. He worked for three weeks to make it perfect. The desk had four deep drawers and a smooth, dark top. George sold it to a young man named Arthur.
Arthur was a sailor. He was prepare to travel to India. He loved the desk so much that he took it with him on a large ship. For many weeks, the desk sat in Arthur's small cabin. It moved up and down with the waves of the ocean. In India, Arthur lived in a warm, sunny house. He sat at the desk every night to write letters to his family in England.
Thirty years later, Arthur’s grandson, David, took the desk to Australia. David was a doctor. He put the desk in his office in Sydney. Many people came to see him. David wrote important notes on the desk. Sometimes, he looked out the window at the blue ocean and thought about his grandfather’s journey. The desk now had a few small scratches, but it was still strong.
In 1990, the desk moved again. David’s daughter, Emma, got a job in Canada. She sent the desk across the Pacific Ocean on a cargo ship. In Canada, the desk sat in a room with a view of high, snowy mountains. Emma was an artist. She painted beautiful pictures of the mountains while sitting at the desk. She also spilled a little blue paint on the left corner. This paint became part of the desk's story.
Today, the desk is in a small school in Kenya. Emma gave it to the school when she went there to teach. Now, young children sit around the desk to learn how to read and write. They touch the smooth wood. They do not know about the English town, the Indian sun, the Australian ocean, or the Canadian snow. But they know the desk is special.
The desk is over one hundred years old. It has traveled to five different countries. It has seen the sea, the mountains, and many different faces. It is not just a piece of furniture. It is a traveler with many stories to tell.
Where would you travel if you were a piece of furniture?