With a kiss on the cheek,

Emma’s mom said, “You watch your

brother, Rory, while your father and I are gone.” As the door

shut behind them, Emma turned to Rory and asked, “What do you want to do? Play with some blocks? Some toys? The dog?”   

They ran through the house playing with everything they could find. Finally, they stopped on something Rory found fun. Building up blocks and then tearing them down. Emma found herself enjoying them, too. She would make pretty castles and throw a royal ball.   

Emma soon found herself playing alone. She called for Rory, but no answer came. What would her parents do if she lost her little brother?   

She looked here and there, but he was nowhere to be found. She was looking in his room when she stubbed her toe. She screeched with pain as she fell to the floor. Once the pain was gone, she looked at what she hit. It was a hard shiny glass, with a thin, metal handle.   

I’ll show what you’re searching for, just tell me what it is

The object looked familiar, like she’d seen it before. Why yes! That’s what it is, a magnifying glass! It helps you see things that are too small to see. On the handle had a string, with a note on the end. It read, “I’ll show what you’re searching for, just tell me what it is”.

What does Emma need to find? Immediately she said,

“my brother”. The glass turned white like clouds and an

image began to appear.

It was an image of a

boy playing with a truck. This thing must be broken.

This isn’t my brother, she thought. That made Emma all

the more worried that she would never find her brother.

In frustration she threw the magnifying glass down. As she did, the note flipped over and the other side read, “You must me tell exactly what you want. I can’t read minds.”