WEBVTT 1 00:00:00.070 --> 00:00:05.110 The magic backpack. Alex disliked his new backpack before he 2 00:00:05.129 --> 00:00:08.630 had even used it. It was bright red, with silver 3 00:00:08.689 --> 00:00:13.179 buckles and a front pocket, shaped like a grin. His 4 00:00:13.300 --> 00:00:17.140 old backpack had a broken zip and three ink stains, 5 00:00:17.839 --> 00:00:22.120 but it knew where everything belonged.' Bags do not know things,' 6 00:00:22.390 --> 00:00:26.420 Mum said.' Exactly. This one looks too pleased with itself.' 7 00:00:27.670 --> 00:00:31.710 On Monday, Alex put the red backpack beneath his desk. 8 00:00:32.710 --> 00:00:37.049 During maths, something bumped against his chair. He opened the 9 00:00:37.109 --> 00:00:41.039 front pocket and found a green mitten. It was not 10 00:00:41.119 --> 00:00:44.560 his mitten. It belonged to Priya, who had lost it 11 00:00:44.600 --> 00:00:48.280 beside the football field the previous week. Where did you 12 00:00:48.320 --> 00:00:53.020 find that? she asked. In my bag. Why was it 13 00:00:53.090 --> 00:00:57.130 in your bag? The silver buckles gave a tiny click. 14 00:00:57.929 --> 00:01:02.369 At lunch, The backpack produced a library card, a toy dinosaur, 15 00:01:02.890 --> 00:01:08.530 and one muddy shoe. Each belonged to someone nearby. Alex 16 00:01:08.590 --> 00:01:11.540 returned the card to Mr. Bell, the dinosaur to a 17 00:01:11.590 --> 00:01:15.200 first grader, and the shoe to Owen, who had somehow 18 00:01:15.280 --> 00:01:20.659 reached lunch wearing only one. Your backpack finds lost things, 19 00:01:21.079 --> 00:01:24.719 Priya whispered. Then it can start with my science worksheet. 20 00:01:25.879 --> 00:01:30.750 The bag produced a banana. On Tuesday, Alex and Priya 21 00:01:30.909 --> 00:01:34.030 tested it. They placed the backpack in the empty music 22 00:01:34.049 --> 00:01:39.170 room and waited. Nothing happened. Priya announced that magic probably 23 00:01:39.269 --> 00:01:43.900 required dramatic lighting. Alex turned off one lamp. The front 24 00:01:43.959 --> 00:01:48.400 pocket bulged. Inside was a brass key with a round 25 00:01:48.480 --> 00:01:53.840 blue tag. The tag held a faded number, 14. They 26 00:01:54.000 --> 00:01:59.159 asked at the office, library, gym, and caretaker's room Nobody 27 00:01:59.219 --> 00:02:03.480 recognized it. The key did not fit classroom cupboards or 28 00:02:03.540 --> 00:02:07.000 the old display case in the hall. Maybe it belongs 29 00:02:07.060 --> 00:02:12.860 outside school, Priya said. The backpack tugged hard against Alex's shoulder. 30 00:02:13.759 --> 00:02:18.060 They followed the pool down the corridor. It grew stronger 31 00:02:18.379 --> 00:02:22.050 near the auditorium, then stopped beside a wall covered with 32 00:02:22.189 --> 00:02:27.939 framed photographs of former school plays. One picture... showed students 33 00:02:28.000 --> 00:02:34.099 performing a space adventure in 1986. Behind them stood 14 34 00:02:34.099 --> 00:02:39.879 small lockers painted like rocket doors. There aren't lockers backstage, 35 00:02:40.159 --> 00:02:45.379 Alex said. There aren't lockers backstage now. Their drama teacher, Ms. Chen, 36 00:02:45.909 --> 00:02:51.129 remembered a row of storage lockers removed during renovations. One 37 00:02:51.150 --> 00:02:54.689 had been left because a new wall was built in 38 00:02:54.750 --> 00:02:58.409 front of it. Please tell me we aren't knocking down 39 00:02:58.449 --> 00:03:02.349 a wall for a magic backpack, Alex said. They did 40 00:03:02.409 --> 00:03:05.430 not knock down a wall. His chin found an old 41 00:03:05.610 --> 00:03:09.449 access panel behind a curtain. With a caretaker present, she 42 00:03:09.569 --> 00:03:13.370 opened it. Beyond was a narrow storage space and one 43 00:03:13.550 --> 00:03:19.180 dusty metal door marked 14. The brass key turned. Inside 44 00:03:19.560 --> 00:03:23.560 sat a cardboard moon, three silver helmets, a bundle of 45 00:03:23.639 --> 00:03:28.289 handwritten scripts, and a wooden control box covered with switches. 46 00:03:29.009 --> 00:03:32.550 A note on top read, For next year's space crew. 47 00:03:33.409 --> 00:03:36.590 There had never been a next year's space crew. A 48 00:03:36.689 --> 00:03:40.150 leaking roof had closed the auditorium, and the props had 49 00:03:40.189 --> 00:03:45.699 been forgotten during repairs. Ms. Chen carried the box into 50 00:03:45.740 --> 00:03:51.000 the light. One switch made the cardboard moon glow. Another 51 00:03:51.060 --> 00:03:56.370 played a recording of thunder, followed by somebody whispering, Wrong button! 52 00:03:57.569 --> 00:04:01.689 Alex laughed so suddenly that he dropped the banana, which 53 00:04:01.770 --> 00:04:07.169 he had forgotten was still in his pocket. The discovery 54 00:04:07.250 --> 00:04:11.580 gave Ms. Chen an idea for the spring play. Students 55 00:04:11.639 --> 00:04:14.639 repaired the helmets with tape and wrote a new story 56 00:04:14.659 --> 00:04:18.100 around the old moon. Alex did not want to act, 57 00:04:18.720 --> 00:04:23.680 but he volunteered to run the control box. Priya joined 58 00:04:23.699 --> 00:04:28.370 the sound crew. She labeled every switch, including one that 59 00:04:28.529 --> 00:04:33.279 seemed to do nothing. During rehearsal, that switch released a 60 00:04:33.399 --> 00:04:37.420 shower of paper stars from above the stage. The cast 61 00:04:37.519 --> 00:04:41.199 spent 20 minutes picking stars from their hair while Ms. 62 00:04:41.279 --> 00:04:45.300 Chin added the effect to the final scene. The backpack 63 00:04:45.639 --> 00:04:52.240 kept returning lost objects. Most were ordinary. Pencils, gloves, lunch containers, 64 00:04:52.699 --> 00:04:57.370 a recorder that everyone wished had stayed missing. Alex and 65 00:04:57.459 --> 00:05:01.689 Priya made a lost and found sign and stopped conducting 66 00:05:01.810 --> 00:05:06.730 experiments during lessons. Then the backpack began producing things that 67 00:05:06.769 --> 00:05:11.209 were not lost at all. It gave Alex Priya's ruler 68 00:05:11.930 --> 00:05:15.990 while she was using it. It swallowed his spelling book 69 00:05:16.610 --> 00:05:21.250 and returned it to the teacher. During rehearsal, It grabbed 70 00:05:21.269 --> 00:05:26.060 the astronaut captain's silver boot ten seconds before she needed it. 71 00:05:26.970 --> 00:05:32.009 It has become too enthusiastic, Priya said. Alex opened every pocket. 72 00:05:32.810 --> 00:05:37.490 Beneath the lining, he found the blue tag from Key 73 00:05:37.490 --> 00:05:42.149 14 caught around a loose silver thread. The thread ran 74 00:05:42.189 --> 00:05:46.069 into the front pocket like a tiny fishing line. He 75 00:05:46.189 --> 00:05:51.269 carefully freed the tag. The backpack sneezed out six pencils 76 00:05:51.790 --> 00:05:56.839 and became still. After that, it only returned things that 77 00:05:56.899 --> 00:06:01.980 had truly been forgotten. Alex never learned whether the key 78 00:06:02.000 --> 00:06:04.259 had awakened the bag or whether the bag had simply 79 00:06:04.300 --> 00:06:08.459 been waiting for the right mystery. On opening night, the 80 00:06:08.620 --> 00:06:15.509 cardboard moon rose perfectly. Alex pressed the thunder switch. Thunder 81 00:06:15.910 --> 00:06:21.319 rolled across the auditorium. Then the old recording whispered, Wrong button! 82 00:06:22.100 --> 00:06:24.560 The audience laughed. Ms. Chen kept it in the show. 83 00:06:25.220 --> 00:06:29.000 When Alex packed up, the backpack's front pocket curved into 84 00:06:29.060 --> 00:06:34.000 its usual grin. He no longer minded. His science worksheet 85 00:06:34.360 --> 00:06:37.430 was inside at last, along with a note from Priya. 86 00:06:38.449 --> 00:06:45.529 Check for bananas. The end. As always, visit us at readthetale.com 87 00:06:45.629 --> 00:06:48.250 for all your favorite tales and stories.