Lesson 1: Trouble with a Kite

It was a bright, breezy day during the Easter holidays so John and Dean decided to go out and fly John’s new kite. It was a stunt kite that measured ten feet by four feet and was controlled by two strings.

John and Dean took the kite to some open ground by the river near John’s house. Dean held the kite while John unwound the strings. John gently pulled the strings and called out to Dean, “OK, I’m ready. You can let go now.” Dean lifted the kite and let go. The breeze caught the kite and it soared up into the air.

Dean watched it go and walked over to John. John pulled hard on the right-hand string and the kite dived to the right. Just before the kite hit the ground John pulled hard on the left-hand string and the kite soared back up into the air.

“Let me try,” Dean said. John gave him the strings and Dean made the kite loop the loop. When he handed the strings back to John he said, “Hold tight, the wind is getting stronger.”

Just then a gust of wind lifted the kite high into the air. John grasped the strings of the kite as tightly as he could. But the wind was very strong and suddenly John was pulled up into the air by the kite. The kite carried John over the surface of the river.

Dean saw what was happening and called the emergency services on his mobile phone. “Please send an ambulance and a fire engine as quickly as possible,” he said, “It’s very windy and my friend is being carried over the river by his kite.”

John held on tightly to the strings of the kite because he did not want to fall into the river. However, the wind dropped and the kite began to come down. John was dragged across the surface of the water. Then, another gust of wind took the kite higher again and John was lifted out of the water. As he left the water John lost a shoe, and his trousers fell down.

Eventually John landed on the other side of the river. When the emergency services arrived they found John sitting on the river bank. His kite was on the ground nearby. He was wet, cold and muddy. He had lost a shoe and his trousers were around his ankles.

“You can let go of the kite strings now, son,” said the ambulance driver. He put a blanket around John’s shoulders. “What you need is a good warm drink” he said kindly, and poured him a hot cup of tea from his thermos flask.