The Old Phone

Jenny sat on the school bus, staring sadly at her classmates. They all had shiny new smartphones, which she knew cost a lot of money. Together, they played games, watched videos, and sent photos to one another. They were all having so much fun and Jenny felt left out.

She wished she could join in. But she didn’t have a phone—at least not a phone like theirs. Her mum had saved for weeks and finally bought her a second-hand phone from a small shop in town. It was old, with a tiny screen and big buttons. It couldn’t take pictures or go on the internet. The only game was “Snake”.

Jenny tried to be grateful, but every time she saw her friends’ phones, she felt sad. She wished she could have one of the new ones, the kind that made you feel like you belonged.

That night, she sat on her bed, holding the old phone in her hand. She pressed the button for messages. To her surprise, a message appeared on the screen. But no one even knew her number.

The message said, “Need help? Look outside.”

Jenny ran to the window. Across the street, an old woman was carrying two heavy bags. Jenny rushed out to help. When she came back, the phone buzzed softly. A new message appeared on the screen: “Good job.”

The next day, Jenny wrote, ‘What should I do?’

The phone answered instantly: “Go to the back of the school.”

Jenny went there at lunch and found a tiny kitten in a box. She lifted it carefully and smiled. Again the words appeared: “Good job.”

Over the next few weeks, the phone guided her to help more people. She found a boy’s lost wallet, warned a teacher about water on the floor, and even called an ambulance when an old man fell in the park. Each time, the phone rewarded her with the same words: “Good job.”

Her friends still laughed at her. “Why don’t you have a real smartphone, Jenny?” they asked.

Jenny just smiled. Her phone wasn’t new, but it was special.

One evening, her mum saw her holding it and smiling. “You like that phone now, don’t you?”

Jenny nodded. “Yes, Mum. It’s very special.”

Her mum kissed her head. “Sometimes the best things aren’t the newest.”

Jenny looked at her phone. She knew she would never trade it for anything—not even the most expensive smartphone in the world.

📒 Key vocabulary

• smartphones – modern phones that have small computers inside and can do many things
• left out – excluded, not a part of something
• second-hand – not new; owned or used by someone else before
• screen – the flat surface on a phone, computer, or TV where you see pictures and words
• buzz (buzz, buzzed, buzzed) – to make a low, vibrating sound like “bzzzz” (for example, when a phone vibrates)
• kitten – a baby cat
• wallet – a small case for money and cards
• warn (warn, warned, warned) – to tell someone about danger or something bad that might happen so they can be careful
• ambulance – a special car that takes sick people to hospital
• trade (trade, traded, traded) – to give something and get something else back

🤔 Comprehension quiz

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