The Late Bus

Mr Hartley is on a trip to a small town in Italy. Today he goes home. His plane is at four. There is a bus for the plane at one, and one more at three. After that, there is no bus.

At one by his watch, Mr Hartley is at the bus stop with his bag. There is no bus.

A woman with a dog comes to the stop. "THE. BUS. IS. LATE," says Mr Hartley.

The woman looks at his watch. Then she looks at her watch. She says something and laughs. Then she walks away with her dog.

"Late," says Mr Hartley. "Everything in this country is late."

At half past one, an old man sits next to him.

"THE! BUS! IS! LATE!" says Mr Hartley.

The old man looks at Mr Hartley's watch. He says something. Mr Hartley does not understand it. So the old man says it again, one word at a time, in a big voice.

"No, no," says Mr Hartley. "ENGLISH. ONLY. ENGLISH."

The old man looks at him for a moment. Then he takes a book from his bag and reads.

A little later, a girl comes to the stop with her mother. She looks at Mr Hartley's watch. She touches it. "England?" she asks.

"YES!" says Mr Hartley. "I. AM. FROM. ENGLAND. GOOD. GIRL. WHERE. IS. THE. BUS?"

The girl holds up one finger. Then she points at his watch and says something.

"One," says Mr Hartley. "Yes. The bus is at one. IT. IS. LATE."

The girl looks at her mother. Her mother takes her hand, and they walk away.

At last, a bus comes. Mr Hartley takes his bag to the front.

"YOU. ARE. ONE. HOUR. LATE," he says to the man who drives it.

The man shows Mr Hartley his watch. It says three.

Mr Hartley looks at it. Then he looks at his watch. It says two.

"Ha," he says. "Your watch is late too."

An hour later, a woman looks at his ticket. She speaks English. "I am very sorry. Your plane is gone."

"GONE?" says Mr Hartley. "IT. IS. THREE. MY. PLANE. IS. AT. FOUR."

The woman shows him her watch. It says four.

Mr Hartley looks at it for a long time.

"What a country," he says. "The buses are late, and the planes are early."