The story from New Concept English, Book2. Now I rewrote this story.
Once , a boy who played truant travelled 1600miles, For hitchhiking to Dover ,he crept into a boat and slept there without being found, the next morning when he woke up,he found himself in Calais. from there ,he met a kind lorry driver who gave him a lift and something to eat. a few time later,after getting off near Paris,the boy stopped another car,but he was taken to Perpignan on the French Spanish border instead of Paris.There, a policeman picked up him and sent him home.
The boy sailed back to England. Unfortunately, the crew was preoccupied with fishing and had no time to attend to him. As a result, he neither had any food to eat nor a warm place to sleep, leaving him cold, hungry, and sick. Meanwhile, his anxious parents were waiting at the harbour. When they were finally reunited with their son, their reaction was one of immense relief and deep concern. The moment the boy saw his mother, he burst into tears and rushed into her warm embrace.
After recovering from his illness, the boy went back to school.and was afraid would be punished,but,to his surprise, the classmates gave him a hero's welcome, and crowding around him with questions excitedly . The headmaster's punishment was to let him make a speech to the entire school about his experiences abroad.
**Commentary**
While the boy showed courage, he should not be held up as an example. Playing truant in this way is ultimately an attempt to escape reality. Moreover, it was deeply irresponsible towards his parents. Consider the potential consequences—had he been injured or fallen into the sea during his journey, imagine the unbearable grief his parents would have suffered! He was fortunate to encounter kind individuals, but the world also has many dangerous people, including child traffickers.
