Last Friday my father said, "Zara, you will have your birthday soon. We will have a party in an interesting place. We will travel somewhere."

I was so happy. I tried to find out the place we will go. I looked at the map. Where will we travel? To a lake? To a city? To another country? But my father didn't want to tell me.

My birthday was on Tuesday. After breakfast we went to the bus station. My father bought bus tickets. My family still didn't tell me anything. We traveled for three hours by bus, then we arrived at a small village. It didn't look interesting at all. I wanted to spend my birthday with my friends, not in an ugly village.

My father said, "Now let's walk to the interesting place". Then we walked around for ten minutes and arrived at a pretty house. The garden was beautiful, full of butterflies. "Who lives here?", I asked. A young girl opened the door. It was Farah, my old friend! They moved from our city into that village. I didn't see her for five years! I was so happy to see her again.

We spent a wonderful afternoon with my friend. The party was good. My mother and sister brought cakes and balloons. It was the best birthday ever.

Can you read a map? What colour are the forests on a map? What colour are the rivers on a map? Is your place a village or a city? How do you travel? By bus? By car? By bike?