Once upon a time, in a small village, there lived a mischievous little boy named Max. Max loved to play pranks and was always coming up with new and creative ways to make people laugh. One day, he had a brilliant idea for his next prank.

Max went to the local hardware store and bought a lock for the doorbell, a letter box for the gate, and a stamp with the word "out of order" on it. He then went to the local grocery store and purchased a broom and dustpan, and emptied the contents of the trash bin into a big pile in the street.

The next day, Max got up early and put his plan into action. He attached the lock to the doorbell, so that it wouldn't ring. He put the letter box on the gate, so that anyone who wanted to deliver a letter would have to drop it into the box. And finally, he placed the stamp on the gate with the word "out of order."

Just as Max was finishing up, a delivery truck pulled up, and the driver rang the doorbell. When the doorbell didn't ring, the driver became confused and tried to deliver the package through the gate, but the letter box was too small. The driver then saw the stamp that read "out of order" and shrugged, tossing the package into the trash pile in the street.

Max, who was hiding behind a tree, burst out laughing as he saw the confused driver walk away. He then took out his broom and dustpan and started sweeping the trash pile into a neat pile, pretending to be a street cleaner.

As Max was sweeping, a car drove by and stopped in front of him. The driver rolled down the window and asked, "Excuse me, sir. Is this the way to the post office?"

Max, still pretending to be a street cleaner, replied, "I'm sorry, but the post office is closed today. They're having a cleaning day!"

The driver, not wanting to argue with a street cleaner, drove away, still looking for the post office.

Max continued to sweep, laughing to himself at the prank he had just pulled. He was having so much fun that he didn't even notice the real street cleaner coming down the road, until it was too late.

The street cleaner, seeing Max sweeping the street, assumed that he was a thief and chased after him, yelling, "Stop, thief!"

Max, still laughing, ran away as fast as he could, with the street cleaner hot on his heels. Eventually, he made it back to his house, where he collapsed on the floor, exhausted but happy.

From that day on, Max became known as the prankster of the village, always coming up with new and creative ways to make people laugh. And although he sometimes got into trouble, everyone loved him because he always brought a smile to their faces.

Reflections

1. What was Max's plan for his next prank?
2. What happened when the delivery truck tried to deliver a package to Max's house?
3. How did Max pretend to be a street cleaner?
4. Why did the street cleaner chase after Max?
5. How did Max become known as the prankster of the village?
6. What did Max learn from his misadventures with the lock, doorbell, letter box, stamp, broom, dustpan, car, trash bin, and stamp?