Sally had been studying<注1>at an art college for a year and, like most students, she did not have much money. It was going to be her mother's birthday soon, and she wondered what she could buy her as a present that would be nice and useful but not too expensive.

　　Sally's college was in London, but she had been living in the country for many years, so every day she had an hour's journey by train in the morning, and the same in the evening. At lunchtime one day, a week before her mother's birthday, she decided to have a quick<注2>sandwich and a cup of coffee instead of her usual meal in the college hall, and then go shopping near her college to try to find her mother a nice present. When she had been looking for half an hour, she came across<注3>a shop that was selling umbrellas cheap, and decided that one of those would solve her problem, since her mother had lost hers the month before.

　　"Now which colour shall I choose?" she thought. "Well, I think a black one would be the most useful really. You can carry that when you are wearing clothes of any colour, can't you? Soshavingsmade up her mind, she bought a lovely black umbrella and took it back to the college with her until her classes had finished.

　　On her way back home in the train that evening she felt hungry because she had had such a small lunch, so she went along to the buffet car<注4>for another sandwich and cup of coffee. She had left the black umbrella above her seat in the compartment,<注5>but when she got back, it had gone! When she had left the compartment, there had been no other passengers in it, but now there were three.

　　Sally burstsintostears<注6>when she saw that the umbrella was no longer there. The other passengers felt very sorry for her and asked what the matter was. When she explained that the black umbrella she had bought for her mother had disappeared, and that she had to get out at the next station, the three other passengers asked her for her mother's address, insgroupsto be able to send the umbrella on to her in case someone had removed it by mistake and not on purpose,<注7> and brought it back after Sally had got out of the train.

　　The next week, Sally heard from<注8> her mother. Her letter said, "thank you very much for your lovely presents, but why did you send me three black umbrellas?"