Strange Face in the Bushes

Ryan, Wes, Dean, and Tyler were having the best day ever at Daycare. They had built a massive tower with blocks, raced toy cars down the slide, and were now playing hide-and-seek near the playground fence.

"I found you, Dean!" Tyler giggled, pointing at his friend crouched behind the slide.

As the boys ran around looking for Wes, Ryan noticed something unusual. Through the bushes that lined the playground fence, he saw a face he didn't recognize—a grown-up peering through the leaves.

"Hey guys," Ryan whispered, "who's that?" He pointed toward the bushes where the stranger was watching them.

The boys gathered together, suddenly feeling nervous.

"I don't know him," said Wes with a frown.

"Me neither," added Dean. "He's not anyone's dad or Mr. Charlie or Mr. Ben." They knew all the teachers and parents who came to their daycare.

"I think his name is Jacob. I heard him talking to someone on his phone," Tyler said quietly. "But he shouldn't be watching us. My dad says strangers shouldn't watch kids."

The boys remembered their safety lessons. Their teachers had told them about "tricky people" who might try to talk to children they don't know.

"We need to tell Mr. Charlie right away," said Ryan, and the others nodded.

They ran across the playground to where Mr. Charlie, one of the teacher's assistants, was helping another child with a puzzle.

"Mr. Charlie! Mr. Charlie!" they called out together. "There's a stranger watching us through the bushes! His name might be Jacob!"

Mr. Charlie immediately stood up. "Show me where," he said calmly but seriously. The boys pointed toward the bushes.

Mr. Charlie asked another teacher, Mr. Ben, to watch the other children while he investigated. Mr. Charlie walked over to the bushes and saw the man still there. He asked the man what he was doing, but the man couldn't give a good reason for being there.

Mr. Charlie asked the man to wait while he called the daycare director, who then called the police. Soon, police officers arrived in their cars with flashing lights.

The officers talked to the man named Jacob for a long time. They looked at his ID and made some phone calls. Then, they put handcuffs on Jacob's wrists and took him to their police car.

Later, when the excitement had calmed down, the boys sat in a circle with their teachers.

"What does it mean when someone gets arrested?" asked Dean.

Mr. Charlie explained, "When someone breaks an important rule that helps keep people safe, police officers might need to take that person away to make sure everyone stays safe. This is called getting arrested."

"The police officers will ask the person lots of questions to understand what happened," added Mr. Vance, the daycare director. "Then, other grown-ups called judges will decide if the person needs a consequence for breaking the rules."

"Like a time-out?" asked Tyler.

"A bit like that, but for grown-ups," Mr. Vance smiled gently. "Sometimes people who break serious rules need to stay in a special place called jail while everyone figures out what should happen next."

"You boys did exactly the right thing today," Mr. Charlie said proudly. "When you see something that doesn't seem right, especially a stranger who shouldn't be at our daycare, you should always tell a grown-up you trust."

That evening, the daycare called all the parents to tell them what happened. The boys' parents gave them extra big hugs at pickup time.

"You were so brave and smart today," Ryan's dad told him.

The boys felt proud that they had remembered their safety lessons and helped keep everyone at the daycare safe.