The Other Suitcase
Written by Studio AM.
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Hugo took the wrong suitcase from the airport belt. Both were grey. Both had a red ribbon on the handle. He noticed only when he opened it in his hotel room and found a wedding dress, folded in white paper.
There was no name tag. There was a phone number written inside the lid, in pencil, half rubbed away. Hugo copied the digits and guessed the last one. He tried nine numbers before a woman answered.
Her name was Salla. She was getting married on Saturday, in a town two hours north, and she had spent the whole afternoon crying in a taxi. When Hugo said the words "white paper," she went quiet for a long moment. They met at the train station the next morning and traded bags. Salla tried to give him money. Hugo refused. He asked instead for a photograph after the wedding, so that he could see the dress on the right person.
Three weeks later, a small envelope reached his office. There was no letter inside, only a picture. Salla was laughing. The red ribbon from the suitcase was tied around her wrist.
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Questions
Choose an answer. The explanation appears after you answer.
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Question 1 of 4
What is the story mainly about?
The answer is B: Hugo works to return a stranger's suitcase and refuses payment.
Hugo tries several numbers and meets Salla to return her bag. He refuses money but asks for a wedding photograph.
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Question 2 of 4
How did Hugo find Salla?
The answer is D: He tried possible last digits until she answered.
The second paragraph says the number was half rubbed away, so he guessed the last digit and tried nine numbers before she answered.
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Question 3 of 4
Why does Salla go quiet when Hugo says the words "white paper"?
The answer is C: She feels relieved that her dress has probably been found.
Salla has been upset about the missing dress. Hearing a detail about its wrapping suggests Hugo has the right bag, so relief is a reasonable inference.
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Question 4 of 4
What does 'traded' mean when the travellers exchange their bags?
The answer is A: exchanged the suitcases
Each of them had the other's suitcase, so trading means exchanging them so each got the right one back.
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