The Postman's Last Round
- 3 minute read
- Ages 5-10
- Bedtime Stories
Mr Fernandes had delivered the post on the same round for thirty-four years, and on a Friday in November he did it for the last time.
Nobody had made a fuss about it. He had asked them not to.
The round
He knew things about that round that were not written down anywhere.
He knew that the letterbox at number eleven was too small and that anything thicker than a card had to go under the mat instead. He knew that the dog at twenty-three was not dangerous but would take the post out of your hand if you let it, so you posted at twenty-three quickly and did not stop.
He knew that the old man at the end of the terrace came to the door whether or not there was anything for him, and that if there was nothing, you said good morning anyway and stood there for a moment, because that was the only conversation the man was going to have that day.
None of that was in any training. He had worked it out over thirty-four years and it lived entirely in his head.
The last morning
He did the round exactly as usual.
He was slower than he had been, and he had been slower for a few years, but he did every house in the same order he always had, and he did not skip anything and he did not make a speech at anybody.
At the end of the terrace the old man came out and there was nothing for him, so Mr Fernandes said good morning and stood there for a moment.
"Last one," he said.
"I know," said the old man. "Somebody told me."
And they stood there together for slightly longer than usual, and then Mr Fernandes went on.
The notebook
Back at the sorting office he did one more thing before he handed in his bag.
He sat down at the table with a notebook he had bought that week, and he wrote it all down.
Number eleven, letterbox too small, use the mat. Twenty-three, do not stop at the gate. Forty-one, the bell does not work, knock. Fifty-six, they leave for work at seven so anything signed for has to come before that or after six.
The end of the terrace, and what he wrote for that one was three lines long.
It took him nearly an hour.
Then he gave the notebook to the young woman who was taking over the round, who had been walking it with him for two weeks and had thought she already knew it.
Monday
She did the round on the Monday morning with the notebook in her pocket.
She got to the end of the terrace, and there was nothing for the old man, and she stood there for a moment and said good morning.
Moral of the story
Thirty-four years of a job leaves things in a person's head that no training ever put there. He spent his last hour writing them down for somebody else.
Questions and answers
- How long had Mr Fernandes done the round?
Thirty-four years, always in the same order.
- What did he know that was not written down anywhere?
Practical details such as which letterbox was too small, which dog would take the post, and which bell did not work.
- Why did he stop at the end of the terrace?
Because the old man came to the door whether or not there was post, and it was the only conversation he would have that day.
- What did he do after his last round?
He sat down and wrote everything he knew about the round into a notebook.
- What did the new postwoman do on Monday?
She reached the end of the terrace, found nothing for the old man, and stopped to say good morning anyway.
Word meanings
- round
- The regular route a postal worker covers.
- terrace
- A row of houses joined together.
- sorting office
- The building where post is sorted before delivery.
- signed for
- Post that requires the receiver to sign.
Questions about The Postman's Last Round
What is the moral of The Postman's Last Round?
That the most valuable part of long experience is often unwritten, and that passing it on is a choice somebody has to make deliberately.
Why is the ending effective?
Because the new postwoman does the one thing that was not really about delivering post, which shows the notebook worked.
Is this story sad?
It is gentle rather than sad. Nothing bad happens, and the ending is about something continuing rather than ending.
What is a good discussion afterwards?
Ask the child what they know how to do that they were never actually taught. Most people have more of these than they expect.