Dear Mr Jones,
I expect you may be slightly surprised to receive a letter from someone living as near as your nextdoor neighbor, but I have to raise a subject so that it will be easier for me to discuss in writing.
You may have noticed that I have a 1 of apple trees running alongside the fence that 2 our two gardens. You may also have taken 3 in the frequent sight of your two children 4 on your lawn directly by the fence. And you may also have 5 that my apple trees, so to speak, bend over the fence and seem to 6 your children with interest.
It is only natural that your children should sometimes seem to return that 7. And it is not only natural, 8, I acknowledge, quite legal, for them occasionally to show that interest by 9 all the apples that hang over on 10 side of the fence.
But to be plain with you, Mr Jones, I am tired 11 seeing your children, day after day, tear the branches off the side of every one of my apple trees, and leave my trees looking 12 a battle had been fought on one side of them. I am, if anything, even more tired of waking up these fine autumn 13, to find even the apples on my side of the fence 14 in number. I know this is the work of your children, since last night I was woken at midnight by the 15 they were making 16 one of my trees, and (as they may have told you) chased them home.
While I am on the subject, I am at least grateful to you for keeping your bonfires on the far side of your garden this year. Last year neither I 17 your children had any apples, because the smoke from your bonfire destroyed all the flowers 18the apples had time to form. I very much hope that next year—for the first time since I came to this village—I shall have my apples, and your children 19 have theirs and that the sight of the line of apple trees will be 20 pride to us both.
