Kevin enjoyed waking up in the morning. His window looked out on the green fields around. Their house was an American farmhouse though it looked more like an English cottage. It was Kevin’s mother who had restyled the place. She came from England and wanted to have some of it in her new home.

The bean fields around belonged to their family. As the only child in the family, Kevin’s father took up the family business and had never regretted it. He managed to take care of his fields all by himself, only with occasional help from his wife and his son. The farm was highly mechanized. There were all sorts of tractors, combines and other farming machines in their backyard. The father was skillful with them and mum too — she operated all the machines almost professionally. Kevin’s help was needed too, especially now - his small brother had been born recently and mum was busy with the baby.

Right, Kevin was always ready to help but not today. Some of his school friends were going to visit him and that didn’t happen very often. Living on a farm means some sort of isolation. You can’t just see some of your classmates on the street. You can’t walk around with them when you have an hour or two to spare. His mother drove Kevin to school and back every day and that was it — he spent every evening with his family. But today Max and Bob were coming and Kevin was going to enjoy his day off.

When the boys arrived, both Kevin and his father showed them around the farm. The boys were impressed when they learned how many beans the small family produced. Then the adults got busy with the barbecue and the boys went on exploring the farm land and the constructions there. Bob, who was crazy about archaeology, was absolutely fascinated with the old barn (амбар). It had never been used as a barn. Nobody had even entered it for years — the father kept some ancient farming equipment there.

With sincere interest Bob studied the old spades (лопаты), ploughs (плуги) and other ancient tools, the names of which Kevin did not know. Suddenly, Bob’s eyes sparkled: ‘Where did you get it from?’ In his hand he held something that looked like a spade but it was much smaller and the design was different.

‘I have no idea what it is,’ Kevin looked puzzled. ‘It was probably my grandfather or great-grandfather who left it here.’

‘But I suspect that it was made much earlier than your great-grandparents lifetime,’ Bob looked really excited. ‘Can I take it with me? To show it to the people in the Archaeology society?’

Kevin shrugged his shoulders. ‘I don’t think anyone minds if we take everything from here. Father would be glad to get rid of the stuff. He has always wanted to remove this barn completely but still cannot find time to do it.’

‘Do not be in too much of a hurry to do it,’ Bob gave him a wink. ‘Who knows... this ancient stuff will probably make your name famous.’