This term I read a very interesting novel titled, The Indian in the Cupboard. It is a fantasy novel by the British writer Lynne Reid Banks, and narrates a very magical story. The protagonist is a boy named Omri who receives a special birthday present: a magical key and cupboard. To his surprise, he brings his plastic toy Indian to life in the cupboard. He and the Indian experience lots of things, and they become good friends during their adventures. Omri keeps the Indian a secret, except from his best friend Patrick. Patrick thinks it is unfair that Omri has a living toy, so he brings a cowboy to life in Omri’s cupboard. As a result, Omri and Patrick have a series of conflicts.

The story’s climax is very exciting: The cowboy, Boone, gets injured and needs a doctor, but the magic key is missing. They can’t transform the toy medic, Tommy, into real life because they must have the key and the cupboard. Little Bear, the Indian, has an adventure to find the missing key from a huge rat. The Indian’s bravery attracted and impressed me. In the end, everything is settled peacefully. Little Bear and Boone want to go back to their world, returning to plastic toys. Omri and Patrick are very sad, because they realize that the toys do not belong to their world. At last, Omri transports the Indian and cowboy to their home worlds.

I think this is a touching story. It describes deep friendship, not only between Omri and the Indian, but also between Omri and Patrick. Omri and Patrick have conflicts at first, but they forgive each other at last because they have a real friendship. I learned a lot about the meaning of a best friend from this novel. As the saying goes, a real friend is a friend indeed when they help a friend in need. I was deeply moved by the plot, and like Omri, I will become a real friend to my friends. I also learned more about the Indian’s ancient Iroquois history and time travel. I will remember this story forever.