Bruno came home from school one day to find the maid, Maria, packing his stuff. He was shocked and asked Maria what was going on. Maria refused to answer him, so Bruno asked his mother, worrying that he had done something wrong. Mother explained that Bruno had no reason to worry. Maria was packing because the whole family would soon be going on a “great adventure.” Mother reminded Bruno that his father’s boss had a very special new job for him. Bruno didn’t know much about his father’s work, and in the past when he’d asked Mother, she had simply repeated that Father’s job was “very important.”