POULSBO — The 4-year-old boy did the right thing.

According to a Poulsbo police report, on Nov. 1 the boy was at a second-floor window of his home in the Poulsbo Gardens neighborhood when a stranger on the driveway reportedly told him he had a toy knife to give him. The boy went and told his mother, and when the mom went outside the man had left. She called 9-1-1.

“Officers went immediately to the area” and searched the neighborhood, Deputy Police Chief Robert Wright said.

The mom found a rubber toy knife on her lawn. She told police the toy did not belong to her son, Wright said.

The alleged incident occurred shortly before 11 a.m.

Wright said the man was described as wearing black pants, black shirt and black glasses.

Wright said he received an email from a resident who was concerned about the alleged incident, but the resident did not leave an address or phone number and had not responded to the deputy chief’s return email.

“As far as the child goes, he did exactly the right thing — go tell mom and dad,” Wright said. “You should always be in the general location of a parent or guardian. If you’re the parent, call 9-1-1 and keep your eyes and ears open in the neighborhood.”

And Wright prefers a phone call rather than an email. If you do email, “Leave an address for us to go to. We like to respond when we get calls.”