|
Stories For Younger Readers
The tree had a secret. It was really a house. One raccoon lived at the top. He lived in a hole in the tree. Two cardinals lived below the raccoon. They roosted on a small branch. Three squirrels lived below the cardinals. They lived on a strong nest of leaves and sticks. Four mice lived below the squirrels. They lived on the ground among the dead leaves. Five rabbits lived below the mice. They lived under the long roots. The tree was not just a house. The tree was an apartment house.
The fat little bear ran fast a tree full of bees. "Eat some honey," said the bees. "I don't have time to est honey," said the fat liitle bear. The fat little bear ran past a stream. "Catch some fish," said the stream. "I don't have time to catch fish," said the fat little bear. The fat little bear ran past some bushes. "Pick some berries," said the bushes. I don't have time to pick berries." said the fat liitle bear. The fat little bear ran into his den. "You are just in time," said Mama Bear. "Your just in time for your winter nap." The fat little bear curled up beside Mama Bear. All winter long he dreamed about eating honey, catching fish, and picking berries.
Squirrel and Chipmunk were sitting beneath a big tree. An acorn fell from the tree into the tall
grass. Squirrel scampered across the grass. "It is time to gather nuts for the winter," he said. "I will
take this acorn to my hole up in the tree.
Another acorn fell from the tree. Chipmunk scampered across the grass. "That is a good
idea," he said. "I will take this acorn to my hole in the hollow log."
One more acorn fell from the tree. "Let's leave that acorn where it is," said squirrel. Chipmunk
agreed. "one acorn for you, one acorn for me, and one on the ground to grow a new tree!"
In his coloring book, Sam saw six birds, one squirrel, one rabbit and one dog. The birds were flying away. The squirrel was climbing a tree. And the dog was chasing the rabbit across the snow. Sam colored one bird yellow, two birds blue, and three birds red. He colored the squirrel gray. Then he colored the dog brown and the rabbit white. He colored the snow white, too. "Now the dog can't see the rabbit," said Sam. "The rabbit is safe in the snow.
Ali Wong is sad. His pet white mouse has died. His friend Ding Li stops by to play. "How are
you today, Ali? he ask in Chinese. Ali shrugs and says, "Ma ma hu hu." In Chinese, that means "not
too good and not too bad. Ding says, "let's visit the animals at the pet store." "OK," says Ali. Off
they go.
"What do you think of this kitten?" ask Ding. Ali looks at the kitten. He shrugs and says, "Ma
ma hu hu." "Well, how about these fine fish?" ask Ding. Ali looks at the fish and shrugs. "Ma ma hu
hu." "How do you like this white mouse?" ask Ding. Ali looks at the mouse. "Ma ma hu hu," he
finally says. A parrot ruffles its feathers. "How are you pretty parrot?" ask Ding. "Ma ma hu hu,"
warbles the parrot. Ali laughs. "That is a fine pet for me!" he says.
One day, Caleb helped Dad clean out the garage. He found a small box of junk. "May I have this box?" asked Caleb. "What is in the box?" Dad asked. "Music!" said Caleb. Dad looked into the box. He did not see any music. He saw three nails, 2 keys, and 1 old fork. "How will you get music from all these things?" asked Dad. Caleb got a hanger and some string. He tied the 3 nails, 2 keys and 1 old fork to the hanger. Then he hung it all outside. DING! CLANG! PING! Everything on the hanger bumped together in the wind. "You were right!" said Dad. "There was music in that box!".