The Pet Shop

Cody and his sister April decide they

want a dog. They head down to the local
pet store and have a look around.

It is a very small pet store that doesn't

have many animals.

The owner of the shop is a nice old man

named Mr. Smith. He walks over and
greets Cody and April.

"How can I help you?" he asks.

"We would like to buy a dog," April

responds.

"Ah, well, we are not a big pet shop," Mr. Smith tells her. "So we only have
two dogs to choose from."

They ask Mr. Smith to show them the dogs.

Mr. Smith leads them to the back of store where the two dogs are. One of
them is a very big bulldog named Buster. The other is a very tiny chihuahua
named Teacup.

April wants Teacup. Cody wants Buster. They walk outside to discuss.

They can’t agree on a dog. April suggests they race home for it. The winner
of the race chooses the dog.

Cody agrees, then tells April her shoelace is untied. When April looks down,
he runs off and gets a head start.

Cody runs as hard as he can. He really wants that bulldog. He looks back.
April is so far behind he can’t even see her.

Cody finally gets home. He is tired but he is happy. He knows he is the

winner.

April arrives a few minutes after Cody. She congratulates him. They return to
the pet store to purchase Buster the bulldog.

However, when they arrive they only see Teacup the chihuahua.
They ask Mr. Smith where Buster is.

Mr. Smith gives the details. He explains that a few minutes after April and
Cody leave, two boys walk in and buy the bulldog.

Cody looks at April, and she holds back a smile. Cody sighs. He turns back to
Mr. Smith.

"Sometimes you win the race, but not the prize!" Cody smiles sadly. "We’ll
take the chihuahua, please."

THE END

Emily's Secret
Emily is 8 years old. She lives in a big house. She
has a huge room. She has many toys and she has
a lot of friends. But Emily is not happy. She has a
secret.

She doesn't want to tell anyone about her secret.

She feels embarrassed. The problem is that if
nobody knows about it, there is no one that can
help her.

Emily doesn't write her homework. When there is an exam – she gets sick.
She doesn't tell anyone, but the truth is she can't read and write. Emily
doesn't remember the letters of the alphabet.

One day, Emily's teacher finds out. She sees that Emily can't write on the
board. She calls her after class and asks her to tell the truth. Emily says, "It
is true. I don't know how to read and write". The teacher listens to her. She
wants to help Emily. She tells her, "That's ok. You can read and write if we
practice together".

So Emily and her teacher meet every day after class. They practice together.
Emily works hard. Now she knows how to read and write!

THE END
 Sean and the Birthday Cake
Sean likes food. He likes fruit and vegetables. He likes
bread and cakes. He likes fish and dairy products. He
likes meat. He eats everything!

One day he goes to a party. It is a birthday party for

his friend Leo. He enjoys the party with his friends.
They dance and have fun.

At the end of night, Leo's mother comes with a cake.

Everyone is very happy. They like sweet cakes. Sean
is also happy. He likes food!

Leo's mother slices the cake and gives every kid a piece of cake. Sean is the
first one that gets a piece. At first, he is very happy, but after a few moments
he turns blue. He runs outside.

When he returns, everybody is very surprised. His friend Leo asks, "Sean, is
everything alright? You don't behave like yourself!"

Sean is surprised. "Why, Leo? Why do you say that?"

"Well," Leo answers, "you usually love food very much! You don't run away
from food!"

Sean smiles and says, "Yes, Leo, I love food. But that cake is not food!"

THE END
 Nicole's Drums

icole has a new set of drums. She likes playing

the drums. She practices playing the drums all
the time.

Her parents tell her, "Nicole, we are happy that

you like the drums, but you can't play the
drums all the time. There are other people in
the apartment. There are other people in the
building. There are other people in the
neighborhood. And they all want to sleep sometimes!

Nicole listens to them. She says she understands, but she doesn't stop doing
it. She practices playing the drums all the time!

Her parents complain, her sister complains, the neighbors complain. Even the
cat complains!

"Ok, ok!" Nicole says, "I will be a good girl. I will do it more quietly."

But this doesn't help much. No one can work, no one can rest, and no one
can sleep.

One day Nicole comes home and sees her parents and her sister in the living
room. She sees new things: a guitar, a trumpet, and a piano. Nicole is very
surprised! "Wow!" she says, "What is this?"

"Well," her father answers, "we see that we can't beat you, so we decide to
join you!"

THE END
 Kevin's Car

Kevin likes cars. He reads about cars in

magazines and he watches shows about cars on
TV. His head is full of cars!

He tells his parents, "Please, please, please,

could you buy me a car?"

"No," says Kevin's mom, "You are too young to

drive a car. This is dangerous."

"No," says Kevin's dad, "A car is very expensive.

We can't buy you a car now."

Kevin is very sad. He wants a car. He wants a fast red sports car!

He decides to build one! He buys books and reads about the subject. He
hangs around at the garage and watches the mechanics fix the cars. It is very
interesting for him and he has a lot of fun.

Finally, he starts building his own car! He tells his parents about it. His father
doesn't believe him. He says it's too difficult. His mother says she is worried.
She doesn't want him to do anything dangerous.

After two months, Kevin invites his parents to see his creation. His parents
are surprised! It is beautiful! It is red! It is shiny! It is a big toy sports car!
Kevin can sit inside it and drive!

Kevin's parents are very happy and proud. Kevin's dad says: "I was sure you
can do it!"

Kevin's mom says: "I was sure it was not dangerous!"

Kevin smiles and drives away.

THE END
 Kimberly's Acting

Kimberly works as a secretary. She answers

phone calls and types letters. She makes coffee,
and goes to the post office. She doesn't like her
work. She is bored! "I would like to do
something more exciting," she thinks, "I want an
exciting job!"

Kimberly actually wants to be an actress. She

goes to auditions, but she doesn't pass any. She
is confused. She doesn't know what to do to
solve this problem, so she decides to ask her friend Victoria.

Victoria is a good actress. She is not very famous, but she is more successful
than Kimberly.

Kimberly asks Victoria to look at her acting and tell her what the problem is.

Victoria is happy to help. She watches Kimberly carefully. She takes notes. In
the end, Kimberly asks her: "Well… be honest! What is wrong with me?"

Victoria smiles and says: "Kimberly, you are a wonderful actress. You act
very well. There is only one problem."

"What? What is the problem?" Kimberly calls.

"Well," Victoria answers, "You act very well, but you speak too quietly. I can't
hear a word!"

THE END
 A Surprise from Australia

The school ends and Erica quickly puts her books

in the bag and runs out of the class.

Today is a special day. Erica is very excited. She

runs home and thinks about her uncle. She
spoke with him on the phone a week ago. He
returns from Australia, and he brings a special
surprise with him!

Erica is very happy. She thinks about the

surprise that he brings.

"Maybe he brings a surfboard? That is fun! I can learn how to surf!"

"Maybe he brings Australian nuts? Oh, I can eat nuts all day!"

"Or maybe he brings a kangaroo? That is not good. I don't have a place in my
room for a kangaroo…"

Erica finally arrives home. Her parents are there, and her uncle is there! She
is very happy to see him. They hug and she jumps up and down.

"Uncle, uncle," she calls, "what special surprise do you have for me from
Australia?"

"Well," her uncle smiles and answers, "I have for you an Australian aunt!"

THE END
 Lisa's Fluffy

Lisa lives with her dog, Fluffy.

Fluffy never eats anything that costs less

than 50 dollars. He has a really expansive
taste.

One day Fluffy gets lost. Lisa looks for him

everywhere, but she can't find him.

"Fluffy, my friend, you are on your own," she

says.

Poor Fluffy walks and walks. He is not sure

where to turn, and it is already time for his 4
o'clock snack.

"What should I do?" Fluffy thinks.

Now it is 8 o'clock, and Fluffy is really hungry.

He wants to eat, and he wants his 8 o'clock
bath.

"Oh, no…" Fluffy thinks.

Now it is 10 o'clock, and Fluffy is extremely

hungry. He wants his snack, his dinner, his bath
and his soft bed.

Suddenly he spots a big gray dog, with a big gray nose.

The big gray dog chews something.

Fluffy tries not to stare, but he is really hungry by now.

"What do you want?" The big gray dog asks.

"Hmm, well… Maybe you could give me some food and snacks, and a bath
too?"

The dog smiles, "A bath?"

"Yes, a bath. I am tired, and hungry, and dirty," Fluffy answers.

"Well, of course I can. Come into my spa."

The big dog laughs and walks away.

"Wait!" Fluffy barks, "please don't go. I am all alone and I need my snack!"

Fluffy seems very sad. The big gray dog

looks at him and turns back.
"What is your name?" he asks.

"I am Fluffy. And you?"

"I am Bam. Come, I can't offer you a

bath, but a shower is a different story."

Fluffy and Bam walk to a leaking hose,

and have a shower.

Bam gives Fluffy some food. At first Fluffy wants to refuse, but he is too
hungry.

"So where is your home?" Bam asks.

"I live with Lisa. She takes good care of me. I get snacks, food, a bath…"

"Nice girl." Bam says.

"Yes, she is. I hope to find her. And I hope she doesn't give away my dear
dear snacks…"

The two dogs go to sleep under the open

sky. Fluffy falls asleep and dreams of
snacks having baths.

luffy wakes up. He hopes he is in a bad

dream, but now he sees this is real. Bam
sits beside him.

"Is it time for your 9 o'clock bath?" he

smiles.

"I don't have a 9 o'clock bath. I have a 9

o'clock golf match!" Fluffy answers
angrily.

"Golf? Are you playing Gulf?!"

"Yes, and I do it very well, if I may say."

"You may. But I need to see it to believe it. A dog playing golf…"
Fluffy jumps on his legs and starts running.

"Hey! Where to, little doggie?" Bam barks and starts running, too.

"I will show you! Where is your golf field?"

"Well, I have no golf field!"

"It's okay! I will find one!"

The 2 dogs run and run until they reach

the park. Fluffy is very happy. He finds a
stick and a can and brings them to Bam.

"This is not perfect, but it is something!"

he says. He digs some holes in the
ground. "Now, watch!" he barks.

Fluffy grabs the stick and just stands

there, looking very very serious. Bam
watches him.

Then, after 5 minutes, Fluffy hits the can with his stick. The can rolls and
enters a far away hole. Fluffy is satisfied. He stands long and tall, and waits
for the applause.

Bam is surprised, "You are actually good!"

"Of course I am. What about you? What is

your favorite sports?"

"Well, sitting by the hose."

"I am not sure it is a sport."

"It's not actually. I am hose cucumber."

"A hose cucumber?!" Fluffy doesn't understand.

"Yes. Some people are couch potatoes. It means they sit on the couch and
watch TV."
"I am hose cucumber. I sit by the hose." Bam explains.

"So why aren't you a hose potato?"

"People are potatoes. Dogs are cucumbers."

"This really makes a lot of sense, you know." Fluffy says wisely.

"Yes, it does. Let's go. I am sure it is time for your 11 o'clock beauty
treatment." Bam starts to walk away.

"Yes it is! How did you know?" Fluffy jumps happily after him.

And that was the beginning of a beautiful friendship.

The End

Daniel Loves the Beach

Every Saturday Daniel and his family go
to the beach. They live far from the
beach, but once a week the family gets
into the car and Daniel's father drives for
hours until they arrive.

Daniel's parents love the beach. Daniel

and his sister and brother love the beach.
The family's dog loves the beach very
much.

But it is a problem to go to the beach

every week. Daniel's father gets tired from driving so many hours. The rest of
the family gets tired from sitting in the car for so many hours. Daniel's
mother says: "It's fun in the beach, but it takes too much time to get there
and back!"

Daniel and his sister and brother are very sad. They want to go to the beach,
but it is a problem. They try to go the swimming pool, but it is not the same
thing.

One day Daniel's parents come to talk with the kids. They say: "We have a
problem to go to the beach every week, but we love the beach, and you love
the beach, and the dog loves the beach. So we have a solution. We need to
live near the beach!"

Daniel and his sister and brother are very happy! Now they live near the
beach. They go to the beach every day!

THE END
 April's Month

There was a nice little girl. She was 10 years old. Her
name was April.

One day, April asked her parents why she was called
April. Her mother answered that she was called April
because she was born in April. The little girl was very
happy to hear that. She liked her name.

April really liked the month April, too. This was

because she had her birthday in that month. Her
parents made her a party. All her friends came and
celebrated with her, and she received a lot of
presents.

One day, her mother became pregnant and soon April had a little brother.
Her brother was born in February. Everyone came to visit the family.
Everyone suggested names for the new baby.

April did not understand what the problem was. This looked very simple to
her. She said that if the baby was born in February, the correct name was
February!

THE END
 Amanda's Work

Amanda goes to work every day. She works

in an office. She works very hard. She
starts and 7 o'clock in the morning and
finishes at 10 o'clock at night. She likes her
work, and she wants to be a good worker,
but she has one problem. Her boss is not a
very good boss.

He tells her to do one thing, and then he

changes his mind. He tells her to do another thing, and then he changes his
mind again. He tells her to do something else, and again, changes his mind.
Amanda doesn't like this. She says, "This is a waste of time!"

Today Amanda decides to talk with him. She goes to his room and says: "I
like to work. I work a lot of hours. I am a good worker. But I can't work like
this. We have to work better. You need to tell me what to do without
changing your mind."

Amanda's boss listens to her. He sees that she is right. He promises to listen
to her advice.

Now Amanda is happy. She comes to work every day. She starts at 7 o'clock
and finishes at 4 o'clock, but she completes much more things than before!
Amanda and her boss are happy.

THE END
 A Secret Talent
Eve is excited to go to her first Dylan Wyman concert in
New York. Dylan Wyman is Eve's favorite singer. In
fact, Eve tells her mother Jeannine, Dylan Wyman is her
favorite person!

When they are about halfway to New York, Jeannine

hears a weird noise. "Oh no," she says, realizing that
they have a flat tire.

There isn't much room on the side of the road, but

Jeannine pulls the car over and climbs out. Sure
enough, their right rear tire is completely flat.

Jeanine opens the trunk to get the jack and the spare tire. Traffic continues
to whiz by at seventy miles per hour.

"Mom, are we going to die?" Eve asks. She is really scared.

"Don't worry honey, I'll be quick," Jeannine says as she starts to jack up the
car.

"Wow Mom, how do you know how to do this?" Eve is shocked at her
mother's secret talent.

Then Jeannine takes off the flat tire.

"Wow Mom, how do you know how to do that?" Eve asks in wonder.

Jeannine just laughs. Then she puts the spare tire on. Eve says, "Mom,
who are you?"

The entire tire change takes only 10 minutes. They both climb back into the
car and Jeannine says, "I'm so sorry honey, but we can't drive all the way to
Albany on this spare tire. We're going to have to stop and buy a new tire. We
might be late for your concert."

"That's okay, Mom," Eve says, "You're my favorite person now!"

THE END
 Lost and Found
Donna and her husband John go to the
beach every Saturday in the summer. Today
is no exception. Donna packs a picnic lunch.
She packs the beach umbrella and sun
lotion.

She cannot find their beach towels. Donna

always loses things. The towels are not in
the laundry basket or dryer. They are not in
the closet, either. She finally looks in her
beach bag. She sees the towels folded in the
bottom. Of course, the beach towels are exactly where they should be.

Donna puts on her swimsuit and floppy sun hat. She is almost ready. She just
needs her sunglasses. She thinks they are on the table by the door. Or
maybe they are in the bathroom. They could also be in her purse. Donna
sighs.

John puts the picnic basket, umbrella, and beach bag in the car. He checks
his fishing poles and equipment. He places them in the car beside the picnic
basket.. Daisy, their dog, jumps in the backseat. She loves the beach! John is
ready to leave. Where is Donna? She knows he likes to arrive at the beach
before the crowds.

John groans and shakes his head. Donna is always late!

Donna searches for her sunglasses. She cannot find them, and she knows
John is waiting. He hates when she is late! She grabs her purse and locks the
door.

"You are late," John says as Donna gets in the car. Donna tells John that she
could not find her sunglasses.

John looks at her and laughs! He flips down the sun visor so Donna can see
herself in the mirror. Donna looks in the mirror and laughs too. Her
sunglasses are on top of her head. They were there the whole time!

"It is always in the last place that you look," Donna giggles!

THE END
 The Best Practice Ever
Shannon loves basketball. She loves everything
about basketball. Shannon always looks forward to
basketball practice. She enjoys the workout. She
enjoys the competition. She enjoys the time with
her teammates.

Coach always starts practice the same way. They

run ten laps around the gym and then stretch out.
They then practice shots. (Shannon usually sinks
most of hers!)

Then the coach introduces new drills. Then they

practice the plays they use in games.

Shannon concentrates and does her best. She works hard, and her
teammates appreciate her for it. She always has a positive attitude and
encourages her teammates to work harder and do their best.

But today, Shannon twists her ankle and falls down. She cries out in pain,
which is unusual for Shannon. She rarely cries. Everyone rushes over to see if
she is okay.

One of her teammates runs to get ice for her ankle. (Ice helps with the
swelling.) The others help her off the court and she sits down to rest.

The coach asks Shannon if she is okay. She says, "I am fine. Ankles heal."

The coach shakes her head. "Shannon," she says, "As usual, I am impressed
with your attitude and team spirit. In honor of Shannon, we should all go get
ice cream!"

So, the whole team climbs aboard the school bus and the coach takes them
all out for ice cream.

As she licks her mint chocolate chip ice cream cone, Shannon says, "Today, I
love basketball practice more than ever!"

THE END
 Language Confusion
Laura is at the airport. She waits for her flight. Her flight is to Berlin, and it is
4 hours away. Laura walks around the airport and looks at the shops. She has
a nice time.

After an hour she wants to visit the bathroom. She searches for it, but she
doesn't find it.

"Where is the bathroom?" she asks herself.

She looks and looks but she can't find it. She starts asking people where it is.

Laura: "Excuse me sir, could you please tell me where is the bathroom?"

Man: "You mean the restroom, right?"

Laura: "No, I mean the bathroom."

Man: "Well, the restroom is over there." He says and walks away.

Laura doesn't understand. She asks a lady: "Excuse me madam, could you
please tell me where is the bathroom?"

"The restroom is over there," the lady answers and walks away.

Laura is confused. "What's their problem? I need to use the bathroom and
they send me to rest?! I don't need a restroom, I need the bathroom!"

After a while Laura gives up. She feels tired of all this walking and asking.
She decides that maybe they are all right and she does need to rest.

She walks to the restroom. Now she is surprised. She realizes the restroom is
actually the name for a public bathroom!

THE END
 The Fox and The Crow
One bright morning as the Fox was following his
sharp nose through the wood in search of a bite
to eat, he saw a Crow on the limb of a tree
overhead. This was by no means the first Crow
the Fox had ever seen. What caught his
attention this time and made him stop for a
second look, was that the lucky Crow held a bit
of cheese in her beak.

“No need to search any farther,” thought sly

Master Fox. “Here is a dainty bite for my
breakfast.”

Up he trotted to the foot of the tree in which the

Crow was sitting, and looking up admiringly, he
cried, “Good-morning, beautiful creature!”

The Crow, her head cocked on one side, watched the Fox suspiciously. But
she kept her beak tightly closed on the cheese and did not return his
greeting.

“What a charming creature she is!” said the Fox. “How her feathers shine!
What a beautiful form and what splendid wings! Such a wonderful Bird should
have a very lovely voice, since everything else about her is so perfect. Could
she sing just one song, I know I should hail her Queen of Birds.”

Listening to these flattering words, the Crow forgot all her suspicion, and also
her breakfast. She wanted very much to be called Queen of Birds.

So she opened her beak wide to utter her loudest caw, and down fell the
cheese straight into the Fox’s open mouth.

“Thank you,” said Master Fox sweetly, as he walked off. “Though it is

cracked, you have a voice sure enough. But where are your wits?”

THE END

Moral

The flatterer lives at the expense of those who will listen to him.