Category: practice reading story

Blood: The Trucking Company of the Body

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By Verhonda Wiltz

I know, you have never thought about your body in this way. Most of us don’t know how our body works or even care…. Until it stops working as it should!  Most of the time, when it’s not working at its best, it’s hard to get it repaired and back on track. So, it’s best to maintain it and keep it in good shape. In order to do that, you need to understand how it works.  Let’s start now with your blood.

Blood is the trucking company of your body. Think of it as a fleet of trucks and trailers. The blood cell is the truck/tractor, and the iron that is attached to the cell is the trailer.  It carries fuel, gases and other chemicals to your whole body and removes wastes from your body too. Blood travels along a superhighway of blood vessels called arteries, mainly used for deliveries, and veins for pickup.  There are also streets off the highway called arterioles and capillaries. Your body has over 60,000 miles of highway inside you.

The main business office for the blood trucking company is in the bone marrow. Bone marrow is deep in the center of your bones.  This is where your blood is made and released/dispatched onto the highway. 

The kidneys are the truck wash for the blood/truck. They clean the blood of all wastes and inspect and work with the spleen on removing old worn out blood cells/trucks from the highway. When it’s time to replace the blood cells/trucks, the kidneys dispatch a message to the bones/business office and new blood cells/trucks are released on the highway.

The spleen is the blood recycling center for old, worn out blood cells.  The spleen has a highway maintenance crew that repairs the highway when it gets holes, burns and scrapes in it. The highway must be kept smooth at all times to prevent traffic jams and multi-truck accidents. It also has a hazardous material crew that it sends out when infections occur. 

Now that you have the main operation procedure down, we will now follow a normal route of a red blood cell.  We will start with a new blood cell/truck.

= 

Red Blood Cell with iron = Truck with Trailer

The first assignment for the blood cell is to take the highway from the bones to the lungs for oxygen/air.  Traffic should flow smoothly because the highway only flows in one direction.  The blood cell/truck must first pass through a highway roundabout exit called the heart that leads the blood cell/ truck to the lungs. When the blood cell reaches the lungs, it turns onto one of many of the veins/streets and loads the oxygen/air into its trailer. Then it leaves the lungs by turning onto the arterioles/streets, goes back to the highway roundabout entrance at the heart and begins its trip to deliver the oxygen/air to one of the many other cells and organs of the body.  These blood cells/trucks are very fast!  They do this in less than one minute when you are resting, and much faster if you are running or scared!  

The next stop is to deliver this oxygen/air to the digestive system organs. The food processing center! The first stop is to deliver the oxygen/air to the stomach cells. That really doesn’t take much time at all. Then it is sent to the liver/sorting warehouse of the body to pick up some fuel called glycogen and deliver it to the leg muscle cells.  The blood cell/truck passes through an inspection weight station before leaving the liver to be sure the truck is running well and can deliver the fuel. If it is running well, it will take the glycogen to the leg muscle cells.  Don’t forget that there are millions of these red blood cells/trucks on the highways of your body making deliveries and pickups all the time. They even work when you are sleeping!

Now the blood cell/truck has made it to the leg muscle cells and delivered the glycogen, it must pick up some waste/carbon dioxide.  There are other types of waste that your body makes, but for the sake of time, we will take the carbon dioxide and deliver it to the lungs to be dumped outside the body. The blood cell/truck gets back on the highway and follows it south until it turns onto the veins and then heads north back to the heart.  It makes its exit at the highway roundabout again inside the heart, to the arterioles and delivers its load of carbon dioxide to the lungs where it is pushed out of the lungs, through the nose into the air.  

Every so often  it makes a delivery to the kidneys for waste dumping and gets an inspection at the spleen for best highway function. 

If it doesn’t pass inspection, usually every 20 days, it gets removed from the highway and sent to the spleen for recycling. 

Remember when I mentioned that the highway had to be kept smooth and the spleen was in charge of the maintenance crew? We are now going to talk about that maintenance team/crew.

The team consists of white blood cells, red blood cells and platelets-small round shield shaped cells. This team patrols the highway and the streets to keep them smooth. If they find an area that needs repairing, they close the damaged area off and narrow the area while they work.  The white blood cells clean the area of dirt, germs and anything that is not a red blood cell, white blood cell or platelet. Some red blood cells bring fibrinogen, a special chemical that combines with the platelets to make a patch.  The team stays there until the patch is dry. Then the crew moves down the highway where they are needed next. 

Now we will get to the big part about this trucking company.  What do you have to do to keep this company going? How do you keep your fleet of trucks at their best?

This company needs lots of water! It keeps the highway smooth and free of traffic jams, and the kidneys need water to wash the trucks inside and out. 

=

Kidneys = Truck wash

Water is also needed for highway and street repairs.  So start by drinking lots of water every day. 

It is also important to eat foods with lots of iron. Spinach, collard, turnip, mustard greens, broccoli, fish, nuts, grapes, raisins, eggs and some red meat- beef, pork, lamb, chicken, sweet potatoes, turkey, quinoa and oats to name a few. You must remember that these foods are great, but you cannot eat them with cheese or drink tea or milk while you eat them. The iron washes out of your body if you do.

Small Pictures of Iron Sources For Kids

Sleep is when most of the inspections and repairs happen, so allow enough time for these processes to be done.  Exercise keeps the blood cells/trucks moving on the highway and prevents traffic jams and accidents. It’s important to keep moving! 

Now that you know about your blood, the trucking company of your body, it’s time to get it in top shape!

References

https://babyfoode.com/blog/iron-rich-foods-babies-toddlers-kids/#best-baby

https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/health/treatment-tests-and-therapies/how-wounds-heal

https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/health/conditions-and-diseases/what-are-platelets-and-why-are-they-important

Click to access BODYSYSTEMNotes.pdf

https://www.lornelabs.com/news-events/blog/the-journey-of-a-red-blood-cell

https://reverehealth.com/live-better/how-body-systems-connected/

Images

http://clipart-library.com/clipart/415438.htm

Image by <a href=”https://pixabay.com/users/clker-free-vector-images-3736/?utm_source=link-attribution&amp;utm_medium=referral&amp;utm_campaign=image&amp;utm_content=24360″>Clker-Free-Vector-Images</a&gt; from <a href=”https://pixabay.com/?utm_source=link-attribution&amp;utm_medium=referral&amp;utm_campaign=image&amp;utm_content=24360“>Pixabay</a>

https://pixabay.com/illustrations/red-blood-cell-rbc-erythrocyte-1861640/

<a href=”https://www.vecteezy.com/free-vector/truck-wash”>Truck Wash Vectors by Vecteezy</a>

<a href=”https://www.vecteezy.com/free-vector/human”>Human Vectors by Vecteezy</a>

<a href=”https://www.vecteezy.com/free-vector/spleen”>Spleen Vectors by Vecteezy</a>

<a href=”https://www.vecteezy.com/free-vector/recycling”>Recycling Vectors by Vecteezy</a>

Iron Rich Foods For Kids

The Short Tale of Bark and Bite

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There were two dogs One was Bark and he was dark brown and Bite who was black.  They lived next door to each other and were the best of friends. They did everything together. Bark was known to bite and chew everything. He was curious and explored a lot by taking a bite and tasting things. Bite was very vocal and barked all the time. He always had a lot to say.

One day, while on their daily walk, they found a giant bone. Bark was so excited when he saw the bone and couldn’t resist! He had to bite it. It was so delish! Bite was a bit surprised and he sniffed the air as if it would tell him how the bone got there! Bark was in a hurry to get the bone home. Bite said the bone needed to be watched. They had never found bones this size on their walks. They walked this path everyday and never found a giant bone alone on the side of the path. Bark was not happy with Bite’s plan. He started to get mad and wanted to fight! He gave a low growl to Bite.  Bite did not like this challenge to fight,  The bone was just as much his and he was just as big as Bark. The two dogs growled, bit and rolled on the ground and other dogs started to gather around. Bark and Bite had such a loud fuss, soon all the neighborhood dogs were there to see the fuss. The fight lasted for quite a while. In the meantime, Blonde Bollo the poodle grabbed the giant bone and took it home. After an hour Bark and Bite came up for air and decided to rest, when they noticed that their giant bone had vanished into thin air! They searched and searched for the giant bone, but it was gone!  Bark and Bite ended their fight with a friendly hug and walked home together as usual that night! They promised each other that they would never fight each other again…..not even over a bone!

The moral of this story is: 

Bone here today and bone gone tomorrow, but real friends are forever!

What is the Smartest Animal on Planet Earth?

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My tablet, my tablet can you recall, what animal is the smartest one of all?

We tend to think of humans as being the most intelligent of all in the animal

kingdom, but there are others that are just as smart. We always hear about

the chimpanzees and the rats, but what about the other animals? 

Some animals live in the ocean, some fly in the air, and some walk with us

across the land… just what is animal intelligence? According to

Zooportraits.com:

We can define animal intelligence as the combination of skills and abilities that allow animals to live in and adapt to their specific environments.

They have found ways to change their habits and behaviors to adapt to the

Earth changes for millions of years!

Some animal species have been forming social groups long before humans

discovered Facebook, Instagram and other social media. Let’s look at a few

of the smartest animals on Earth!

Octopuses

The world’s smartest invertebrates, animals without skeletons, are

octopuses.

Octopuses should be smart…. They have eight legs and NINE brains!!! They

have more to work with than most of the other animals. Octopuses can

protect themselves by pretending to be other animals. They have also l

earned to use tools to survive. 

Octopuses can carry out complex tasks, such as opening a jar to get to its contents. Not only do they have a good short and long term memory but also a remarkable ability to learn new skills from the moment they’re born. For example, the mimic octopus (Thaumoctopus mimicus) is able toimpersonate other species in order to protect itself from predators. Well, at least a female giant Pacific octopus named Billye can. Biologists at the Seattle Aquarium put Billye’s strength and smarts to the test with a bottle-opening challenge. The clever cephalopod was able to unlock the top and access her snack in five minutes. Perhaps that’s unsurprising for a creature known to open clam shells and other stubborn-shelled mollusks without a shucking knife. [The 5 Smartest Non-Primates on the Planet] Yes, like chimpanzees, dolphins and crows, octopuses are among the special set of intelligent animals that have been observed using tools. In 2009, scientists reported they had watched veined octopuses (Amphioctopus marginatus) picking up discarded coconut shells and using them like mobile homes.

Whales and Dolphins

The largest brained animals of the ocean are the whales and dolphins. They

are also considered some of the smartest oceanic animals alive.

Whales and dolphins have large brains; brainy dolphins have a brain to

body ratio second only to humans. Large-brained creatures generally have

a few things in common: they live long lives; 

they are sociable; their behaviour is complicated…

Elephants

The largest brained animals on land are elephants. I know you have heard

that an elephant never forgets! There are other things elephants can do too!

Elephants are large animals with big brains. They are considered smart for several reasons: they break off sticks with their trunks, have incredible memories, and seem to be capable of empathy.  Elephants also work together to solve puzzles, according to researcher Joshua Plotnik from the University of Cambridge in England. In one experiment, two elephants had to drag ropes attached on either side to a table holding two food bowls. This required cooperation because only one elephant pulling wasn’t enough. 

Ducks, Parrots, Ravens and Crows

Now let’s look at some of our friends that fly! They have to be smart also, so

they don’t get lost. The sky is large you know!

This isn’t some quack of an inclusion. Ducklings imprint on their mothers, but scientists were curious about how the ducklings managed to differentiate between imprinted beings and non-imprinted. They put ducklings in an enclosure and trailed two different pairs of objects around on strings, one matching pair of shapes (like two spheres) and one pair of non-matching shapes (like a cylinder and a cube). After the duckling showed a tendency toward set, the researchers put the ducklings in a different enclosure with different matching and non-matching pairs. The ducklings would follow after whatever set best resembled their original imprint. So, if they followed the two spheres in the first enclosure, they would follow a set of matching cubes in the second enclosure. This tendency, according to researchers interviewed by the Christian Science Monitor, has only been seen in primates, crows and parrots before, indicating that ducks may be smarter than we’ve thought.

We all know parrots can reproduce sounds of the English language (or other languages). But some even have an understanding of the meaning of these words.   The most impressive example of this ability is Alex, an African Grey parrot, who knew colors and shapes and learned more than 100 English words. He was trained by Irene Pepperberg, a comparative psychologist at Brandeis University and Harvard.  Before Pepperberg’s groundbreaking work with Alex, “scientists had little expectation that any bird could learn to communicate with humans,” the New York Times wrote in 2007, following Alex’s death.

Ravens are more than the subject of dark themes by writer Edgar Allan Poe. They are also extremely resourceful animals that have been known to multi-task. Researchers from Canada and Scotland have shown that ravens use logic to understand their surroundings in a way that may surpass the ability of the great apes. The crow, a close cousin to the raven, is also an extremely smart bird.

Morell notes in an article for National Geographic: “New Caledonian crows are among the most skilled of tool-making and tool-using birds, forming probes and hooks from sticks and leaf stems to poke into the crowns of the palm trees.”

Pigs

This gives you a whole different way of looking at these animals! Would you

care to play a game against a pig?

Pigs are highly adaptable mammals with a keen ability to learn new skills. In fact, some studies suggest that an adult pig may have a level of intelligence comparable to that of a three year old child! This would make them far smarter than other domestic animals, such as dogs and cats.

The New York Times reports on researchers who have found that domestic pigs can use mirrors to find their food, and will try to deceive other pigs so they can “hog” more food. They also learn quickly and can do tricks ranging from jumping through hoops to playing video games with joysticks.

Bees

Entomologists, scientists who study insects, have been studying bees for

hundreds of years have found that most hives are 95% female bees! 

“These are, high, high, highly intelligent creatures,” said conservation biologist Reese Halter.1   Halter was speaking of the fascinating bee. Bees are already famous regarding their ability to communicate with other bees through complex dancing routines. Halter’s team also found that bees have puzzle-solving abilities. In 2006, scientists were amazed to discover that bees have a biological clock. They described it as, “An endogenous, physiological mechanism, whose exact nature has not been determined, that keeps time independently of external events.”It is actually more similar to humans than to insects. 

Bees continue to astound scientists when tested for cognitive abilities in the lab.  For example, the bees can learn to slide or lift caps, then subsequently push balls of escalating weight to access the reward. When the researchers put the bees who knew how to solve the puzzle in a hive with naïve bees, they somehow went on to communicate the solution to their unlearned kinfolk.6   Entomologists recently discovered that bees have a capacity to discriminate numbers. “Honeybees can identify a piece of paper with zero dots as ‘less than’ a paper with a few dots.”7 It has always been assumed that what separates man from the animal world (among other things) is an understanding of the abstract concept of “zero.” But Howard and his team have now shown that untrained honey bees have an understanding of an “empty set.” The authors stated, “Bees demonstrated an understanding that parallels animals such as the African grey parrot, nonhuman primates, and even preschool children.”    Loukola and his team concluded that the learning ability of bees is extraordinary. Such unprecedented cognitive flexibility hints that entirely novel behaviors could emerge relatively swiftly in species whose lifestyle demands advanced learning abilities, should relevant ecological pressures arise.8

What an example of Girl Power!

Dogs

We can’t forget some of our best friends!

“In many ways dogs may be more human-like than any other species, even non-human primates,” researchers wrote in a 2008 dog intelligence study published in the Journal of the Experimental Analysis of Behavior. In a separate study, Brian Hare, an expert in canine cognition, showed that dogs can follow and respond to human gestures, like pointing and eye movements, without training. This so-called “theory of mind” ability “is so important to our species,” writes Slate’s David Grimm, “that without it, we would have trouble learning and interacting with the world around us.”   One the smartest dogs in the world (or at least with the most impressive vocabulary) is a border collie named Rico. Rico knows the name to more than 200 items — he can retrieve the object from a jumble of stuff after hearing the name only once. (Rico also took third prize in De Waal’s “Animal Noble Prizes”) Another dog, Chaser, knows more than 1,000 objects and can understand English grammar. She isn’t the first animal to have a basic understanding of grammar. Studies published in the journal Cognition in 1984 indicated that dolphins can also grasp elements of grammar. 

So maybe this is why they are used as service animals for us.

My tablet, my tablet now sitting on my lap,

Thank you my tablet with your Internet and Google too! 

Now we can be a little smarter than we were when we started!

 We can name other smart animals on the land, in the air and in the oceans

and learn more about them as we grow.

 This has been some good information to begin to know!

Baby Barnie Barnacle

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Baby Barney Barnacle was floating in the warm quiet lagoon when it was released from

its mother into the sea with hundreds of its tiny brothers and sisters.

He heard a voice that sounded soft and familiar, but he could not tell where it was

from. The voice told him to eat the plankton that floated around him and wait until

he could find a large hard surface to attach himself to and rest. The voice became

louder and told him to move away when a school of fish passed by to eat a few of his

brothers and sisters. When the tide washed out, the voice told him he had to look

out for crabs that thought he would make a tasty snack! He dreamed about how he

would rest for the rest of his life on that hard surface. It would become his

forever home and he would never have to leave. He would not have to work to look for

food like some of the other sea creatures. He would not have to fight for his food

or go hungry like some of the creatures in the sea and he would not have to worry

about being eaten. He could travel and see the world and eat the different foods

that the sea offered and he would be safe. While he was eating his meal of plankton,

a piece of wood floated by, it looked nice, but the voice told him it was not large

enough, so he let it float by. Some of Barney’s sisters attached themselves to a

boat that slowly passed by, but there was not enough room for Barney, so he

continued to float in the lagoon and eat his plankton and algae. Some of Barney’s

brothers attached themselves to the baby sea turtles as they swam from the beach to

the lagoon on their way out to sea. A lot of the sea turtles did not get very far

because the seagulls and the fish ate them! So Barney just stayed in the lagoon

eating his plankton.

One day, the lagoon became dark and the water churned and the waves crashed into the

lagoon! Oh my! Baby Barney thought. He had never been through this before! All of a

sudden, he felt a large pull and before he knew it, he was out of the lagoon and

floating on the large rough waves of the sea! The voice he usually heard was loud

and told him to hang on, things were about to get better. So Baby Barney continued

to float on a large wave out to one of the sea currents. Then the water became calm

and clear again. Everything looked new and different now. There was a large, gray,

slow-moving, flat surface coming close to him. The voice that usually spoke to him

told him go now and hang on. It was time for him to attach himself and ride. It was

a gentle ride and he was able to see lots of places and eat different food and he

was safe. He lived on the side of a large whale. Barney traveled for many years on

the whale. Barney was on his forever home.

Miles and the Invisible Twiga

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Miles was always loved the animals he saw in the zoo. He had books on the

animals of the jungles of the Amazon, Africa and Asia. He wore tee-shirts with

his favorite animals on them. Miles had models of the animals he saw in the zoo.

He even had his own model zoo! He had stuffed animals of monkeys, zebras,

hippopotamuses, but his favorite was the giraffe. He visited the giraffes in the

zoo every time he went. Miles even asked the zookeeper about the giraffes. Miles

had lots of books and magazines on giraffes and he learned a lot about them. He

knew what they ate, how the slept, where they lived, how long they lived and

what they liked. He always dreamed about caring for giraffes.

One evening one of Miles’ teeth came out. He showed the tooth to his parents and

they told him to place it under his pillow that night before he went to sleep

and make a wish. His mother told him that there would be a surprise the next

morning for him. So he rushed to get ready for bed, placed the tooth carefully

under his pillow and made a wish. He wished for a pet giraffe. Soon Miles was

fast asleep.

The next morning, Miles woke up. It was time to get ready for school. He quickly

looked under his pillow and saw a shiny silver dollar where he had placed his

tooth. Then he noticed a shadow pass by his bedroom window. He wondered what was

that? The wind was not blowing and there were no trees near his window! Miles

went to his window and opened the curtains and what did he see? It was a young

giraffe looking straight at him through the window! Miles could not believe what

he saw. His wish came true! He opened the window and the giraffe stuck his head

into Miles room and licked his face clean. Miles decided he would name his new

friend Twiga, the Swahili name for giraffe.

Miles hurried to get ready for school. He washed his face, brushed his teeth and

dressed for school. He rushed downstairs for breakfast with his parents. Miles’

mother greeted him good morning and served his breakfast. She asked him if he

received his gift for his tooth under his pillow. He had almost forgotten about

that gift and said yes he had. His father asked him what were his plans for his

gift and Miles told his parents he had not thought about it yet. Twiga was

looking into the kitchen window at Miles, but Miles’ parents could not see him.

He asked if he could be excused from breakfast to arrive at school early for a

new project. His parents agreed and wished him well for the day. Miles hurried

out the back door into the backyard and found Twiga standing near the door

waiting for him. Miles gave Twiga a hug and walked him to a grove of trees in

the far corner of the backyard for breakfast. Miles said goodbye to Twiga and

promised to return to him after school. Miles started to leave the yard and meet

with his friends to walk to school. His friends Randy and Jessica met him at the

gate. They came face to face with Twiga at the fence. They asked Miles how did

he get a giraffe in his backyard? He explained about losing his tooth and

placing it under his pillow after making a wish and finding Twiga at his window

this morning.He also told them that he doesn’t think his parents can see Twiga.

Miles reminded them that it they must leave now to get to school on time. They

began to walk down the sidewalk when Jessica noticed that Twiga was following

them. Miles tried to get Twiga to stay at home, but Twiga still followed him.

They noticed that the neighbors that were rushing to work did not see Twiga.

They passed by as though he was not there. When they left the neighborhood and

walked closer to town, they noticed that the old ladies and old men sitting on

the benches waiting for the bus could see Twiga and they would point and wave.

Miles, Randy, and Jessica finally arrived at school. All of the students stopped

and ran to get a closer look at Twiga. They welcomed him and pet him. The bell

rang and Mrs. Butler, the principal, shouted for all of the students to stop

standing in their groups and get to class before she places the whole school in

detention. She obviously could not see Twiga because she didn’t say anything

about him being there and she usually doesn’t miss thing. It looked like none of

the teachers were able to see Twiga. Twiga was too tall to come inside the

school, so he stayed on the playground eating leaves on the trees. He would

occasionally peep into the window of Miles’ classroom to see what he was doing.

Soon it was lunchtime and Miles, Randy, and Jessica met outside at the picnic

bench to eat lunch with Twiga. Soon more of the classmates came over to feed,

pet, and play with Twiga. All of the students enjoyed their time with Twiga,but

the teachers did not notice anything different. Lunchtime was over and the

students returned to their classes and Twiga returned to eating tree leaves and

twigs. It was three o’clock, the school bell rang time to go home. All of the

students rushed out of the school building. It was Friday and the weekend was

starting. Everyone could not wait to get home. Miles looked for Twiga. He did

not have to look far. Twiga was walking toward him with Jessica, Randy and a few

other classmates hanging on to Twiga’s legs as he walked. They decided to take

the long way home through the park. The children and Twiga enjoyed their time in

the park. The children played on the swings, the slides, the merry-go-round and

other play equipment and climbed on Twiga. Twiga enjoyed everybody at the park.

He even kissed a grandmother and grandfather sitting on a bench tending to their

grandchild in a stroller. They rubbed his nose and head as a thank you for the

kiss. It was now time to go home for dinner. Randy and Jessica were asking

Miles if he would allow Twiga to spend the night at their houses later during

the month. Miles said he would let them know after he had spent more time with

Twiga. They were soon at Miles’ house. Randy and Jessica said goodbye to Miles

and Twiga and went home. Miles walked Twiga into the backyard and closed the

gate. He asked Twiga not to leave the yard without him and Twiga nodded his head

as if he understood. Miles walked into the backdoor of the house. He could smell

the wonderful dinner his mother had cooked. Miles’ mother announced that dinner

was ready and instructed her husband and Miles to wash up for dinner. When they

all sat down to eat, Miles’ mother asked him if he had an interesting day and

Miles told her it was a very very interesting day. No need in telling his

parents more. So he left it like that!

The Two Sisters’ Treasure

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Debbie and Sonya were two sisters walking home from school one day when the found a

dollar bill on the sidewalk. They looked around to see if someone nearby dropped the

money, but there was no one in sight. Debbie decided she would carry the dollar home

until they could decide how to spend the dollar. Sonya did not like Debbie carrying

the dollar so she grabbed the dollar. Debbie grabbed the dollar back and this went

on until one of them dropped the dollar and a gust of wind blew the dollar into the

gutter and down the storm drain. Debbie and Sonya were sad at their loss. Mrs.

Davis, the neighbor across the street watched the whole episode and told the girls

it is always better to give in a little than to lose everything because you were

stubborn.

The Thumbprint Detective and the Blackout Christmas Tree

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I just received a phone call from 7777 South Bay Drive. The owners said that their Christmas is now in the dark and the Christmas tree is down. There are no clues and they need help solving the mystery.

I open the front door and I can see the Christmas tree on the floor with the lights out and limbs broken. Some of the gifts seem to be unwrapped and torn. I will start interviewing the suspects and witnesses.

The Nephew: Chris

I was in the rec room watching TV when I heard the crash upstairs. The tree was on the floor, the gifts were torn and the lights were out on the tree. That’s when I called you.

The Niece: Kelsey

I was in my room on my laptop taking my writing class on
the Internet, when I heard a loud crash downstairs. Chris and I met in the kitchen after the crash and we called you.

The Bird: Squawk Box

When I first saw the tree, I thought what a great reminder of my home in the jungle. It’s been years since I have seen a tree. I could not wait! I opened the latch on my cage and flew to the near top of the tree and made a nest to relax. I was on vacation! No sooner than I got comfortable, the tree came crashing to the floor like the trees in my jungle. I miss my vacation spot!

The dog: Chewy

I could smell it down the hall! The dog treats under the tree! Chicken, cheese, fish, lamb and sweet potato flavored treats! They were in one of those boxes under the tree with all of those lights! I just had to find out which one! So I chewed the wrapping paper off some of the gifts until the tree started to fall! I ran for the doggie pillow in the hall for safety!

The Gold Fish: Fish and Bowl

We saw everything! Squawk Box flying into the tree, Chewy chewing the gifts and…….Sox the cat knocking down the tree and the lights went out!

The Cat: Sox

The tree smelled so good! It looked like it would make a great scratching post! I just could not resist it! I walked under the tree and placed my paws on the trunk and began to scratch when the lights went out and tree tipped back and I got this terrible feeling and my fur stood up and I was thrown back against the wall. I’ll never try to scratch one of those trees again!

Well, it looks like you’ll have to create another Christmas at 7777 South Bay Drive. The only surprises that you have are a dark Christmas tree, unwrapped gifts, several scared pets and a guilty dog and cat. I guess we will leave it at that! Since you have some shopping to do, I’ll send you my bill after January two! Another mystery solved by the Thumbprint Detective!

Have a safe and happy holiday season!

The Frog and The Grasshopper

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It was a sunny day and the grasshopper was happily jumping and leaping around in the

tall grass near the pond. He wasn’t paying very much attention when he made a leap

that landed him right in front of a large green frog! The grasshopper quickly

started to beg for his life. He asked the frog to please not eat him. The frog had

just awakened from his nap in the sun and was thinking about having a snack. The

frog asked the grasshopper why should he not eat him?

The grasshopper said he was small and puny and would not be tasty or worth his

time. The frog said let me think for a minute and I will let you know. The

grasshopper panicked and gave the frog a challenge. He asked the frog to let him go

if he leaped farther than the frog. If the frog leaped farther than the grasshopper,

the frog could eat the grasshopper for his snack. The frog agreed to the challenge.

The grasshopper and the frog agreed to leap from the edge of the pond to the tree on

the other side of the pond. The grasshopper jumped first and easily landed behind

the tree. The frog was next. He leaped into the air just over the center of the

pond, when he was suddenly swallowed by a large white crane who had been standing in

the pond watching the whole challenge! The grasshopper was amazed and went on his

merry way!

It is important to look before you leap! I’m sure the frog wished that he had!

The Story of Two Brothers

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There were two brothers Johnny and Mike. Mike was the youngest and had limits on

where he could play and ride his bike. Johnny could go anywhere. One day Mike

decided to ride his bike outside of the area he was allowed to play and ride. He

rode over a piece of wood with a nail in it and quickly his front tire was flat.

What was he going to do? What would he tell his parents? He quickly walked his bike

home and was about to hide it in the garage when his big brother Johnny walked up

behind him and asked him what was wrong. Johnny looked at the bike and said I can

fix that really fast and have you riding in no time. Mike was relieved and very

happy. Johnny said you must have ridden your bike in the new section of the

neighborhood where they are building houses and picked up a nail. Mike was starting

to get nervous. He pleaded with Johnny not to tell their parents where he had been.

He told Johnny he would pay him back if he would fix the flat and not tell their

parents. Johnny just laughed and said he would fix the flat. He said there was no

way Mike could pay him back.

Two months passed and Mike was playing video games in his room when suddenly Johnny

was at his bedroom door. Johnny looked scared and he asked Mike to help him. Johnny

said he was washing his hands in the sink when his new class ring fell down the

drain. He could see it, but he couldn’t reach it. Mike said sure he would help.

Mike’s hands were much smaller and his fingers were slimmer and longer than

Johnny’s. Mike carefully reached into the drain and pulled out Johnny’s shiny class

ring. Johnny was so happy. Mike reminded Johnny that even the youngest can pay back

a favor.

Actions done with kindness, no matter how small, make a big difference.

The Useless Tree

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One beautiful spring day, Ruby Robin and Rosy Squirrel decided it was time to find a

new home. They took a walk together through the woods, past a field of lovely yellow

flowers to a tree near the creek. Along the way, Ruby and Rosy discussed how they

needed more space now their families had grown and how they needed a place that

would be safe for their babies to play and they wouldn’t have to go far for food.

They also agreed on having a place with a beautiful view.

Ruby and Rosy stopped at a large oak tree near the bank of the creek. It was tall

with large, strong branches and a tree hollow just the right size for a family of

squirrels. The view was beautiful in all directions. Ruby and Rosy stopped and

looked at the tree and said how useless the tree could be.

The oak tree heard them while they were climbing the tree and said it provides

protection to all who live among his mighty branches so far from the ground. The oak

tree also told them that it provides shade from summer’s scorching sun and cover

from the rain. Its hollows provide warmth and protection from fall and winter’s cold

winds and snow. It provides food with its acorns and worms in the ground near its

roots. The tree asked Rosy and Ruby what more can you thankless creatures ask for?

The oak tree was mad by now and it shook its great limbs and almost knocked Ruby and

Rosy from the tree. The oak tree sent them away.

Ruby and Rosy thought about what they said and what the tree told them and they went

back and told the oak tree they were sorry for calling it useless. The oak tree

forgave them and reminded Ruby and Rosy that every living thing has a purpose and is

worth more than gold.