1.语文

一年级-上册

2.数学

3.英语

一年级-下册

日语

ドラえもん

英语 自然拼读

A Golden Tragedy

故事来自海蒂.麦格鲁德的日记作者：Stephen Cosgrove
插图：Carolyn LaPorte

A story from Hattie MacGruder's Diary
 Written by Stephen Cosgrove
 Illustrated by Carolyn LaPorte

我叫海蒂·麦克格鲁德。我是班级女王，而且是我们这个三年级班级的绝对领导者。我有一只鹦鹉。他不是那种会唱歌的笨鸟，而是只真正会说话的鸟。

My name is Hattie MacGruder. I am
queen and absolute leader of my
third grade class, and I have a parakeet!
 He’s not one of those little silly, singing
birds, but a real talking parakeet.

他没日没夜地讲话。他谈论天气，朋友，还有他吃的恶心的种子。他宁愿吃果冻，油炸辣椒芝士。他喜欢布兰妮·斯皮尔斯。我讲得是真的。

He talks like there’s no tomorrow. He
talks about the weather and my friends
 and the stupid seeds he has to eat.
 He would much rather eat jelly or chili
cheese fries, and he loves Britney Spears.
 I am telling the truth.

有些人就没讲真话。 西比尔和莎拉就是撒谎者，不讲真话的人。他们说没有会真正讲话的鹦鹉。鹦鹉也从来不会吃油炸辣椒起司。他们说的最多的还是鹦鹉不会讲话这件事。他们说我完全都是捏造的。这就是我说他们是撒谎者，不讲真话的人的原因。是真的有我说的那些事情，而且，... 

There are others who are not telling
the truth.
 Sybil and Sarah are liars and fibbers and
tellers of untruth.
 They said that there never was a talking
parakeet. They said the parakeet never
 even tasted a chili cheese fry. Mostly
they said that parakeets don’t talk. They
said that I’d made it all up. That’s why
they are liars and fibbers and tellers of
untruth. Because there really was what I
said there was—there always is and . . .

而且，我有足够的证据证明鹦鹉会说话，还有所有其他发生在我身上的事情。证据就是我的日记。现在就让你看看我写的东西因为每当鹦鹉说话的时候，我都会记录下来。这样你可以直接地了解这件事情的真相。

. . . plus, I have absolute proof about the
talking parakeet and all the other things
that happen to me.
 The proof is in my diary. I’m going to
let you read it exactly as I wrote it when
the parakeet talked. That way you can
read, first hand, the truth about this
matter.

特注：
我只准许你看关于鹦鹉的那部分日记。你就不要看我由于和老师顶嘴而被限制外出的事情了--虽然我没有这样做。我确定有人在戏弄我。妈妈都要疯了，因为她要去见老师。她甚至还不让我买布莱尼的新CD，我省吃俭用，就为了这张CD.

Special Note:
 I am only going to let you read the parts
of my diary that are about the parakeet.
 You won't get to read the stuff about
me getting grounded for sassing my
teacher— which I didn't do. I swear
somebody was playing ventriloquism
tricks on me. Mom was so mad that
she had to see my teacher. She wouldn't
even let me buy the new Britney Spears
CD I had been saving up for.

很多时候，你就不要去看任何关于我和西比尔，莎拉周末去看电影的事。我们看见利比，她不是一个人。她和怪人中的怪人戴维坐在一起。戴维本应该是我朋友的，但前提是他要忘掉周四饭后和我聊天的事。利比一定要让他和她走-是勒索或其他什么的就不得而知了。我也不会让你看戴维给她汽水的那段事情的。还有他给她口香糖的事，口香糖是从影院地板上捡起来的。她竟然吃了。但愿她没因此染上致命的疾病或其他什么的。

Mostly, you won’t get to read anything
 about Sybil, Sarah, and me going to
the movies on Sunday. We saw Libby
Thompson, and she was not sitting
alone. She was sitting with the geek of
all geekers, Davey Brewster, who was
supposed to be my friend. But he must
have forgotten about our little talk after
lunch on Thursday. Libby must have
made him go with her— blackmail
or something. And I am not going to let
you read the part where Davey Brewster
got her a soda. Or when he gave her
the gumball that fell on the icky movietheater
floor. She ate it! I hope she
doesn’t get a fatal disease or anything.

证据：
日记，第117天
今天是个伤心的日子。妈妈的婶婶（我的老婶母）去世了。我对她不熟悉，但我为妈妈感到伤心。我没有去葬礼，爸爸妈妈去了。他们去了婶母家，大家都很伤心。

The Proof:
 Diary, Day 117
 It was kind of a sad day. My mom’s aunt
(my great-aunt) died. I didn’t know her that
well, but I was sad for my mom. I didn’t
go to the funeral, but my mom and dad did.
 Then they went over to my great-aunt's
house and everybody was sad together.

我那天待在莎拉家。西比尔也过来了，我们一起打牌，看电视，谈论戴维。戴维太受欢迎了。我和他是特别的朋友。我们聊这件事的时候，是在一个周四的饭后，我们坐在操场上，我们都觉得之间的关系很不可思议。他说他最喜欢我是整个三年级的女生中最喜欢的。我最喜欢他, 是这个世界上最喜欢的。但是，除了黛比哥哥，我要和他结婚在我退休之后。

I spent the day at Sarah’s house. Sybil
came over, and we played cards (Spite
and Malice), watched TV, and talked about
Davey Brewster. He is so pop. He and I
are special buds. We talked about it after
lunch on the playground Thursday and
decided that it was cool. He said he liked
me better than any girl in the third grade. 
I like him better than any boy in the whole
world. Well, except for Debbie Phillips’s
older brother, who I am going to marry
when I retire from my career.

我本想在莎拉家睡的，但是妈妈让我回家。当我到家的时候，看到她心情好多了。她看上去一点也不伤心。事实上，她还有些开心。她说在我房间里有个惊喜。我坚信是那会是她不让我买的布莱尼的CD。但是，不是...

Anyway, I was supposed to spend the night
at Sarah’s, but my mom wanted me to
come home.
 She was in a much better mood when
I got there. She didn’t seem sad at all.
 In fact, she was pretty happy.She said
 there was a surprise waiting for me in my
room. I thought for sure it was going to be
 the Britney Spears CD that she wouldn’t let
me get. It wasn’t . . .

惊喜是一只鹦鹉-我老婶母的鹦鹉，老婶母的丈夫（我的叔公）把它给妈妈。妈妈说这只鹦鹉很特殊，因为是老婶母的。她说她知道我会好好照顾它。

The surprise was a parakeet— my
great-aunt’s parakeet— which my greataunt’s
husband (my great-uncle) had given
to my mother. Mom said the parakeet was
very special because it belonged to my
great-aunt. She said she knew I would take
good care of it.

鹦鹉在我房间看上去很开心。我对它吹口哨，它吹回来。哇，它会吹口哨，吱吱叫，唱歌。它吹口哨声音很大。都没法停下来。希望那只笨鸟不要在晚上把我吵醒。我现在要睡觉了。接下来我会写更多的事情

The parakeet seemed to be happy in my
room. I whistled at it, and it whistled back.
 Wow, can it whistle and chirp and sing.
 It whistles really loudly. It won’t knock it
off! I hope that silly bird doesn’t keep me
awake all night!
 I’ve got to go to sleep now. I’ll write longer
later!

日记，第117天（后来更新）
真是个无眠的夜晚。
我努力要睡着，但那只笨鸟一直很兴奋-吱吱叫，吹口哨，发出点击的声音。当猫开始叫的的时候，我只好让它站在床上。我认为那只鸟也许很孤单。我开灯看着它。事实上，我告诉过它不要吵了。但它还是站在它的小笼子里，看着我，吹口哨，吱吱叫，发出噪音。

Diary, Day 117 (later)
 What a night!
 I tried to fall asleep, but that silly parakeet
 kept being happy— chirping, whistling,
and making clicking sounds. When the cat
started meowing, I just let it get up on
the bed. I thought that maybe the bird was
lonely. I turned on my light and looked at
it. Actually, I told it to knock it off. But it
just sat on its little wooden swing and
looked at me, whistling and chirping and
making noises.

我打开笼子，伸手进去，抓住它。它停止唱歌，甚至都不动老婶母一定经常把它从笼子里抓出来。我爬回床上，把它放在枕头下面。它四处跳动，突然，它开口说话了，我强调一下，是说话。

I opened the cage door, reached in,
and grabbed it. It stopped singing and
didn’t even flutter. My great-aunt must 
have taken itout of the cage a lot.
 I climbed back into bed and set it down
on my pillow. It kind of hopped around
 and then . . .
. . . it talked.
 I mean, he talked.

他说老婶母给他取名弗雷迪，但他更喜欢弗雷德。我简直不敢相信。弗雷德咬字那么清晰，就像你我一样。“我亲爱的朋友，海蒂，”他说：“你想玩什么？打牌怎样？你玩的是猫捉老鼠这种牌吧？或者我们也可以看少儿杂志，听歌也行。你有布莱尼的新专辑，对不对？”

He said my great-aunt called him Freddie,
 but he much preferred Fred.
 I couldn’t believe it! Fred was speaking
 just as clearly as you or I. “Well, my dear
friend, Hattie,” he said, “what do you want
to do? Play cards? You do play Spite and
Malice, don’t you? Or maybe we could
read a teen magazine or listen to some
music. You do have the new Britney Spears
CD, don’t you?”

他一直讲啊讲。他甚至还跳到我枕头上，但是我不介意。弗雷德还在讲，我慢慢睡着了。在我迷迷糊糊睡去的时候，他喋喋不休地讲着要和鸭子飞向南方去过冬之类的话。他觉得流浪鸭那样的生活才是他要的。

He talked on and on and on. He even
pooped on my pillow, but I didn’t care.
 With Fred still talking, I fell asleep.
 As I drifted off, he babbled on about 
flying south with the ducks for the winter
or something. He thought the life of
a gypsy duck was the life for him.

现在，坏消息来了。当我醒来的时候，他走了。我不知道他去哪。笼子还在，但是是空的。猫还在床上睡觉，像她平时一样。在房间里唯一移动的东西，就是在微风中摇曳的窗帘，微风是从窗外吹进来的。地板上的羽毛也在微风中飘动。除了这些，就是弗雷德走了。

Now, for the bad news. When I woke up,
he was gone!
 I don’t know where he went. The cage was
still there, but it was empty. My cat was
asleep on the bed, just like she always is.
 The only things moving in the room were
the curtains tossing in a light breeze that
blew through the open window. There
were some feathers on the floor fluttering
with the breeze. But other than that, Fred
was gone.

妈妈觉得很困惑。我试着告诉她弗雷德讲的要和鸭子去南方的事情。也许他只是溜出去，碰到了一大群野鸭子，一起向南飞去。我告诉她他可能春天会回来。我打赌一定是这样的。

Mom was very upset. I tried to tell her that
Fred had been talking about traveling with
the ducks. Maybe he slipped out, met up
with a big old group of wild ducks, and
headed south. I told her he would probably
 come back in the spring. I’ll bet that’s
what happened.

我解释不清楚这件事情，因为妈妈真的很生气。她给我讲了一些关于责任的话。我哭了，像往常一样。我今天被禁足了，但西比尔和莎拉还是过来看我。 我希望她们没有来。

Nothing was going to get me off the hook
 because Mom was really mad. She gave
me the “responsibility” talk. I cried like
I always do.
 I am grounded for today, but Sarah and
Sybil still got to come over.
 I wish they hadn’t.

我跟她们讲了所有关于说话鹦鹉的事。我告诉她们他想打牌，他喜欢布莱尼。我对莎拉和西比尔很失望，因为她们说弗雷德是我编造的。她们说鹦鹉可能在天国。她们还说她们认为是猫吃了他。她们是说谎者，不讲真话的人。我的日记可以证明的！我恨她们。

I told them all about the talking parakeet.
 I told them he even wanted to play cards,
 and he loved Britney Spears.
 I am so mad at Sarah and Sybil. They
said I’d made everything up about Fred.
 They said the parakeet was probably in
heaven. They even said they thought the
cat ate him.
 They are liars and fibbers and tellers
of untruth.
 My diary proves it!
I hate them.

对于今天发生的事情，妈妈觉得很糟糕。她说我可以去看电影明天和莎拉和西比尔一起去。我打电话给戴维问他是否一块去。他说他要去教堂。我们打算去看午后场电影。应该会很有趣的。
爱你的
海蒂·麦克格鲁德。

Mom felt bad about what happened and
said I could go to the movies with Sarah
and Sybil tomorrow. I called Davey
Brewster to see if he could go, too.
 He said he had to go to church. We’re
going to the matinee. It’s going to be
a lot of fun.
 Love,
 Hattie MacGruder

A Late Night Chat with a Parakeet

Introduction
 The world is full of cars and 
 trucks. There are over 600 
 million of them! They are in 
 even the smallest town in the 
 smallest country. There are over 
 200 million cars and trucks just 
 in the United States. Most of 
 these vehicles are automobiles. 
 We are a nation moving on wheels!

The Early Days
 People have always needed to travel.
 At first, people walked everywhere—
 even long distances. Then they tamed
 animals to ride and taught some to
 pull wagons. Horses, camels, and even
 elephants helped people make trips and 
 carry things. Imagine riding to school
 on an elephant! Using animals was better
 than walking—but it was still slow.

Inventors tried to build a machine with wheels to carry 
 people faster. They thought of building an engine to run
 it. They tried running engines with steam or with electricity. 
 But neither engine worked well enough. In the late 1880s,
 people made engines that could run on gasoline, or gas. These 
 engines were small but powerful. They could travel faster and 
 go farther. Today, most cars use gas engines.

Do You Know?
 Which word came first— car or automobile? Car was 
 first used in 1301 to describe a Celtic war chariot.
 Automobile was first used by a Frenchman in 1883 
 to describe electric cars. How are they used now?

How Cars Are Made
 The first cars did not look like 
 the ones you see today. They looked 
 like carriages without horses. People 
 even called them horseless carriages!
 At first, cars were made one at a time
 by hand. It took a long time. They were
 expensive. Not everyone could afford
 a handmade car. People tried ways to
 manufacture cars faster and at a lower
 cost. In 1896, one early company could
 make only 13 cars in a year. But by 
 1899, a company could make over 2,000!

In 1903, Henry Ford started 
 the Ford Motor Company in 
 Detroit, Michigan. Detroit 
 would soon become the center 
 of car making. Ford’s company 
 sold a car called the Model 
 T. Ford wanted to make cars 
 that cost less—so more people 
 could buy them. This meant he 
 had to manufacture more 
 cars and do it faster.

Ford thought about all the 
 ways he could do this. In 1913, 
 he invented the assembly line. 
 It was a faster and cheaper way 
 to make a car. Soon, other
 companies made their cars this 
 way. Now almost everyone could 
 buy a car. By 1929, over 3.5 
 million cars were on the road. 
 There were so many cars that
 people had to build more roads!

What Is an Assembly Line?
 On an assembly line, a car is assembled—put together—one piece 
 at a time. Machines pull unfinished cars through the factory in 
 a long line. As each car moves along the line, parts are added 
 to it. At the end of the line, the car is complete. For years, 
 people did all the work on an assembly line. But today, machines 
 called robots often do this work. These robots are not like the 
 ones in movies. These are special machines that work the same way 
 that an arm and hand work. Robots can work without getting tired.

Companies That Make Cars
 Three big companies have been making cars in the United States 
 for a long time: General Motors, Chrysler, and Ford. Since cars 
 first hit the streets, American companies have led the world in 
 car production.

In the 1960s and ’70s, a Japanese company named Toyota began 
 offering cars that were built to last longer and break down less often 
 than most American-made cars. But the American car manufacturers 
 still sold the most cars. Then in 2007, the pattern changed.

Toyota, the first foreign company to do so, sold more cars and 
 trucks than any other company in the world. Toyotas are not the 
 only cars made outside the United States. Volkswagen and BMW are 
 imported from Germany. But the countries of Japan and South Korea 
 have brought the highest numbers of cars into the United States.

U.S. Carmakers and Brands in 2007
 Chrysler makes the Chrysler, 
 Dodge, and Jeep.
 Ford makes the Ford, Lincoln,
 Mercury, Mazda and Volvo.

Some Foreign Carmakers and 
 Brands in 2007
 BMW makes the BMW, MINI, 
 and Rolls-Royce.
 Volkswagen makes the Audi,
 Bentley, Bugatti, Lamborghini, 
 Skoda,and SEAT.
 Honda makes the Honda and Acura.
 Nissan makes the Nissan and 
 Infiniti. Hyundai Kia

Problems Caused by the Automobile
 Automobiles are helpful, but they 
 can also cause serious problems for 
 people. Exhaust (burning gases from 
 a car’s tailpipe) gets in the air. 
 That means unhealthy chemicals get 
 in the air that we breathe. These 
 chemicals can make people sick. Every 
 year, car companies try to reduce the 
 amount of chemicals their cars make.

Have you ever been in a traffic 
 jam? All the cars on the road 
 just sat still, and you couldn’t 
 go anywhere. So many cars are 
 on the road today that it causes
 problems . Remember—there are 
 about 200 million cars in the 
 United States. That’s almost as 
 many cars as people. In fact, the 
 number of cars has grown
 faster than the number of people.

The Future of the Automobile
 Years ago, most cars were unsafe 
 in accidents. Today, special car
 parts help to protect people. Cars 
 have seat belts. Babies and small 
 children ride in safety seats. 
 Newer cars have big airbags that
 inflate—fill with air—in accidents.

What do you think would make 
 cars even safer? Car companies 
 are also working on new kinds 
 of engines. One type of car, 
 called a hybrid, uses both a 
 gas engine and an electric motor.
 Hybrids use less gas. This might 
 cut down on the unhealthy
 chemicals in the air.

We will always be a nation 
 that travels from one place 
 to another. But will it 
 always be on wheels? How 
 will cars look in the future?
 How will they work? Perhaps 
 your ideas will shape the future.

A Nation on Wheels

Introduction
 Trees are the tallest living 
 plants. Redwood trees can grow 
 as tall as a 30-story building. 
 Giant sequoias can weigh as much 
 as 3,000 large pickup trucks, 
 making them one of the heaviest
 living things. Trees also live 
 a long time. Many trees alive 
 today were full-grown long before 
 the United States became a country. 
 But these massive trees share
 something with all plants—they 
 make their own food.

Leaves
 Imagine being able to make your own 
 food without cooking or even going 
 to a restaurant! Leaves make food 
 for trees by changing energy from 
 sunlight into food. This important 
 work is done by chlorophyll(KLOR-uh
 -fill), the green coloring in leaves.

Leaves come in all shapes and sizes. 
 Most deciduous(dee-SIJ-oo-us)trees 
 have wide, thin leaves, while most 
 conifers have needlelike leaves. 
 Conifers keep their needles through
 all seasons. Only the oldest needles 
 fall to the ground. Deciduous trees
 lose their leaves every fall.

In the fall, the leaves of 
 deciduous trees show their 
 true colors. These true 
 colors are yellows, oranges, 
 and browns, which hide under 
 green chlorophyll all spring
 and summer. We see these 
 colors in the fall after leaves 
 stop making chlorophyll.

Branches
 Branches are the arms that hold up a tree’s 
 leaves. Branches spread leaves out to get as 
 much sunlight as they can. The leaves give 
 shade to other living things on sunny days.

Branches start out as twigs, then they grow thicker 
 each year. As a tree grows, its bark cracks open so 
 the branches and trunk can expand. New bark is always
 growing under the old, ready to protect the tree. If
 new bark gets stripped away, a tree can die.

Trunk
 Tubes in the tree’s trunk carry 
 water from the roots up to the 
 leaves. They also carry sap, or 
 food, down from the leaves to 
 the roots. These tubes are like
 highways, carrying traffic back 
 and forth. They are close to the 
 outside of the tree, just under 
 the bark.

A tree doesn’t need the middle 
 of its trunk to live. The middle 
 is made of rings of old growth, 
 not active highways. That’s why 
 a tree can keep growing even if 
 the middle is hollowed out after 
 a lightning strike. All it needs 
 is enough bark to protect its 
 highways.

Roots
 Trees need soil to keep growing. 
 Roots are part of the highways. 
 They soak up water and nutrients 
 from the soil. Roots also keep 
 the soil in place when it rains.
 Without the roots of trees and 
 plants, soil washes away. Trees 
 are stuck in the soil because 
 their roots reach deep into the 
 ground. It’s a good thing they 
 can make their own food, since 
 they can’t move to get it.

Sap
 Leaves use water plus sunlight 
 and air to make food for the 
 tree. This food is in the form 
 of liquid sugars. Sometimes 
 people eat some kinds of tree 
 sugars for food. You’ve probably 
 had tree sugar for breakfast—
 pouring it over your pancakes or 
 waffles. Have you guessed what
 tree sugar this is? It’s maple 
 syrup, and it comes from the food, 
 or sap, of a sugar maple tree.

Seeds
 Deciduous trees grow flowers, 
 which make seeds that are 
 inside fruit or nuts. Conifers 
 make cones instead of flowers.
 The cones do the same job for 
 conifers that flowers do on 
 other trees. They make seeds to 
 grow more trees. Each seed holds 
 its own supply of food to keep it 
 alive until it’s ready to sprout.

Growing
 How does a tall tree grow from a 
 small seed? The seed soaks up water 
 until it can send out a root. With 
 more water, leaves inside the seed 
 case grow until they push up and out. 
 Once this has happened, we say the 
 seed has sprouted. Now the sprout 
 can make its own food and no longer 
 needs the seed’s store of energy. 
 The seed leaves will make food
 for the new sprout.

Conclusion
 While trees look like they aren’t 
 doing much, they are working. They 
 make their own food by changing 
 sunlight and air into sugars. This 
 helps keep the air clean, too. Trees 
 are homes and food for birds and 
 other animals. Look to see which
 animals make homes in trees near 
 your home. Some animals, including
 humans, eat sap, fruit, and seeds 
 from trees. Others eat bark and leaves.

Trees do many things. Tree 
 leaves shade us on sunny days. 
 They also shade new sprouts 
 from the heat of the sun so 
 they won’t burn. Tree roots 
 hold the soil in place that 
 trees and other plants need to
 grow. From saplings to mighty 
 giants, trees stand tall.

About Trees

Written by Troy Wolff
 Illustrated by Marcy Ramsey

Dimitri the Greek
 “You must be Brady.” Surprised, 
 Brady stopped and looked around 
 the cafe. “Over here, young man,” 
 the voice continued.
 “Are you Dimitri?” Brady asked.
 “Yes,” he answered.

Dimitri’s head was completely
 bald and tanned by years in 
 the sun. His eyes were bright 
 and welcoming. Even though 
 the man was sitting down,
 Brady could tell he was tall.

Brady was on vacation with his
 parents in Greece. They had 
 arranged for him to meet Dimitri,
 an old family friend, while they 
 went to the Athens National Museum.
 “So, you know my dad?” Brady asked.
 “Yes. And I’m happy to answer any
 questions you have about Greece.”

“Well, I don’t have many questions,”
 Brady answered with a shrug of his
 shoulders. “All this ancient history
 and learning about other countries
 is kind of boring.” “Boring?” Dimitri 
 boomed. “This is one of the most 
 exciting cities in the world.”
 “We’ll see about that,” said Brady, 
 not really interested.

Winding Around the Acropolis
 Dimitri and Brady left the cafe. The pair walked 
 toward the steep-sided hill called the Acropolis, 
 which is Greece’s most famous landmark. “What are 
 we doing here?” Brady protested. Instead of answering, 
 Dimitri led Brady toward a stone tower off to their left.

It was a two-story-high marble tower with eight 
 sides. At the top of each of the eight flat sides 
 was a carved figure. “Brady, tell me what you see,” 
 Dimitri said, pointing to the tower.

“Um, I guess I see a tower,” 
 Brady answered. “That’s obvious,” 
 Dimitri smiled. “Look closer and 
 tell me what you see.” Brady 
 shaded his eyes and focused. He 
 noticed several small metal rods 
 rusted with age. They poked out 
 from the flat sides of the tower 
 at odd angles. Each rod rose out 
 from one of the carved figures.

“Dimitri, what are those rods
 for?” Brady asked. “This landmark 
 is called the Tower of the Winds. 
 Brady, look more closely at the 
 carvings. Do you see the straight
 lines cutting through the carved 
 figures?” “Yes,” Brady answered.
 “Do you know what a sundial is?”
 Dimitri asked. “Yeah,” Brady 
 answered. “It tells time by the 
 shadow created by the Sun, right?”

“Yes. This tower does indeed tell 
 time, but it’s also a calendar,” 
 said Dimitri. “I don’t understand,” 
 Brady said. “It’s quite brilliant, 
 really,” Dimitri continued. “The 
 Sun changes position in the sky 
 throughout the year. When hit by 
 the shadow cast by the rod, the 
 lines informed citizens of Athens 
 of the exact time of day. They also 
 revealed the exact time of year.”

“That’s kind of cool,” Brady 
 answered. “Speaking of time, we 
 better get moving. We have much 
 to see,” said Dimitri. Discovering 
 the Theater Dimitri and Brady soon 
 rejoined the crowds walking around 
 the Acropolis. Suddenly, Brady gasped, 
 “Whoa! What’s that?” Stretching up 
 toward the Acropolis stood row after 
 row of stone benches. The benches 
 brightly reflected the midday sun.

“Brady, do you like movies?”
 “Yeah, of course,” Brady 
 answered. “All our ideas of 
 drama and comedy began here 
 with Greek theater.” Brady 
 tried to picture the stone 
 theater filled with people. 
 The actors must have struggled 
 to have their lines heard by 
 those seated in the very top rows.

“Dimitri,” Brady asked, 
 “did they have microphones 
 back then?” “Brady, it was 
 400 bc ,” Dimitri laughed.
 “There were no microphones.”
 “Then how could people 
 watching from the top rows 
 hear the actors onstage?”

It was all based on mathematics, Dimitri explained. 
 The theater was divided into three equal sections. 
 There was a lower, middle, and upper section. Each 
 section of the theater was tilted at a slightly
 higher angle than the level below it. This created 
 a bowl that trapped the sound from the stage.

No matter where you sat, the sound was the same. 
 “I can’t believe things like this could have been built 
 so long ago,” said Brady. “Well, my friend, just wait. 
 We still have the Acropolis to visit,” Dimitri said.

Climbing to the Top
 “Dimitri, I don’t know what the 
 big deal is,” Brady said. “We’ve 
 walked all this way to see the 
 Acropolis, but all it looks like 
 is a bunch of broken rocks.” 
 “Brady, my young friend, be 
 patient,” Dimitri said. “You need 
 to pay more attention to the little 
 details of life. This is an important 
 lesson for you to learn.” Sure enough, 
 after reaching the top, Brady’s jaw 
 dropped open at the sight before him.

On the highest point of the Acropolis hill stood a stone 
 temple with massive columns of marble. It was as big as a 
 modern football stadium, and it was decorated with carved 
 figures. The entire building seemed to glow in the late 
 afternoon light. Brady’s thoughts spun as he pictured this 
 temple being built by ancient people. “So, was it worth the 
 climb?” Dimitri asked playfully. “Yes, it’s awesome,” Brady said.

As the Sun began to set, Brady thought about 
 everything he’d seen. “You are right, Dimitri. I 
 need to pay more attention to the details of life. 
 I would have missed many of these sights if I had 
 been by myself. Thank you for opening my eyes.”

“You don’t need to thank me, my friend,” Dimitri 
 answered. He put a hand on Brady’s shoulder and 
 joined him in admiring the sunset. In the fading light, 
 Brady thought to himself that he would leave Greece 
 a different person than he was when he arrived.

Acropolis Adventure

Retold by Torran Anderson 
Illustrated by Thomas Boatwright

“Attention, Furniture World shoppers, 
there’s a troll in the bed department. 
Leave immediately!” the voice called
over the loudspeaker. 
“Oh, no!” Alia said. She ducked under
a table in the bed department. 
Trog the Troll grabbed Alia’s dad, mom,
and twin brothers. He lifted them in
front of his massive face, blinked his eyes, 
and transformed them into furniture. 
Alia’s dad and mom became king-sized
beds. The twins turned into bunk beds.

Alia jumped out from under the table. 
“What did you do to my family?” 
Trog roared at Alia. 
“Exit the store in an orderly manner,” 
the voice on the loudspeaker boomed. 
A screaming group of shoppers ran by. 
A security guard picked up Alia and
carried her away.
“Wait! My family has been turned into
furniture,” Alia said. 
“Everyone has to leave the store!” said the
security guard.

The security guard dropped Alia in
front of the exit.“Wait outside. I’m going
back in for more people.” 
Alia saw a raven frantically flapping 
its wings against the glass door. 
She scooped up the bird. “I’ll take you
outside.”
“Thank you,” said the raven as he flew
away. 
Alia slumped down in the parking lot
and sobbed. “I’ll never see my family
again.”

A white mouse climbed onto Alia’s shoe. 
“Excuse me. Do you have any food?” 
asked the mouse. 
“I have this granola bar,”Alia said. 
The mouse bowed and scurried away. 
Alia checked the front door—locked.

“Do you happen to have some water?” 
asked a dog. The golden retriever was 
tied up to a bicycle rack. “My owner ran
away and left me here.” 
Alia untied the dog and filled her water
bowl. “Do you know how to get inside?” 
The dog nodded. She snuck Alia through 
the loading dock behind the store. They
crept inside to the store’s restaurant.

Inside the kitchen, a cook chained to the
stove was cooking French fries. 
“What are you doing here?” asked the
cook. 
“My family was turned into beds by the
troll,” Alia said. 
“I’m sorry,” the cook said. “He’s the
furniture troll who lives in the basement. 
He turns people into furniture, and
then we have to sell it. He just wants
to make money. It’s awful, and he can’t
be stopped. He removed his heart and
hid it.”

Just then the floor rumbled. “More
fries!” bellowed Trog. 
“Quick—hide under the sink,” the cook
said. 
Trog stomped into the kitchen and lay
down. The cook poured twenty pounds
of French fries into his mouth. 
“Trog, I’ve been wondering, where have
you hidden your heart?” the cook asked. 
“Why? You’ll never get it. It’s in the break
room, in the back of the freezer, 
wrapped in tinfoil,” Trog said.

The troll laughed, and the room shook. 
Suddenly, he became quiet. 
“Where’s that disgusting little-girl smell 
coming from?” Trog asked. He leaped
to his feet and snatched Alia from under
the sink. 
The troll licked his slobbery lips. 
“I want my family back,” said Alia. 
Trog laughed again. “I’m going to turn
you into a sandwich. Let me get my
bread.”

He tied Alia up and stomped off to find
his giant loaf of bread. 
“I can’t reach you,” said the cook. “You
need to get out of here.” 
“Help!” Alia screamed. 
Just as the words left her mouth, the
mouse squeaked at her feet. It chewed
through the ropes and freed her. 
“Thank you,” Alia said.

“Steal Trog’s heart,” said the cook. 
“Where is the break room?” asked Alia. 
“This store is like a maze.” 
“Follow me,” said the dog. 
The golden retriever led Alia through
the store to the break room. 
“Thank you, but the door is locked,” 
Alia said.

The raven cawed overhead. High in the
rafters, Trog had hung the key. 
The bird grabbed the key with his beak
and dropped it. 
“You’re the best,” Alia called as she
unlocked the door and raced to the
freezer. She tossed frozen leftovers
onto the floor.

There, in the back of the
freezer, was a mound of tinfoil about the
size of a football. It was Trog’s heart. 
Alia unwrapped it and squeezed the
black heart. It was cold and hard, and
had an awful smell. 
“Argh!” yelled Trog from inside the store. 
“Someone found my heart.”

The troll burst through the break room
wall. “Give me my heart.” 
“Turn my family back into people,” Alia
said. 
Trog smashed his fists into the floor. 
“Never!”

He roared at Alia, and she threw the
heart into his open mouth. As Trog
swallowed his own heart, he felt a flood
of emotion. He hadn’t felt anything since
he’d removed his heart, and he burst into
tears.
Trog’s tears flooded the store. When the
troll’s tears touched the furniture, it all
turned back into people.

Alia’s mom, dad, and brothers ran up to
Alia and hugged her. 
Trog sobbed, “I’m so sorry.” 
“What happened?” her mother asked. 
“Why is that troll crying?” 
“It’s a long story,” said Alia. “Just promise
me we won’t go furniture shopping for a
long time.”

Alia and the Furniture Troll

作者： Mary C. Canavan
插图：Laura Ferraro Close

Written by Mary C. Canavan
 Illustrated by Laura Ferraro Close

贝姬发现一幅很棒的拼图
那是个阴暗的，下雨的星期六，尽管如此，贝姬还是很兴奋。今天她可以去挑一个新的拼图--爸爸妈妈送的生日礼物。妈妈形容贝姬是“拼图达人”。她刚开始玩很小的拼图板，发展到50片拼图，然后100，接着200.现在有更大的挑战。她的第一块300片拼图。更好的是，她有三天的周末假期去完成拼图。

Becky Finds the Perfect Puzzle
 It was a gloomy, rainy Saturday, but
even so, Becky was very excited. Today
was the day she would be picking out a
new puzzle— a birthday gift from Mom
and Dad.
 Becky was a “puzzle person,” or so her
mom said. She had started with babysize
wooden ones, progressed to 50
pieces,then 100, and then 200. Now it
would be a bigger challenge,
 her first 300-piece puzzle. And even better,
 she had a three-day weekend ahead to put
it together.

在玩具店，她被一排排的拼图惊呆了。有些多达9000片。最后，她在300片拼图区域寻找，她看到她喜欢的。贝姬说：“妈妈，我找到了，就是它。带有动物印花的那块。”它太美了，整个就是一幅非洲野生动物图。背景是雪山，鸟儿到处飞翔。她说：“这个太棒了，因为你还可以在水中看到整个画面。”“就像合二为一的拼图。”

At the toy shop, she was overwhelmed
with the array of puzzles. Some had as
many as 9,000 pieces! At last, she found
the 300-piece puzzle section, and saw
one she liked.
 “Mom, I found it,” Becky said. “Right
here, the one with the animals.” It was
beautiful— a painting of African wild
animals near a watering hole. A snowy
mountain was in the background, and
birds were flying around. “It’s neat
because you can see the whole picture
in the water, too,” she said. “It’s like
having two puzzles in one.”

回到家，她认真清理出大的餐桌，测量好拼图要占的面积。包装盒写的是40cm乘60cm.贝姬小心地把拼图倒在桌子上，把它们翻过来，正面朝上。这占了一些时间，她迫不及待要开始了。她说“这个看上去有好多片要拼的。”事实上，跟上回完成的那个比，这个是它的两倍多。

At home, she carefully cleared off the
large dining room table and measured
the area the puzzle would cover. The
box said 16 by 24 inches.
 Becky carefully dumped the pieces out
 onto the table, and turned them over,
right side up. This took a little time, and
she was impatient to get going. “This
does look like a lot more pieces,” she
said. In fact, there were twice as many
pieces as the last puzzle she completed.

关键在你怎样观察
首先，她找出直边来搭好框架。有些很容易找出来，有些直边很不明显。然后她找可以拼一起的图片，树的形状，斑马条纹...长颈鹿的明显标志。她把按形状拼在一起的拼图放在一边。她开始找到了些思路。到午饭的时候，贝姬已经完成了两边。

It’s All in How You Look at It
 First, she searched for straight edges to
make a frame for the picture. Some of
these pieces were easy to spot; others
had just a teeny-weeny bit of a straight
edge. Then she began to spot pieces that
might go together . . . pieces of a tree . . .
the zebra’s stripes . . . the distinctive
marks of the giraffe. Those pieces she
put together in little piles off to the
side. She was getting organized!
 By lunchtime, Becky had two sides
completed.

那天下午，爸爸回来，坐在她旁边，他拿起一片，问：“进展怎么样？”贝姬回答：“还好，不过花的时间比我预想的要长。”爸爸说：“我通常先区分形状，那是我从我爸爸那里学来的窍门。”贝姬抬头看着她爸爸，谨慎地问：“约翰爷爷？”贝姬怎么也想不到爸爸小时候和爷爷一块玩拼图。爸爸说：“我会把所有带有圆形的放在这边，长边形的放在这边。”这对贝姬来说是个新思路。她从没考虑过按形状来分类。爸爸接着说：“这样分的话，当你需要一块这样的，”他拿起一块方形拼图，“就在这一堆找。”爸爸把拼图放回原处，说：“试试。”

Later that afternoon, her dad came and
 sat down next to her. “How’s it going?”
 he asked, as he picked up a piece.
 “Okay,” Becky said, “but this is taking
longer than I expected.”
 “I always look for shape first,” Dad said.
 “It’s a trick I learned from my father.”
 Becky looked up at her dad. “Grandpa
John?” Try as she might, Becky could
not imagine her father as a little boy
doing a puzzle with Grandpa.
 Dad said, “I put all the ones with the
loop out over here, and the long ones
over here.” Well now, that was news
to Becky! She had never considered
shape as a way to separate pieces. He
continued, “This way when you need
one like this,” he held up a squarish
piece, “it will be here in this pile.”
 Dad pushed his piece in place, and said,
“Got one!”

贝姬碰到障碍
现在事情进展的很好。长颈鹿的头很容易就拼出来了。但就在这时，贝姬碰到了障碍，草地太多了，形状还都很类似。即使是按形状分类的方法也行不通。她有点累，饿，还有些沮丧。第一天很快就要过去了， 屋外雨已渐停，天变得很暗。妈妈说：“贝姬，吃晚饭了。”“你最喜欢的芝士通心粉。”

Becky Hits a Snag
 Now things were moving along better;
 the giraffe’s head was easy. But then
Becky hit a snag— too many grassy areas
that all looked alike. Even the shape
trick wasn’t working. She was getting
tired, hungry, and a little discouraged.
 The day had gone by fast. The rain had
stopped, and it was dark outside.
 “Time for dinner, Becky,” called Mom.
 “Your favorite, mac and cheese.”

妈妈盯着贝姬，说：“你看上去不开心，贝姬。有什么不对的地方吗？”贝姬承认这个拼图比她想象中的要难。一整天都在弄拼图，她的头很疼。妈妈说：“晚饭后，我们一起来看看。”吃过晚饭后，他们把椅子移过来，把桌子搬动一些，以便他们可以坐一块。贝姬上下看着拼图，立马发现有三块匹配的。 太棒了。“嘿，瞧，只要移到这，用不同的角度去看，就可以发现可以拼一块的。”

Mom looked at Becky closely. “You look
unhappy, Becky. Something wrong?”
 Becky admitted this puzzle was much
harder than she expected. Her head hurt
from working on it all day.
 “Well,” Mom said, “after dinner, we’ll
take a look at it together.”
 After dinner, they pulled up another
chair, and moved the table over a bit so
they could all sit together. Becky was
now looking at the puzzle upside down,
 and immediately saw three pieces that
fit! This was great! “Hey, look, just
moving over here gave me a different
way to see where the pieces fit.”

梦
那天晚上，贝姬梦到拼图。一片片大大的拼图在空中飘浮，拼不到一起。直边，圆形，各种颜色都混在一起。早上醒来，对于拼图的事，心里没底。也许我应该让自己冷静下来，她想。

The Dream
 That night, Becky dreamed about the
puzzle. Big lopsided pieces were floating
in space, and would NOT organize
themselves! Straight edges, loops, and
colors were all mixed up. She woke in
the morning, feeling unsure about this
whole puzzle thing. Maybe I should just
cool it for a while, she thought.

那天下午，他们去游泳馆锻炼，他们在泳池一圈圈来回游动。贝姬尽全力去游，她父母游一圈，她已经游了两圈。她觉得精力很充沛。有那么一会儿，贝姬完全忘了她做的梦和拼图的事情。当他们回到家，她又迫不及待要开始她的拼图。

That afternoon, they all went to the
gym to exercise and swim laps in the
pool. Becky swam as fast as she could,
 completing two laps to her parents’ one.
 She was feeling very energetic! For a
while, Becky completely forgot about
 her dream and the puzzle. When they
all returned home, she was eager to start
her puzzle again.

另一种想法星期天，贝姬的好朋友萨拉过来玩。萨拉也很擅长玩拼图。“贝姬，你要把所有蓝色阴影的拼图片放那里，看到没？”贝姬的确看到了。但是蓝色是天空和河流。但是，萨拉的主意还是值得一试。仍然有很多片要去拼。现在贝姬和萨拉有好几种方法可以选择：通过直边（简单的一种），通过图案，通过形状，通过上下观察拼图，通过颜色。即使用遍了所有的技巧，她们俩有时还是找不到对应的拼图。萨拉还试着靠在她头上。相信吗？这竟然也行！

Another Point of View
 On Sunday, one of Becky’s best friends,
Sara, came over to play. Sara was a good
puzzler, too. “Becky, you need to get all
these shades of blue over here, see?”
 Becky did see, but the blues were sky
AND water. Still, Sara’s idea was worth
trying. And there were still lots and lots
of pieces to go.
 Now Becky and Sara had several ways
to work: by straight edge (the easy one),
 by design, by shape, by looking at the
puzzle upside down and sideways, and
by color.
 Even with all the puzzle tricks, there
were times when the two of them
 couldn’t find the right piece. Sara even
tried standing on her head. And believe
it or not, that worked, too!

意外
星期一上午，拼图就快完成了。到星期一下午，剩下不到十片拼图没完成，贝姬就要庆祝这个时刻的到来。真是一幅漂亮的画... 但，等等... 一片不见了。找不到了！贝姬在地板上找，沙发上，甚至，拼图下面。她大喊：“爸爸，妈妈，一片拼图不见了。”客厅，厨房，每一寸地方他们都仔细搜寻。地毯下面，书橱后面，沙发垫下面，他们都不放过，但是，到处都找不到那片拼图。贝姬茫然了。一张不完整的拼图。谁能想到，没有300片，只有299片。爸爸说：“贝姬，我有个主意。”

An Unexpected Problem
 By Monday morning, the puzzle was
nearly complete. By Monday afternoon,
less than ten pieces were left, and Becky
was starting to celebrate! It was a
beautiful picture . . . but wait . . . a piece
was missing! MISSING! Becky looked
on the floor, on the couch, even under
the puzzle.
 “Mom! Dad!” she hollered, “a piece is
MISSING!”
 They combed through every inch of the
dining room and kitchen. They checked
under the rug, in back of the bookcase,
underneath the couch cushions— no
puzzle piece anywhere.
 Becky’s mouth was turned down. A
defective puzzle! Who would have
known? It wasn’t 300 pieces, it was 299!
 “Okay, Becky, I have an idea,” said Dad.

爸爸的补救办法
他们很小心地把完成的拼图粘在硬纸板上，把它挂在贝姬房间里，同其他已经完成的四幅挂一起。缺失的那一片并不明显。他们找了一张小雪球（他们家猫的名字）的照片，把它剪成那块丢失拼图的尺寸。拼图上本应是小狮子的脸，但现在出现的是小猫的脸。小雪球看上去一点也不凶猛。所以整体看上去还不错。贝姬真为爸爸感到骄傲，因为可以想到如此绝妙的注意。

Dad to the Rescue
 They carefully glued the finished puzzle
onto poster board, and hung it next to
the other four in Becky’s bedroom. The
missing piece wasn’t even noticeable.
 They had found a little picture of their
cat, Snowball, and cut it into the shape
of the missing piece. The face of
Snowball peered out where the baby
lion’s face was supposed to be in the
puzzle. Little Snowball didn’t look
nearly as ferocious.
 So, it looked really neat, after all. And
Becky was very proud of her dad for
 coming up with such a brilliant idea!

意外的结局
星期二，贝姬匆忙准备去学校。她在牛仔裤的裤腿找到了丢失的那块拼图。她惊讶地看着这片拼图。既然小雪球的图片已经用在拼图上，她应该怎么做？她迅速的对比这两张图片，她发现更喜欢小雪球的那张。她把丢失的这张拼图贴在已经完成的拼图的边上。它提醒她要完成一幅拼图，不仅仅是还原每块拼图的位置，也可以有一些创意。

A Surprise Ending
 On Tuesday, Becky was scrambling
to get ready for school. She found the
missing puzzle piece in the cuff of her
jeans. Stunned, she looked at it. Now
that Snowball was in the picture, what
should she do? She quickly compared
the two pieces, and decided she liked
her version better. She taped the missing
piece to the edge of the finished puzzle.
 It was a reminder that sometimes
creative puzzle solving is more than
just getting pieces to fit.

Becky

A Klamath Native American Folktale
 Retold by William Harryman
 Illustrated by Maria Voris

In the time before time, animals lived
 interesting lives. There were no humans,
 and the animals were free to do as they
 pleased. Everything was perfect—there
 was no disease, no hunger, no war, and
 no suffering. The animals had everything
 they needed.

Well, almost everything. Coyote enjoyed
 the nighttime. He would sit on a rock
 outside his house all night and watch
 the stars. Every night as he sat watching,
 he gazed at one particular star that was
 very beautiful. This large star was more
 beautiful than all the other stars. She
 was more beautiful than even the
 planets. She was more beautiful than
 even the sun and the moon, and
 Coyote thought they were very lovely,
 especially the moon.

Coyote was in love with the star
 and talked to her night after night.
 But she would not respond to him.
 She floated across the sky and
 pretended not to notice him.

Now, Coyote was known among the other
 animals as the Song Dog, even though
 his voice was rather scratchy. He loved
 to howl and sing his songs. He especially
 loved to sing when the moon was bright.
 So Coyote thought that if he could sing a
 beautiful song the star would notice him.
 He thought and wrote. After three days
 he had composed a new song. He was
 convinced this was the most beautiful
 song he could sing.

That night Coyote went outside when the
 sky became dark. His stomach felt a little
 nervous, and his heart was beating faster
 than usual. He sat on his rock and waited
 for the star to rise above the horizon.
 When she did, he began to sing.

“Oh beautiful star,
 I’m waiting for yoouuu.
 My heart is open
 and my love is truuee.
 I ask for your hand
 and your heart to woooo.
 Please give me a sign
 that I’m not a fooool.”
 And he sang his verse again and again,
 hoping she would notice. But she just
 flew across the sky and did not utter
 a word.

The other animals watched Coyote sing
 and felt sorry for him. No star had ever
 loved an animal. They knew Coyote had
 often been a fool, especially in matters
 of love. Coyote’s older brother, Wolf, just
 shook his head and sighed. Wolf had
 helped Coyote out of many difficult spots.
 He had a feeling that his silly younger
 brother would get himself in trouble
 again. Coyote did foolish things for love.

For seven nights Coyote sang his song
 and received no response. After the
 seventh night, he stopped singing. He
 was exhausted. He closed his eyes and
 dreamed of a ladder that elevated him to
 the stars. He climbed the ladder and took
 his star by the hand. They danced and
 danced, happy to finally be together.

When he awoke, he noticed that in the
 distance the star passed very close to
 a mountain. He thought that if he could
 climb to the top of the mountain, he
 could touch the star and convince her
 to love him.

Coyote ran very fast, bumping into trees
 brand tripping over rocks. Owl watched
 him run through a thicket of blackberries
 without even noticing. Gopher stuck
 his head out of his hole just as Coyote
 stumbled over a fallen tree and tumbled
 down a hill. But Coyote was resilient.
 And he was determined to meet the
 beautiful star.

The mountain was almost in sight when
 Coyote came to a deep river. The water
 was cold and the current was very swift.
 Coyote didn’t like water. He had almost
 drowned many times in his adventures.
 And his long hair always got matted when
 it got wet. He was getting frustrated when
 he noticed a tree branch that hung over
 the river. So he climbed the tree and
 tiptoed out onto the branch.

Just as he reached the end and thought
 he could jump to the other shore, the
 branch broke. Splash! It was a long fall,
 but the water cushioned his impact. He
 shook the water from his fur, grumbled
 about looking like a wet cat, and
 continued on his way.

He kept running until he finally stood on
 the mountain. A whole day had passed
 and the sun was just now setting. He
 waited for night.

Soon the star appeared on the horizon.
 She was brilliant and even more
 beautiful than Coyote had remembered.
 He could now see that all the stars were
 dancing. She and the other stars moved
 through the night sky dancing elegant
 steps. Coyote didn’t know how to dance
 very well, but he sure wanted to dance
 with her. So he waited patiently. He was
 filled with butterflies, and his heart was
 beating like a big drum. But he stayed
 quiet. The star danced closer and closer,
 until finally she was on the mountain.

Coyote reached as high as he could, but
 he couldn’t touch her. He jumped and
 tried again, but still could not jump high
 enough. He begged her to reach her
 hand to his, and she did. She took his
 paw into her hand and pulled him
 up to her.

Slowly she danced with Coyote, up into
 the night sky. They went far, very high
 above the Earth. Coyote began to get
 dizzy and afraid. He did not think he
 was afraid of heights, but this was very
 high. His heart pounded even harder.

Coyote and the star danced farther and
 farther above the Earth, among the other
 stars. It was icy cold, and there wasn’t a
 single sound. None of the other stars said
 anything. He begged the beautiful star
 to talk to him, but she was silent. Coyote
 looked down and saw the rivers as thin
 lines, the mountains as small spots. His
 heart became very cold. He begged the
 star to return him to Earth. He missed
 the rock outside his house, and he
 missed the ground.

When they had reached the top of the
 sky, the star let go of Coyote. For the time
 of one whole moon, twenty-eight days,
 Coyote fell to the Earth. He fell and fell,
 and thought about his life the whole time.
 He promised himself he would never
 act foolish again. He vowed to be a good
 coyote from that day on. But he knew he
 had committed foolish acts, and he felt
 powerful regret.

Finally, he hit the ground. The impact
 made a great hole where once there
 had been a very large mountain, the
 mountain he had climbed. His blood
 turned to water and filled the hole
 to become a beautiful lake. It is the
 deepest, bluest lake on the continent
 of North America.

Now, when coyotes howl at the stars,
 they are scolding the star that killed the
 first Coyote. They remember him and
 his great love in their songs.

Coyote and the Star

Adapted by Katherine Follett 
Illustrated by John Kastner

Introduction 
When Daniel Boone was born in 1734, 
parts of what is now the United States 
still belonged to the British. He was
born in Pennsylvania. At that time,
Pennsylvania was as far west as
most Europeans had ever been. The
Americans and the British still fought
over the wild land between the
Allegheny Mountains in Pennsylvania 
and the Mississippi River. Daniel Boone
brought American settlers into those
lands for the first time.

The Adventurous Boy 
As a boy, Daniel Boone rarely went
to school. He loved the trees and wild
animals of the forest. He spent all his
days in the woods, listening for the calls
of birds and the footsteps of animals. 
He became an extremely skilled hunter. 
Though he was tall and sturdy, he
learned to walk silently. One day he
decided he would live in the woods he
loved. He got his rifle, whistled to his
faithful dog, and disappeared into the
gloomy forest.

His parents were not worried at first. 
Daniel often camped overnight. But by
the third night, they decided to gather
a search party. The forest rang with their
shouts, but nobody had any luck. Daniel
hadn’t left a trace. 
Finally, someone spotted a tiny stream
of smoke. The party found a simple
cabin made of sticks, bark, and moss. 
Sitting by the fire was Daniel himself.

He was surprised that so many people
were worried about him. He apologized,
picked up his things, and followed the
party home. This was the first of many
times Daniel Boone disappeared into
the forest, leaving his family to worry.

The Quiet Life 
Daniel’s family moved to North Carolina
when he was a young man. There he
met and married his wife. Soon they had
children. He had to work on his farm to
support his family. He had to live near
town so they could buy goods. He didn’t
have many chances to go hunting in the
woods he loved.

But one day, a friend of Daniel’s
returned from a hunting trip. He had
been to Kentucky, which was part of
the wild land being fought over. Daniel
listened longingly to stories of forests 
stretching to the horizon and teeming
with wildlife. From that day, Daniel
vowed he would live in Kentucky.

Daniel went camping in Kentucky with
his brother. He had never seen such a
beautiful land in his life. The brothers
returned to North Carolina, but only
long enough to gather their families
and friends. They set out for Kentucky
with nearly eighty people. The trip
took almost two months, and it was
dangerous. Daniel Boone and his party 
were not the only people who wanted
to live in Kentucky.

The Troubled Settlement 
Native Americans had lived in Kentucky
for thousands of years. Wherever pioneers
settled, they took land away from the
Native Americans. There was constant
war. Daniel Boone’s trip was no different. 
When the Native Americans saw Daniel’s
party with their wagons, cows, and horses,
they attacked. After the battle, Daniel
mourned to find that his oldest son had
been killed.

The party finally arrived near the
Kentucky River, where they built a fort. 
They built tough log houses in a tight
square, all facing inward. They extended
the back walls of the houses into high
log fences. The fences formed a solid
wall around the settlement. But still the
Native Americans fought for their land. 
This was not the pleasant outdoor life
Daniel Boone had imagined.

The Capture 
Eventually, the fort ran out of salt. 
Salt was essential in those days. Before
refrigerators, the only way to preserve
food was to cure it with salt, the way
we do with jerky. There was a salt-water
spring a few days’ journey from the fort.
Boiling its water made salt.

Daniel took several men and set out
toward the spring. Once there, they
were suddenly surrounded by a large
group of Native American warriors. 
Daniel Boone had become famous for
defending his fort. The warriors were
thrilled to capture him.

The warriors took Boone and his
companions all the way to Chillicothe,
Ohio. The trip on foot was long and
difficult. Along the way, the Native
Americans became impressed with
Daniel’s skill in the forest. This skill
was rare in a European. Such a man
was very valuable.

Eventually they took Boone and his men
to Detroit. The city was then a small
outpost owned by the British. Both the
British and the Native Americans were
fighting the American settlers. The two
groups had become uneasy friends. The
Native Americans thought they would
get quite a reward if they turned the
Americans over to the British. But when
the warriors arrived in Detroit, they
realized that they did not want to give
up Daniel Boone.

The leader of the British was outraged. 
He had heard of Daniel Boone’s bravery
and skill. He wanted to take Daniel
prisoner very badly. But the Native
Americans refused to hand him over. 
The rest of the men stayed with the
British. Daniel Boone was taken back
to Ohio.

The Native Americans held a ceremony 
to adopt Daniel Boone into their tribe. 
They shaved his hair very short. They
dressed him in feathers and ribbons. 
They took him to the river and purified
him with water. The chief gave him the
honor of joining the tribe. The ceremony
finished with a wonderful feast.

Escape 
Even if Daniel Boone appreciated the
Native Americans’ welcome, he missed
his family and wanted to go home. The
Native Americans respected Daniel, but
they did not fully trust him. They didn’t
want him leaving and becoming their
enemy again.

They watched him
carefully all the time. They let him go
hunting, since they were very far from
Daniel’s home, but they only gave him
a few bullets. For every bullet missing, 
Daniel had to bring back an animal to
prove he wasn’t keeping ammunition.

One day, Daniel went with a group back
to the salt springs where he had been
captured. He knew this was his best
chance to get away. But the Native
Americans watched him closely as they
boiled the salt water. Unfortunately, it
was not just salt they were after. Now
that Daniel Boone was theirs, they were
scouting to make an attack on his fort.

Daniel managed to slip away. As soon
as he was out of sight of the camp, he
began to run. Daniel ran all the way
back to the fort. He only stopped for
one meal. The trip took five days. When
he returned, his friends welcomed him 
as though he had returned from the
dead. But sadly, Daniel’s family had
given him up for dead and moved back
to North Carolina.

Saving the Fort 
Even though he missed his family, Daniel
knew he had to help defend the fort. He
immediately made plans to prepare against
the attack. When the battle began, the fort
was fully stocked with ammunition and
supplies. The Native Americans were
defeated after eight days. The fort, named
Boonesborough after Daniel himself, was
never attacked again.

Daniel wanted to see his family more
than anything. He returned to North
Carolina, and they had a joyous reunion. 
After his long ordeal, Daniel stayed
home with his family. He farmed quietly
for several years.

But nothing could keep Daniel Boone
away from the forest, not even old age.
He heard rumors of land even farther
west that had not been touched by
European settlement. His eyes lit up
when he thought of the wilderness
of Missouri. Again, he convinced his
family to move. They settled about fifty
miles west of what is now St. Louis. He
lived there for the rest of his days, often
going into the woods simply to breathe
the pure air.

Daniel Boone

The Queen Mine Tour parking lot sat
 virtually empty at 1:30 pm on a hot
 March day. Mom, Sam, and I were going
 on a tour of the old Bisbee, Arizona,
 copper mine at 2 pm. My favorite blue
 sweatshirt was tied around my waist.
 Mom said the mine was like Grandma’s
 house in Tennessee. Not too cold, but
 not warm. That translated into cool for
 me. On the tour, I learned that the mine
 stays at about 47 degrees Fahrenheit.
 Actually, that is downright cold to me.

I imagined walking through the front
 door of the Queen Mine Tour building
 and seeing a humongous gaping hole in
 a rock wall. Instead, I saw counters and
 shelves of gear on my right—yellow rain
 slickers, hardhats, and belt-looking things
 with lamps. There was an old fireplace
 spewing heat even though it was hot
 as the dickens outside. The room even
 smelled like Grandma’s house. Mom was 
 more right than she thought.

What I didn’t realize was that
 the rain slickers were for us. We
 had to put them on before going 
 into the mine. I hated the whole 
 idea of putting on a heavy vinyl 
 coat that hardly let you breathe.
 First, I put on my sweatshirt, then the
 yellow slicker. It was stiff and made
 crackly sounds as I shoved my arms
 through the clammy holes.

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