It is evening. We are in the house. We are on the sofa. It is very late, but we don’t want to go to bed.
There is a big vase in our room. It’s empty.
Suddenly we hear a noise in the vase. We jump down and run to the vase. Blackie climbs up the vase and looks in.
"What is there?" we ask.
"I can’t see," says Blackie. "It is too dark in the vase".
Then we hear the noise again.
"There is a small animal in the vase!" says Pinky. "Let’s help it!"
"How can we help it?" we ask.
"Take the umbrella and put it in the vase. Then the animal can climb up the umbrella and get out," says Pinky.
I take the umbrella and put it in the vase. We listen and look. Suddenly we see the small animal. It is climbing up the umbrella. It is… Oh, it is a mouse!
"Oh, help!" cries Pinky. Pinky is a kitten, but she is afraid of mice. She jumps upon a shelf and hides behind the books.
Now the mouse can see us. It looks at us and cries, "Oh, help!" and climbs down the umbrella back into the vase.
"There is a mouse in the vase!" cries Blackie. "It is big and fat and I am hungry!"
"Oh no!" cries Pinky on the shelf. "Don’t eat it! Please, don’t eat it!"
But Blackie doesn’t listen to Pinky. He puts his paw into the vase. He wants to catch the mouse but he can’t. Then Blackie says. "I can climb into the vase and catch the mouse."
Blackie climbs into the vase. We can only see his tail now.
"It is too dark here!" cries Blackie. "I can’t see the mouse!" He is very angry.
Suddenly we can see the mouse. It climbs up Blackie’s tail and out of the vase.
"Blackie!" I say. "The mouse is not in the vase!"
"Where is it?" cries Blackie.
The mouse climbs down the vase and runs into a hole in the floor.
"It is under the floor," says Pinky. "Blackie, climb out!"
"But I can’t!" cries Blackie. "Help me!"
I look at Pinky, and she looks at me.
"Then jump out!" we say.
"I can’t jump here!" says Blackie.
"What can we do?" I ask Pinky.
"Take the umbrella and put it in the vase," says Pinky. "Then this hungry animal can climb out."
I put the umbrella in the vase. Soon we can see Blackie’s head, then his body and his tail.
"Thank you," he says.
"The mouse is in that small hole in the floor," says Pinky. "You can climb in and catch it."
Blackie looks at the small hole.
"No," he says. "The mouse is very small and thin, and I am not very hungry."
"Then let’s go to bed. It is very late," says Pinky.
Exercises
1) True or false?
1. It is morning.
2. The kittens are in the garden.
3. They want to go to bed.
4. There is a big animal in the vase.
5. A mouse climbs up the umbrella.
6. Reddy is afraid of mice.
7. Blackie doesn’t listen to Pinky.
8. Blackie climbs down the umbrella.
9. The mouse is behind the books.
2) What is it?
1. You can put flowers in it.
2. You take it with you, when it is raining.
3. It is small. Mice live there.
4. People put books on it.
3) Fill in: up, in, to, at, of.
1. It is climbing _____ the umbrella.
2. We put the umbrella _____ the vase.
3. The mouse looks _____ us.
4. Pinky is afraid _____ mice.
5. Blackie doesn’t listen _____ Pinky.
6. We run _____ the vase.
7. We can hear a noise _____ the vase.
4) Answer the questions.
1. Where is the noise?
2. What do the kittens put in the vase?
3. What is there in the vase?
4. Where does Pinky hide?
5. Who is hungry?
6. Does the mouse climb out of the vase?
7. Where does the mouse hide?