MODULE

What a Story
“They weren’t true stories;
they were better than that.”
—Alice Hoffman

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 Essential Question

How does genre

affect the way a
story is told?

Video

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Knowledge
Map

Fantasy/
Adventure

Story
Genres

Realistic
Fiction

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 Fairy
Tale

Play

Poetry

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 Story
prose Unlike poetry,
prose is “ordinary writing,” Many
Short
Ways to
in the form of sentences
and paragraphs.
dialogue The dialogue
Read
is the conversation among
characters in a story. Tell a
climax The climax of a
story is its most important
event and usually
happens near the end. 1 Most of us think of books and prose when we think of stories, but
foreword The a great story can come in many other forms, too—myths and fables,
introduction to a book is
called its foreword. plays, movies, poems, and even songs. For a person who loves
stories, they can be found nearly anywhere, and
there are countless ways in which to enjoy
them and share them with others!
myNotes

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Digital Formats plays, many ballet productions feature

2 Have you ever read an “eBook” on a characters and events. They use
tablet computer or a story on a website? costumes, scenery, and music to help
If so, you probably know that digital bring a story to life.
formats sometimes offer features you 5 You can probably think of several
won’t find in a printed book. You might songs that tell stories all on their own,
be able to select a name or place and too. Such a song might not include
be taken to a website with extra dialogue, but it will include characters
information, pictures, or videos about it. and events. The music and the singer’s
Some eBooks even have multimedia voice help set the mood and convey
embedded within them, like music the meaning. A symphony called Peter and
author wants readers to listen to during the Wolf tells a whole fairytale through
certain scenes or chapters. music. The musicians’ instruments play
Movies, Television, and Plays the roles of story characters.
3 People adore stories in the forms of 6 Some paintings and other artworks
movies, TV shows, and plays. These tell stories, as well. The Bayeux (by-
formats bring characters, dialogue, YOO) Tapestry is an embroidered cloth,
settings, and events to life. They often created hundreds of years ago. It tells
feature music that supports the mood the story of a battle for control of
of story scenes, especially the story’s England. Some native people of the
climax. But many people still prefer that Pacific Northwest carved totem poles
special feeling of sitting down with a that feature characters and events from
good printed book. Books allow readers their cultures’ myths and legends.
to use their imaginations. They also
allow authors to show more of what 7 What kind of storytelling
characters are thinking than a typical form is your favorite?
play or film would. There’s almost
unlimited room for the author to
provide readers with descriptions and
background information. Often, this kind
of information is provided in a foreword
at the beginning of the book, but in
some books it can be found throughout.
Music and Other Art Forms
4 Is it hard to imagine telling a story
through dance? Think about famous
ballets, such as The Nutcracker. Like

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 my Notes
Notice &
Note
Aha Moment

Prepare to Read
GENRE STUDY A fantasy is an imaginative story featuring
characters and events that are not real. Some fantasies include
elements of adventure, with a quest to solve a mystery.

• Authors of fantasy tell the story through the plot—the main

events of the story. The plot includes a conflict, or problem,
and the resolution, or how the problem is solved.
• Fantasy stories include sensory details and figurative language
to develop the setting and the characters.
• The events and places in fantasies might defy time or logic.

SET A PURPOSE Think about the title and

CRITICAL
genre of this text. As you read, pay attention to
VOCABULARY
how characters react to one another and to real
events. What do you think this text is about? Write panic

your ideas below. favorable

porthole

densely

reasonable

delirious

projected
Meet the Author and Illustrator: contents
Kenneth Oppel and Antonio Javier Caparo
deficiencies

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 myNotes

BY KENNET H OPPEL
ILLUST R AT ED BY ANTONIO JAV IER C APARO

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 myNotes
1 Matt Cruse is a cabin boy aboard the airship Aurora. The
Aurora stays afloat using a gas called “hydrium.” One day Matt
spots a damaged sky balloon with an old man named Benjamin
Molloy inside. Molloy has fallen ill and is rambling on about
beautiful creatures he saw in the sky. With Molloy unable to
communicate clearly, Matt and Molloy’s granddaughter, Kate,
have only his journal entries to guide them on their mission to
figure out whether these flying creatures are real or imagined.

T
2 he journal’s spine was cracked and flabby, and there was a hair
ribbon round the book, holding it all together. Moths danced
around in my stomach as I climbed up to my bunk and stretched
out. My cabin mate, Baz, was on crow’s nest duty until four. I turned on
my reading lamp. I untied the ribbon and carefully turned back the
cover. The pages were all scabby, as if the book had been soaked by rain
then baked in the sun.
3 The pages were covered with small neat lines of ink: date, position,
wind speed, altitude, observations. There was a little preface telling
about how he, Benjamin Molloy, planned to do a complete west to east
circumnavigation of the globe in his hot air balloon. I read quickly over
these first pages, not because they weren’t interesting but because I
could see Kate’s bookmark up ahead, and it made my stomach feel
swirly, wondering what was written there. It was hard to concentrate on
the stuff beforehand.
4 Kate’s grandfather had started out in Cape Town to catch the jet
stream and traveled quickly eastward over the Indian Ocean. But over
Australia his luck ran out, and he got shunted off course to the
northeast.

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5 There was no sign of panic in his log. His days were busy with
keeping the balloon shipshape, managing his supplies and provisions,
taking weather readings and bearings. He described the countries and
landscapes he was sailing over. Some days there were just coordinates
and weather conditions, other days he had lots to write about: birds, the
changing light, the landscape of the passing nations beneath him, the
creatures below the ocean’s surface. He seemed interested in everything.
6 I was keeping an eye on his coordinates and realized he was drifting
along a flight path not too far off the Aurora’s route from Sydney to
Lionsgate City. With every day his course veered more to the east, as he
tried to catch favorable winds at different altitudes. Not for the first
time I felt a sense of dread for him. I loved being aloft, but to be
completely at the mercy of the winds, with no other means of power or
steerage—it was a frightening thought. Obviously Kate’s grandfather
had a stouter heart than mine.

panic Panic is a feeling of strong fear that leaves someone unable to think clearly.
favorable Something that is favorable gives a benefit or contributes to success.

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7 I lost track of how long I’d been reading, I was so caught up in the day
to day journey. There weren’t a lot of clues, but little bits of the man crept
through, even in his log. He liked watching the weather; he hated the
tinned baked beans but ate them because they were nutritious and
portable; he enjoyed Shakespeare; he loved his granddaughter. He
mentioned her often in his log. Must remember to tell Kate, he wrote. Or:
Will send Kate a postcard when I set down in Cape Town.
8 With a start I realized that Kate’s bookmark was just a page’s turn away.
9 I put the journal down, climbed off my bunk, and went down the
corridor to the bathroom. At the sink I splashed cold water on my face. Not
that I was sleepy. It just seemed like the thing to do when you were up in
the wee hours of the morning, reading the log of a strange, doomed voyage.
10 Back in the cabin, I slid down into the warm furrow of my bunk and
took a glimpse at the stars outside my porthole. With a deep breath, I
picked up the journal and turned the page.

September 2
15:23
11 An island in the distance (171'43" west, 2ʹ21" north) veiled in mist.
Possibly volcanic given the cone-shaped silhouette it presents. It looks a
tropical place, with a crescent-shaped beach behind a green lagoon, and
densely forested.
12 Sighted two albatross foraging over the ocean, plucking fish and
squid from the water’s surface with their long hooked beaks.

porthole A porthole is a small round window on a ship.

densely If something is covered densely, the covering is so thick that it is difficult to
see through.

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17:45
13 Closer to island now. Huge flock of albatross in distance. Most
unusual to see so many together. Perhaps island is nesting ground.
Their coloring is odd, no dark coloration on their wingtips or bodies.
Their plumage seems a misty white, so that against cloud and sky
they are scarcely visible. Only when they are against the ocean or the
island can I make them out with any clarity.

18:02
14 Not birds.

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15 It sent a tingle through me, those two words, and I had to look up from
the book. I imagined Benjamin Molloy peering through his spyglass, his
hand tightening around the gondola’s rim. What was it he’d seen that told
him these creatures weren’t birds?

16 Their wings are not feathered. I was mistaken about their beaks; they
have none. Considerably bigger than either magnificent frigate birds or
albatross. One of the creatures broke from the flock and made a slow circle of
the Endurance, quite high at first, than spiraling down closer to the gondola.
It seemed very curious. Its body is easily six feet in length and closely furred.
Its forelegs seem to turn into wings, like a bat’s, with a single protruding claw
at the wing’s leading edge. The span I would estimate as eight or nine feet
across. Its rear legs are stubby but with wickedly sharp curved claws. I feared
for the balloon, should he collide with it. How can such a creature stay aloft?
It looks too heavy. It is fiercely agile in the sky, dipping and spinning and
diving with ease, its wings infinitely versatile. It fairly seems to leap through
the air. Saw scarcely anything of its face. A gleam of sizable incisors on upper
and lower jaws. A flash of intelligent green-flecked eyes. Then it veered off,
hurtling back toward its fellows.
17 An undiscovered species?

18 I turned the page and there was a picture, a pencil sketch. Just looking
at it made my heart flutter, and I had to sit up and catch my breath. He’d
put the rim of the basket in the foreground, and the silhouette of the island
in the background to give a sense of scale. The creature’s wingspan was
huge. He was a deft hand, the grandfather, that was certain. Couldn’t have
had much time to get it down, but his lines were swift and assured. It was
the strangest-looking thing, half bird, half panther.

September 4
13:25
19 I have dropped into a calmer stratum of air so I can hover over the island
and observe them. They float. They face into the wind and scarcely need beat
their wings. I watched one move not a muscle for hours, sleeping maybe,
bedded down on the air itself. They cannot weigh much.

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20 Across the next two pages were drawings of skeletons.
21 The first one was human, I saw that clearly enough, the rib cage, the
hips, the skull atop the neck. Next to it was a skeleton that looked at first
glance not so very much different. Except the hands. The bones of the
fingers were all long and flared. It was freakish to look at, until I read
Benjamin Molloy’s caption underneath: Bat. Next to this was a third
skeleton, and it seemed some sort of bizarre combination of the two.
Shortened legs, like the bat, and instead of arms, the same weirdly flared
finger bones of the bat. But the skull on this one was no bat’s; nor was it
human. The skull was flatter, with sharp teeth. Smaller, yes, but certainly no
one would mistake this for a bat, and never for a bird. The drawings were
made with scientific care, all shaded and with a length scale to the side. He
was a clever man, Kate’s grandpa, no questioning that. Seemed to know
something about everything. Underneath were all sorts of Latin words.

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September 5
09:15
22 Still playing the air currents around the island so I can watch them.
They have a great curiosity for my balloon, circling high, but rarely
drawing too close to the gondola. Difficult for me to see their bodies or
faces more clearly. They seem wary of me; the sight of my spyglass makes
them scatter in an instant. I wonder why?

23 With a start I realized that these creatures could have been

responsible for damaging his balloon. Had they tested the material with
their sharp claws, torn enough little gashes to make it sink?

17:47
24 They do not land. In all the time I’ve been observing, they haven’t
landed in the trees or on the water. They feed low over the island, preying
on all manner of birds. They are voracious hunters. They also eat fish,
strafing the water and plunging their rear claws into the sea as they brake.
They come up with fish or small squid. They lift them high then flip them
up to their mouths and take them whole. Sometimes they drop their prey
and then dive down and snatch it into their mouths.

September 6
11:17
25 I have counted twenty-six of the creatures.
26 I wish Kate could see them, the way they gambol and swirl through the
air. I’ve never seen an animal look so at home in its element. Like dolphins
or porpoises or whales, they clearly love to play. Why has no one ever seen
these before? Their natural camouflage is excellent, but with so many
airships aloft now, surely someone else must have seen these creatures?
Or are there very few? Are these the only ones in existence?

27 On the next page was another sketch, of a great flock—or a herd, I

wasn’t sure what to call them—of these things circling over the coast of
the island.

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September 7
13:40
28 They birth in the air.
29 One after another, one of the creatures—a female I now realize—
would soar to a great altitude, seven thousand feet or so. I increased my
lift so I could rise with them and keep watch. The female put her head to
the wind and angled her wings so she was hovering. Then something
dropped from her hindquarters. It happened so quickly all I was aware of
was a small dark bundle plunging away from her. At first I thought it was
merely her droppings. But I quickly realized it was too large. And the
female’s behavior was most curious. Immediately she went into a dive too,
keeping pace with the falling object.
30 The object wobbled in the air and seemed to enlarge, even as it fell past
me. It was spreading its wings. It was no bigger than a kitten, but its
wings, as they unfurled, were many times the width of its body. Out went
the wings, instinctively angled so that the newborn’s plunge began to slow
dramatically. After a moment or two I saw the wings lift and push
tentatively, then again, and again, each time with more force.
31 It was flying.
32 From the moment of birth, it knew how. How could such a thing be
possible? Incredible! But then, does not the newborn whale, born into the
element of water, know instantly how to swim? Why could it not be so
with this creature, then? Only air and not water was its element.
33 The mother flew close alongside its child, as if giving advice,
monitoring its progress.
34 I watched more females make the climb to the birthing altitude and
then release their newborns into the air.

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September 8th
12:51
35 All are feeding today with a new kind of urgency. Are they on some kind
of migration? I wonder where they’re going? Where they come from? I
suppose the sky is their home; they need no terrestrial haven. Perhaps they
simply move from hemisphere to hemisphere looking for the warmest skies,
and the birthing season coincides with the arrival in southern latitudes.
19:35
36 They’re departing. Would like to follow, but they’re too fast. With
tailwinds, I would estimate eighty knots. Amazing creatures.
37 Gone now.
38 Weather changing.

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39 Maybe it was me, but I thought he sounded pretty dejected. When I
turned the page I felt a bit queasy. Most of the handwriting was smeared,
by torrential rain, I supposed, and I could make out only a few words. It
seemed a tropical storm had overtaken him and kept him in its fist for
some time. I think I saw the word damage in one entry, and a mention of
a problem with the envelope. A hot flush swept my back. Was he
leaking? Had the creatures torn his balloon, or was it just the storm?
40 Benjamin Molloy had stopped dating his entries, and his coordinates
and weather observations seemed halfhearted now. His handwriting was
all tilted, the letters slewing into one another. I remembered that we’d
found him on September 13, so that left five days after his last dated
entry. I wondered if he’d now fallen ill, too weak to repair his ship or
keep his log properly. There were some more sketches of the creatures,
and then, suddenly, the sketches became stranger, covering more and
more of the pages.
41 Creatures with the faces of lions or eagles or women. Creatures with
human faces, and furred bodies and wings that even not fully extended
dwarfed their bodies. These were imaginings, surely, for they were so
different from his earlier sketches, but drawn with such detail you’d have
thought he’d had them right before his eyes.
42 There was only one more written entry in the log.

43 Airship in the distance. Will signal for help.

44 I looked for the date, but found none. It must have been the Aurora
he’d sighted, but I’d certainly seen no signal from his gondola.
45 I stared at that last page for a while, the final words, the nothingness
after it, and it got me feeling strange, so I had to close the book. I felt a
keen disappointment. It was hard to know what to make of it all. At first
the log had been so clear and reasonable, but by the end, especially with
those pictures, it seemed he was dreaming. When did the real end, and
the conjurings of a disturbed mind begin?
46 It was pushing two in the morning now, and I felt thoroughly ill at
ease. I put the book on the shelf and eventually slept.

reasonable If something is reasonable, it is logical and easy to understand.

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47 I woke feeling as if I hadn’t slept at all, head thrumming like a
symphony. I sprang off the bunk, eager to get the journal back to Kate
and talk to her. But it wasn’t until lunch that I had a chance. At breakfast
I was serving, and Kate’s chaperone, Miss Simpkins, was at the table the
whole time, and then she whisked Kate out before I could even hand her
the journal. Then there was the clearing up and the preparing for lunch.
48 Around midday we were passing over the Hawaiis, and the captain
slowed down and took us lower so the passengers could get a good look.
On other trips we sometimes made stops, but this was a direct passage,
so everyone had to content themselves with peering down at the lush
foliage and hearing the shriek of macaws and spider monkeys and
toucans and cockatoos; the heady scent of the islands’ flowers reached
us even at a hundred feet. We were close enough so people on the
ground waved and cheered, and bathers on the beach shielded their eyes
with tanned hands to look up at the great ship as it painted its massive
shadow over the sand and water.
49 We were cruising over the outer islands when the captain entered
the lounge, grinning.
50 “Ladies and gentlemen, a point of interest. Off the starboard side,
we’re passing Mount Mataurus, and, if I’m not mistaken, she is about
to erupt.”
51 Nearly everyone put down their forks and knives and rushed to the
windows. In the distance was the island with its volcano, a great heap
of stone, looking more like the devil’s anvil than anything, despite the
green hue of its lush vegetation. Great puffs of gray smoke were
billowing up from its jaws, and getting darker by the second.
52 “Thar she blows!” shouted Baz.
53 Black bits of rock came shooting out from the cone, and the sound
hit us a second later, a deep thunderous vibration that passed through
the entire ship and rattled the windows. We were upwind of it, or we
would have soon been choking on the ash and smoke it was venting
high into the sky.

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54 Soon the volcano was spitting out orange and red sparks, and then a
glutinous tongue of black and orange lava oozed over the crater’s rim
and started a leisurely slide down the slope, incinerating everything in
its path. Good thing this was an uninhabited island.
55 “Amazing, isn’t it?”
56 I glanced over, and Kate was beside me. She was looking out the
window, but I knew she wasn’t talking about the volcano. There was no
sign of Miss Simpkins, and there was no one else around us; everyone
was watching the eruption, talking and pointing excitedly and snapping
pictures.
57 “Incredible,” I said and faltered, uncertain what to say next. I took
the journal from my inside breast pocket and passed it to her. “Thank
you.”
58 “You don’t believe it,” she said coldly.
59 “I’m not saying that. It’s just . . . I’m not altogether certain your
grandpa really knew what he was seeing.”

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60 “How can you say that? He spent days watching them and taking down
notes like a scientist. He couldn’t have made up all these things. Not in
such detail!”
61 It did seem an awful lot to imagine, even if he was delirious. I remembered
his drawings. A weak, shaking hand couldn’t have spun those lines.
62 “He always saw them from a distance,” I pointed out.
63 “True, but think what he saw! The feeding, the birthing!”
64 “Those picture toward the end . . .” I had traversed the skies over Atlanticus
and Pacificus and never had I seen such creatures. How to tell her that her
grandpa had been ill and his fevered brain had projected these things on thin
air for his failing eyes to see? I thought of all her camera equipment, her
bottles of chemicals, and could not find it in my heart to speak the plain truth.
65 “You think like the others,” she said, and there was a new hardness in
her voice.
66 “I think your grandfather was unwell and saw things. Maybe,” I added. All
the friendly light in her eyes had frosted away, and it made me feel sick.
67 “No. He saw them. He’d been watching them for days.”
68 She clenched the journal in both hands, knuckles white. “He was sick by
then, I suppose,” she said. “But maybe he didn’t mean us to think those last
drawings were real. He was just imagining.”
69 “Your grandpa’s not the first to see such things. They’re called sky
kelpies. You see them from time to time, reflections on the water mostly.
All sorts of weird atmospheric things. Airshipmen used to report them
all the time. It’s like how sailors used to think there were mermaids. They
were just porpoises and narwhals and such.”
70 I could see she didn’t like this much. I was insulting her. But what else
could I say? I was just telling her the facts.
71 “Maybe you should talk to the captain about it,” I suggested. “I’m sure he’d
talk with you, miss.”
72 Captain Walken surely must have read the journal last year when we took
the gondola on board. I wondered that he’d never spoken of the strange
things it contained—but of course he wouldn’t have. He would never have
divulged the contents of another captain’s log to any but the relevant officers
and authorities.

delirious When someone is delirious, he or she is confused due to fever or illness.

projected Something that is projected may appear to be real but is not.
contents The contents of a document are the topics or subjects it includes.

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73 “I don’t need to talk to the captain about it. I expect I’d get much the
same as what I’ve just heard from you.”
74 “It’s not that I haven’t looked,” I blurted out as she turned to leave.
“I’ve looked, for all sorts of things, you can take my word on it. Every
flicker in the sky.” I shook my head. “I’ve never seen anything. But I’d
love to. What your grandpa described is amazing. It sent shivers across
my belly and then up into my armpits.”
75 “Me too!” she said, nodding with a frown. “That tingly feeling. I get
it every time I read it, and I’ve read it a hundred times now.”
76 All the passengers in the lounge, including Miss Simpkins luckily,
were still crowded around the windows, riveted by the eruption. The
volcano was putting on quite a show. Half the island was aflame now,
lava crackling and steaming as it poured into the water.

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77 “Have you shown the journal to anyone else?” I asked her. “Your
parents surely.”
78 I saw her nostrils narrow as she sucked in an angry breath. “They’re
embarrassed by the whole business. Mother always thought he was odd.
The traveling, the balloons. Just silly. They always thought he was a bit
of a nutter. Hallucinations, that’s what they said. ‘Let’s just forget the
whole thing.’ That’s why I had to send the letter to the Zoological
Society myself!”
79 I blinked.
80 “I couldn’t let my parents stop this from getting out to the world!
This is a major discovery—a new animal! I wrote them a letter
describing more or less what my grandfather saw and asked them if
they’d care to see a facsimile of his journal.”
81 “Did they reply?”
82 “Oh, yes.”
83 From her handbag she produced a letter. It was folded square, the
creases so worn you could tell she’d folded and unfolded it many times. I
could imagine her face when she read it, getting mad all over again. It
wasn’t a long letter, and I read it quickly:

84 Dear Miss de Vries,

85 Thank you for your letter. We appreciate your taking

the time to tell us about your grandfather’s observations on
his balloon voyage, namely the sighting of “some kind of
winged mammal.”
86 We feel strongly that should such a creature exist it
would surely have been sighted and documented long ago.
Every year there are hundreds of unsubstantiated sightings
of monstrous creatures in land, air, and sea and we feel it
is our duty as men of science to gently remind you that your
grandfather was not trained, and in his state of health, he may
have suffered additional deficiencies of observation.

deficiencies If something has deficiencies, it has weaknesses or flaws.

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87 “‘Additional deficiencies of observation,’” Kate scoffed, reading over my
shoulder. “They mean he was seeing things.”
88 The rest of the letter was the usual “yours sincerely” and “thank you for
your interest in the Zoological Society,” etcetera, etcetera. It was signed Sir
Hugh Snuffler. I saw him in my mind’s eye. Short and balding with a big loud
voice.
89 “As if they’ve explored every inch of the planet. As if anyone has! And what
about you?” Kate fairly shouted.
90 “What about me?”
91 “You’ve flown for years, yes?”
92 “Well, three.”
93 “And how much of the actual sky have you traversed?”
94 “Not much, when you put it that way.”
95 “Exactly. Ships have their routes and, as you say, deviate from them only
when necessary. That must leave millions and millions of miles of unexplored
sky and sea!”
96 “I imagine you’re right,” I said, nodding.
97 “And how long have airships really been flying?”
98 “Fifty years or so now.”
99 “Hardly any time at all, in other words. So how can we possibly know they
don’t exist?”
100 “Especially out here over the Pacificus,” I said, surprising myself. “The
skyways and sea lanes are much less well traveled, compared to the Atlanticus.”
101 “Exactly,” she said, beaming.
102 “Do your parents know you wrote to the Zoological Society?”
103 “Heavens, no! They would’ve locked me in my room without pen or paper!
They’d have been mortified! Telling someone outside the family! Spreading his
mad rantings!”
104 “Question is, is this all imagination or real?”
105 “The coordinates he wrote down, for the island. Do we pass over them?”
106 “I’d have to check, but I think not.”
107 “Will you check, though?”
108 “Yes,” I said.
109 “And if we don’t pass over, will you tell me when we’ll be nearest the spot?”
110 “I’ll do that.”
111 “Will you really?” She seemed amazed.
112 “Yes.”

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113 “Grandpa thought they were migrating, and this is

the same time of year. We could see them.”
114 I thought of her fancy camera.
115 “And what if you get a picture? What’ll you do with it?”
116 “I’ll send it directly to Sir Hugh Snufflynose at the Zoological
Society. That’ll set him straight.”
117 I laughed. “I’m sure it will, miss.”
118 “I wish you wouldn’t call me ‘miss.’”
119 “What should I call you?”
120 “Kate, of course.”
121 “If I start calling you Kate now when it’s just the two of us, I might
slip up in public, and that’d be seen as impertinent.”
122 “Silly rules.”
123 “People like you invented them. Not me.”
124 “Good point,” she said appreciatively, a thoughtful crease in her
brow. “Really good point.”
125 “Here’s what I’ll do,” I said. “When I get off duty, I’ll check the
charts and find out when we’ll be closest.”
126 “Thank you. I just hope it’s during daylight.”
127 “I hope you see them,” I said. “I really do.”

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Respond
to the Text BY KENNET H OPPEL
ILLUST R AT ED BY ANTONIO JAV IER C APARO

Collaborative Discussion
Look back at what you wrote on page 84 and talk with a partner
about what you learned during reading. Then work with a group to 89

discuss the questions below. Look for details in Airborn to support

your answers. Think about ways to connect your ideas to what other
group members say.

1 Reread pages 88–90. What do you learn about the narrator, Matt,
based on his reactions to Benjamin Molloy’s journal?

Listening Tip
Listen to the ideas and
details each speaker
shares. What new
information can you
2 Review pages 90–92. What does Matt discover about the creatures add?
from looking at Benjamin Molloy’s drawings?

Speaking Tip
Think about how
other speakers’ ideas
are related to your
3 In what ways are the last entries in Benjamin Molloy’s journal
own. Ask questions
different from those at the beginning?
to be sure you
understand their
ideas.

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Cite Text
Evidence
Write a Response
PROMPT

Respond to the Text You have learned that a fantasy is an imaginative story that
includes characters, settings, or events that defy time or logic. Airborn is a fantasy story
about Matt, Kate, and explorer Benjamin Molloy. Think about the elements in Airborn
that indicate it is a fantasy. What details in the text and illustrations defy logic? Cite
evidence from the text to support your response.

EVIDENCE

List evidence from Airborn to show how this story is a fantasy.

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 myNotes

WRITE BY KENNET H OPPEL

ILLUST R AT ED BY ANTONIO JAV IER C APARO

Now write your response in a paragraph.

Make sure your response 89

 answers the questions.

 uses evidence from the text.

 points out the elements and details in the text and illustrations that defy logic.

 is written in complete sentences.

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 my Notes
Notice &
Note
Contrasts and
Contradictions

Prepare to Read
GENRE STUDY Realistic fiction tells a story about characters
and events that could exist in real life.

• Authors of realistic fiction bring their stories to life through

believable plot events and character actions.
• Realistic fiction includes characters that behave, think, and
speak like real people would. It is set in a place that seems real.
• Authors of realistic fiction might use third-person point of
view, where the story is told by an outside observer from that
person's perspective.

SET A PURPOSE Think about the title and genre of this text. As
you read, pay attention to descriptions that help you imagine the
characters and the setting. What do you think
makes the garden special? Write your ideas below. CRITICAL
VOCABULARY

mysterious

matted

tendrils

fastenings

awakening

Meet the Author and Illustrator:

Frances Hodgson Burnett
and Helena Perez Garcia

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The myNotes

Garden
Secret
by Frances Hodgson Burnett
illustrated by Helena Perez Garcia

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 myNotes
1 Ten-year-old orphan Mary Lennox has recently moved from India to
her uncle’s mansion in England. Mary has made a few friends at the
mansion, including the gardener, Ben Weatherstaff, and a friendly
robin who often keeps Ben company. She’s also discovered a
mysterious, walled-off garden that’s been abandoned for ten years.
Mary would love to get inside this secret garden but hasn’t been able to
find an entrance. The day before, however, she found an old key, half
buried in the dirt.

2 The skipping-rope was a wonderful thing. She counted and

skipped, and skipped and counted, until her cheeks were quite red,
and she was more interested than she had ever been since she was
born. The sun was shining and a little wind was blowing—not a
rough wind, but one which came in delightful little gusts and
brought a fresh scent of newly turned earth with it. She skipped
round the fountain garden, and up one walk and down another. She
skipped at last into the kitchen-garden and saw Ben Weatherstaff
digging and talking to his robin, which was hopping about him. She
skipped down the walk toward him. He lifted his head and looked at
her with a curious expression. She had wondered if he would notice
her. She really wanted him to see her skip.

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 myNotes
3 Mary skipped round all the gardens and round the orchard,
resting every few minutes. At length she went to her own special
walk. She made up her mind to try to skip the whole length of it. It
was a good long skip and she began slowly, but before she had gone
halfway down the path she was so hot and breathless that she was
obliged to stop. She did not mind much, because she had already
counted up to thirty. She stopped with a little laugh of pleasure.
There, lo and behold, was the robin swaying on a long branch of ivy.
He had followed her and he greeted her with a chirp. As Mary had
skipped toward him she felt something heavy in her pocket strike
against her at each jump. When she saw the robin she laughed again.
4 “You showed me where the key was yesterday,” she said. “You
ought to show me the door today; but I don’t believe you know!”
5 The robin flew from his swinging spray of ivy on to the top of
the wall and he opened his beak and sang a loud, lovely trill, merely
to show off. Nothing in the world is quite as adorably lovely as a
robin when he shows off—and they are nearly always doing it.

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 myNotes
6 Mary Lennox had heard a great deal about Magic in stories,
and she always said that what happened almost at that moment
was Magic.
7 One of the nice little gusts of wind rushed down the walk, and
it was a stronger one than the rest. It was strong enough to wave
the branches of the trees. It was more than strong enough to sway
the trailing sprays of untrimmed ivy hanging from the wall. Mary
had stepped close to the robin, and suddenly the gust of wind
swung aside some loose ivy trails. More suddenly still she jumped
toward it and caught it in her hand. This she did because she had
seen something under it—a round knob which had been covered
by the leaves hanging over it. It was the knob of a door.
8 She put her hands under the leaves and began to pull and push
them aside. Thick as the ivy hung, it nearly all was a loose and
swinging curtain, though some had crept over wood and iron.
Mary’s heart began to thump and her hands to shake a little in her
delight and excitement. The robin kept singing and twittering
away and tilting his head on one side, as if he were as excited as
she was. What was this under her hands which was square and
made of iron and which her fingers found a hole in?
9 It was the lock of the door which had been closed ten years.
She put her hand in her pocket, drew out the key and found it
fitted the keyhole. She put the key in and turned it. It took two
hands to do it, but it did turn.
10 And then she took a long breath and looked behind her up the
long walk to see if any one was coming. No one was coming. No
one ever did come, it seemed. She took another long breath,
because she could not help it. She held back the swinging curtain
of ivy and pushed back the door which opened slowly—slowly.

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113
 myNotes

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 myNotes
11 Then she slipped through it, and shut it behind her, and stood
with her back against it, looking about her and breathing quite fast
with excitement, and wonder, and delight.
12 She was standing inside the secret garden.
13 It was the sweetest, most mysterious-looking place any one could
imagine. The high walls which shut it in were covered with the
leafless stems of climbing roses which were so thick that they were
matted together. Mary Lennox knew they were roses because she
had seen a great many roses in India. All the ground was covered
with grass of a wintry brown. Out of it grew clumps of bushes which
were surely rose-bushes if they were alive. There were numbers of
standard roses which had so spread their branches that they were like
little trees.
14 There were other trees in the garden, and one of the things which
made the place look strangest and loveliest was that climbing roses
had run all over them and swung down long tendrils which made
light swaying curtains. Here and there they had caught at each other
or at a far-reaching branch and had crept from one tree to another
and made lovely bridges of themselves. There were neither leaves nor
roses on them now and Mary did not know whether they were dead
or alive. But their thin gray or brown branches and sprays looked like
a sort of hazy mantle spreading over everything, walls, and trees, and
even brown grass, where they had fallen from their fastenings and
run along the ground. It was this hazy tangle from tree to tree which
made it all look so mysterious. Mary had thought it must be different
from other gardens which had not been left all by themselves so long.
Indeed it was different from any other place she had ever seen in her
life.
15 “How still it is!” she whispered. “How still!”
16 Then she waited a moment and listened at the stillness. The robin,
who had flown to his tree-top, was still as all the rest. He did not even
flutter his wings; he sat without stirring, and looked at Mary.

mysterious Something that is mysterious is not fully understood or

explainable.
matted Something that is matted is a tangled mess.
tendrils Tendrils of plants are long, thin sections that often twist around an
object or another plant.
fastenings Fastenings attach objects to other things.

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 myNotes
17 “No wonder it is still,” she whispered again. “I am the first
person who has spoken in here for ten years.”
18 She moved away from the door, stepping as softly as if she were
afraid of awakening someone. She was glad that there was grass
under her feet and that her steps made no sounds. She walked
under one of the fairy-like gray arches between the trees and looked
up at the sprays and tendrils which formed them.
19 “I wonder if they are all quite dead,” she said. “Is it all a quite
dead garden? I wish it wasn’t.”
20 If she had been Ben Weatherstaff she could have told whether
the wood was alive by looking at it. But she could only see that there
were only gray or brown sprays and branches and none showed any
signs of even a tiny leaf-bud anywhere.
21 But she was inside the wonderful garden and she could come
through the door under the ivy any time and she felt as if she had
found a world all her own.

awakening If you are awakening someone, you are waking him or her
from sleep.

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 The myNotes

Respond
to the Text Garden
Secret
by Frances Hodgson Burnett
illustrated by Helena Perez Garcia

Collaborative Discussion
Look back at what you wrote on page 108. Talk with a partner about
what you learned about the garden. Then work with a group to discuss 113

the questions below. Use details from The Secret Garden to back up your
answers. In your discussion, build on what others say or add more
details and examples.

1 Review pages 110   –111. What words and phrases make Mary and
what she is doing seem realistic?
Listening Tip
Listen closely to
examples that other
group members share.
Add to or support
their ideas using
2 Reread pages 115   –116. What details help you understand why
evidence from
Mary feels excited as she explores the garden? the text.

Speaking Tip
Use linking words
such as also or
another example to
3 Why does the garden make Mary feel as if she has “found a world all
show how your
her own”?
thoughts connect to
what another speaker
has said.

117
Cite Text
Evidence
Write a Response
PROMPT

Respond to the Text You know that realistic fiction stories include characters,
settings, and events that could exist in real life. In The Secret Garden, you read about
Mary Lennox and her discovery of the entrance to an abandoned garden. Think about
the characters, setting, and events in the story. How do they fit the genre of realistic
fiction? Cite evidence from the text to support your response.

EVIDENCE

List elements and details from The Secret Garden that show how this story is
realistic fiction.

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 The myNotes

WRITE
Garden
Secret
by Frances Hodgson Burnett
illustrated by Helena Perez Garcia

Now write your response in a paragraph.

Make sure your response 113

 answers the questions.

 uses evidence from the story.

 explains how the story elements and details could exist in real life.

 is written in complete sentences.

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 my Notes
Notice &
Note
Contrasts and
Contradictions

Prepare to Read
GENRE STUDY Plays are stories that can be performed for an
audience.

• Authors of plays might organize the story into scenes. Each

scene focuses on an important event and builds upon the
events in the previous scenes.
• Stage directions help to set the scenes and to develop the
characters.
• Plays rely on dialogue, or conversation between characters,
to keep the plot moving.

SET A PURPOSE Think about the title and genre of this text.
As you read, pay attention to how characters communicate through
dialogue. What do you think this play is about? Write your ideas below.

CRITICAL
VOCABULARY

witness

presiding

attempted

Build Background: restrain

The Four Seasons
contempt

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Spring
myNotes

The Miracle of

by Helen Hanna
illustrations by Olga Baumert

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 myNotes
Characters

KING BARTHOLOMEW KING’S VALET PRIME MINISTER DOOR GUARD

CAPTAIN OF THE GUARD TWO GUARDS SPRING

MOTHER NATURE’S COURT

JUDGE WISE OWL THE CROW EAGER BEAVER MRS. APPLE TREE MR. SQUIRREL

MS. WINTER WHEAT MS. STRING BEAN MS. BESSIE COW MR. WOOLLY LAMB MS. HONEYBEE

JURY

ANIMALS BIRDS INSECTS TREES FLOWERS

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 myNotes

King Bartholomew bans Spring, only to realize

that he has shown disrespect for Mother
Nature, upset the cycles of the seasons, and
destroyed the food supply.

Production Notes
CHARACTERS: 3 male, 6 female, 9 male or female; as many male and
female as desired for jury. (Actors may also play more than one role with
a change of costume.)
PLAYING TIME: 15 minutes
COSTUMES: The King wears pajamas, a small crown, and dressing gown
at the end of the play. The members of his court wear the traditional
costumes of fairy tale courts. Mother Nature’s Court has headpieces
suggesting their separate characterizations. Judge Wise Owl wears long
black robe and glasses. Spring wears long white gown and a garland of
flowers in her hair, and the word “Spring” on a sash across her chest.
PROPERTIES: Tray with spoon, dishes, medicine, Judge’s bench, gavel,
witness box, piece of paper for Prime Minister’s report.
SETTING: King’s bedroom. Down right is a door leading to castle
interior. A large “French door” type window is at left. At center is a large
bed with many pillows and quilts on it. Near the bed are a night table
and a bell cord.
LIGHTING: Lights are dimmed for dream sequence and brought up full
again as indicated in the text.
SOUND: Bell tolling six times.

witness A witness is someone who appears in court to say what he or she knows about
a crime.

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 myNotes

Act 1
SETTING: King Bartholomew’s bedroom.
AT RISE: KING BARTHOLOMEW sits up in his bed, with a dinner
tray on his lap. His VALET stands at his bedside. At the door stands
DOOR GUARD.
1 KING (Making a grimace and replacing spoon in his plate): Zounds!
What is this tasteless pap?
2 VALET: Cook calls it Spring Pudding, Sire. It’s on your diet!
3 KING: Bah! Take it away. It’s not what I eat that makes my stomach
ache. It’s aggravation! That tour of the kingdom yesterday—that’s what
made me sick!
4 VALET: It was a beautiful day for a tour, Sire. Spring has warmed the
air and budded the trees.
5 KING (Extremely aggravated): Indeed! And Spring has turned my
hardworking subjects into daydreaming idlers, dozing in the sunshine.
Everywhere I went—no one was working!
6 VALET: Just a touch of spring fever, Your Highness.

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 myNotes
7 KING: Spring fever is just another name for laziness! And I won’t
have it! Has the Captain of the Guard reported yet?
8 VALET: No, Sire, but the Prime Minister is waiting to see you.
9 KING: Send him in. And find the Chancellor for me.
10 VALET (To DOOR GUARD): The King will see the Prime Minister.
(VALET exits.)
11 DOOR GUARD: The Prime Minister to see the King. (PRIME
MINISTER enters and bows.)
12 PRIME MINISTER: Your Majesty, good evening.
13 KING: Where is the report I ordered?
14 PRIME MINISTER: It’s not quite finished yet, Sire. I came to ask a
favor. I’d like to take the day off tomorrow, to take my kids fishing.
15 KING (Exploding): Fishing! Of all the ridiculous
things! (Doubles over in pain) Out, out with
you! (As PRIME MINISTER hastily retreats,
VALET enters.)
16 VALET: The Chancellor has not yet
returned from the tournament.
17 KING (Exploding again): Tournament!
Then I’ll talk to the Chamberlain.
18 VALET: He’s taken his family on an
outing, Sire.
19 KING (Again in pain): Outing! Give
me my medicine. And get the Captain of the
Guard, immediately!
20 VALET (To DOOR GUARD): Summon the Captain.
(GUARD exits.)
21 KING (Taking medicine which VALET hands him from night table):
Fishing! Tournaments! Outings! (DOOR GUARD enters.)
22 DOOR GUARD: The Captain of the Royal Guard! (CAPTAIN enters.)
23 CAPTAIN: At your command, Your Highness.
24 KING: Have you taken your prisoner yet?
25 CAPTAIN: Yes, Your Highness, the prisoner is outside.
26 KING: Then bring the criminal to me. (CAPTAIN salutes and
exits, returning immediately with TWO GUARDS, leading between
them SPRING.)

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27 VALET (Shocked): ’Tis the maiden, Spring!

28 KING: You! You are the one who has turned my kingdom upside down
with fishing tournaments and outings! I’ll not have it, do you
understand? I’ll keep you under lock and key, so you can do no more
mischief! (SPRING remains silent.) Take the prisoner to the dungeon,
and see that every measure is taken to prevent her escape. (KING falls
back against pillows, exhausted, as GUARDS salute and lead SPRING
away. KING turns weakly to VALET.) You—stop staring like an idiot,
and get out of here. I am exhausted. Wake me at six o’clock tomorrow
morning.
29 VALET: As you wish, Your Highness. Pleasant dreams, Sire. (VALET
takes tray and exits.)
30 KING (To DOOR GUARD): You, too, out!
31 DOOR GUARD: Good night, Your Majesty. (Exits)
(KING closes his eyes. Lights dim.)

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Act 2
Scene 1
SETTING: King’s bedroom
AT RISE: KING is sleeping. Suddenly, the large, downstage window
opens and CROW steps in. He looks around, then signals to the other
members of Mother Nature’s Court. All except JUDGE enter. They carry
a bench and witness box, which they set up where it can be seen by
KING. Jury sits together, either on the floor or on folding chairs which
they carry with them. The witnesses remain together in another area.
1 CROW: Caw! Caw! Hear ye! Hear ye! Mother Nature’s Court is now
in session. Judge Wise Owl presiding. All rise. (All rise as JUDGE OWL
enters, goes to bench and sits. KING awakens.)
2 JUDGE OWL (Pounding gavel): What is the first case before
the court?
3 CROW: Mother Nature vs. King Bartholomew, Your Honor.
4 JUDGE: Is the attorney for Mother Nature ready?
5 EAGER BEAVER: Ready, Your Honor. Your Honor, ladies and
gentlemen of the jury, I, Eager Beaver, shall prove beyond a shadow of a
doubt that King Bartholomew is guilty of attempted murder.
6 KING (Sitting up in his bed): Murder! I have never murdered
anybody!
7 JUDGE: Quiet, please.
8 BEAVER: I said, “Attempted murder.”
9 KING: I have never even “attempted” murder!
10 JUDGE: You will have to restrain yourself, Sire—or you will be held
in contempt of court. You may proceed, Mr. Eager Beaver.
11 BEAVER: I speak of the attempt to murder by starvation.
12 KING: I have never starved anybody! Even the prisoners in our jail
are given the finest peanut butter and jelly!
13 JUDGE: This is your last warning, Sire.

presiding If you are presiding over an event, you are in charge of it.
attempted If you attempted something, you tried to do it.
restrain When you restrain yourself, you stop yourself from doing what you want to do.
contempt When you show contempt, you show little or no respect for someone
or something.

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 myNotes
14 BEAVER: I call my first witness, Mrs. Apple Tree. (APPLE TREE
comes forward.)
15 CROW: Raise your right hand. Do you swear to tell the truth, the
whole truth, and nothing but the truth?
16 APPLE TREE (Raising hand): I do.
17 BEAVER: Mrs. Tree, will you tell the court, please, why you are all
dressed in drab brown, instead of the bright green you usually wear this
time of year?
18 APPLE TREE: Because there is no spring this year. King Bartholomew
has forbidden spring to come to this kingdom.
19 BEAVER: And is that why you are not wearing your pretty bonnet,
decked with blossoms?
20 APPLE TREE: Yes, and I miss it so, not only because every tree likes to
look her prettiest, but also because it means I won’t have any apples this
year. The apples come from those spring blossoms.
21 BEAVER: And do you speak for the other fruit trees as well?

22 APPLE TREE: I do. There won’t be any pears or peaches or cherries

or plums. No spring—no blossoms—no fruit.

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23 BEAVER: Thank you, Mrs. Tree. That will be all. We have now proved
that the people of the kingdom will have no fruit to eat this year. Next
witness, Mr. Squirrel. (SQUIRREL steps forward and is sworn in by
CROW.) Now, Mr. Squirrel, you are not your usual cheery self these days.
Why is that?
24 SQUIRREL: I’m worried. And so are all my brothers, sisters, cousins,
and friends.
25 BEAVER: Will you tell the court why you are worried?
26 SQUIRREL: Because we are going to starve to death next winter. Last
year’s harvest of nuts is almost gone, and there won’t be any nuts this year.
27 BEAVER: No nuts? How’s that?
28 SQUIRREL: Because the nuts are the fruits of the nut trees, just as the
apples and pears are the fruits of the trees in the orchard. No blossoms on
the nut trees—no nuts!
29 BEAVER: Thank you, Mr. Squirrel. You may step down. (SQUIRREL
returns to his place.) The court has now heard that we will have no fruit
and no nuts in the kingdom this year. This will affect the lives of both the
people and the animals. Next witness—Ms. Winter Wheat. (WINTER
WHEAT is sworn in by CROW.) Will you tell the court, please, why you
are known as “Winter Wheat.”

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30 WINTER WHEAT: Because the farmer sows my seeds very early in the
winter, before the ground freezes. He does this because he wants an
early wheat crop in the spring.
31 BEAVER: That is a wise farmer. Will he have an early wheat crop
as a result?
32 WHEAT: No, he won’t. Because the ground has to thaw and get warm
before we can poke our green shoots through. Since there won’t be any
spring this year, there won’t be any crop of winter wheat, or any other
kind of wheat, for that matter!
33 BEAVER: What will that mean to the people?
34 WHEAT: No wheat, no alfalfa, or barley, or corn, or any other kind of
grain. And that means no cereals, and no flour, no bread, or rolls, or
cake, or pies.
35 BEAVER: Thank you, Ms. Wheat. You may step down. (She does so.)
Well—no fruits. No nuts. No grains. No cereals. No flour. No baked
goods to eat. Next witness, Ms. String Bean. (STRING BEAN is sworn in
by CROW.) Ms. String Bean, your face looks especially long and thin
this year. Why is that?
36 STRING BEAN: Because I’m so sorry for all the people who will be
without me and all the other vegetables this year.
37 BEAVER: No vegetables this year? And why not, Ms. Bean?

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38 STRING BEAN: Because the ground is hard and frozen, and the
farmers cannot sow their seeds. And even the seeds that fell into the
ground last year from Mother Nature’s hand (sobs) cannot mature into
plants without warm soil and sun. (Sobs)
39 BEAVER: There, there, Ms. Bean. I can see you’re quite broken up. You
are excused. (She returns to her place.) I think it’s quite clear to the
court why there will be no vegetables this year. Next witness, Ms. Bessie
Cow. (CROW swears in BESSIE COW.) Bessie, I believe you have a story
to tell the court.
40 BESSIE: A sad, sad story. I don’t know how much longer there will be
any milk, or cream, or cheese, or ice cream for the people of the
kingdom.
41 BEAVER: Now, this sounds serious, indeed! Are you sure?
42 BESSIE: Cows can’t give milk unless they have nice green grass to
eat. Where are we going to find nice green grass in this winter
landscape? And soon our winter supply of hay, alfalfa, oats, and corn
will be all gone. No food—no milk!
43 BEAVER: Thank you, Bessie. (BESSIE returns to place.) No milk, no
butter, no cream, no cheese, no ice cream. Next witness, Mr. Woolly
Lamb. (WOOLLY LAMB is sworn in by CROW.) Mr. Lamb, you’re
extremely woolly for this time of year, aren’t you?
44 WOOLLY LAMB: Shiver my timbers, yes. Usually the farmer’s gone to
work on me with his electric clippers by this time of year. But now—
b-r-r-r-r! It’s too cold for me to do without my overcoat.
45 BEAVER: What will this mean to the people of the kingdom?
46 WOOLLY LAMB: No wool for warm clothing and blankets, and if this
winter weather continues, they will need more woolen clothing than
ever before.
47 BEAVER: Thank you. (LAMB returns to his place.) Next witness, Ms.
Honey Bee. (HONEY BEE is sworn in by CROW.) What are you buzzing
about so furiously, Ms. Bee?
48 HONEY BEE: I’m so angry I could sting!
49 BEAVER: Why?
50 BEE: Because I’m the champion honey maker, that’s why. Last year I
won a blue ribbon at the county fair, and this year I won’t be able to
make a single drop of the delicious golden nectar.

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51 BEAVER: No honey this year? That’s terrible.
52 BEE: No one will be sorrier than King Bartholomew, because he just
loves honey on his bread! A bee can’t make honey without flowers, and
you can’t expect the gardeners to grow flowers when there isn’t any
spring. I tell you, I’m as angry as a bee can be.
53 BEAVER: Thank you, Ms. Bee. You may step down.
54 BEE (Speaking angrily as she walks away from the witness box):
And the bears—they’ll be simply wild without their honey!
55 BEAVER (To jury): We’re all going to miss the flowers this year—and
the birds—and the sunshine. But, most importantly (Patting his
stomach) we’re all going to miss our food! King Bartholomew is
attempting to starve us! And I say he deserves to be found guilty and
given the harshest punishment Judge Owl can deliver!
56 JURY (Rising): Yes! Guilty! Guilty! Guilty!
57 KING (Jumping out of his bed): Wait!
58 JUDGE: I warned you that the next outburst from you would be in
contempt of court. See that he keeps quiet. (CROW, witnesses, and jury
advance menacingly toward KING, who hurriedly climbs back into bed
and pulls covers over his head.)
59 JURY (Chanting in a low monotone): Guilty. Guilty. Guilty.
(Suddenly, a bell tolls six times. All the characters of Mother Nature’s
Court quickly exit through the downstage window, taking their props
with them.)

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Scene 2
SETTING: King’s bedroom
AT RISE: The lights come up full, and KING jumps out of bed, pulls
bell cord. DOOR GUARD opens door, takes his customary stand.
60 DOOR GUARD: Good morning, Your Highness. I trust you slept well.
61 KING: It was a terrible night, just terrible. What a dream! Where’s my
valet?
62 DOOR GUARD: He is coming now,Your Highness. (VALET enters.)
63 VALET: Good morning, Your Majesty.
64 KING: Get me my dressing gown. Hurry! (VALET helps him into his
dressing gown while he talks.) Find the Captain of the Guard,
immediately!
65 VALET (To DOOR GUARD): The Captain of the Guard, immediately!
66 KING (Pacing): I’ve done a very terrible thing. I only hope it’s not
too late.
67 DOOR GUARD: The Captain of the Guard! (CAPTAIN enters.)
68 CAPTAIN (Trembling, and dropping to his knees): It wasn’t my fault.
The chains were tight, and the door securely locked and barred.
69 KING: Stop your prattling. There’s no time to lose. Go quickly and see
to it that the chains are removed from the maiden, Spring, and bring her
to me so that I may apologize to her.

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70 CAPTAIN: That’s what I’m trying to tell you. She isn’t there. She’s gone!
71 KING: Gone?
72 SPRING (Stepping through downstage window): Did you want to see
me? (She smiles at KING.)
73 KING (Dropping to his knees before her): Can you forgive a foolish
man the greatest mistake of his life?
74 SPRING (Extending her hand to him and bidding him to rise): A
foolish man you have been—to think that you, or any other man or
woman, could command the forces of nature at your will. Did you really
believe that dungeon doors or iron chains could keep Spring from
walking your land?
75 KING (Contritely): I was foolish. Now I know better.
76 SPRING: Spring is a yearly miracle of nature, as constant as the moon
and the stars. Planting time and harvest time, summer and winter, day
and night—these must always come.
77 KING: What can I do to earn your forgiveness?

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 myNotes
78 SPRING: Open your eyes and heart to your environment. Now, if you
don’t mind, I must be on my way, my spring wonders to perform.
(SPRING takes KING’s arm and they walk to window. SPRING steps
through it, smiling, and disappears. KING remains at the window,
watching her depart, waving. KING takes a deep breath and, smiling,
turns back toward the room.)
79 DOOR GUARD: The Prime Minister to see the King.
80 KING: Good. (PRIME MINISTER enters with a paper in her hand.)
You’re just the person I want to see.
81 PRIME MINISTER: Your report. I stayed up all night to finish it.
82 KING: Never mind that now. Tell me, is this the day you wished to
take your kids fishing?
83 PRIME MINISTER: Forgive me, Sire. It was foolish of me.
84 KING: Not at all. You may have the day off—on one condition.
85 PRIME MINISTER: Condition?
86 KING: Yes—the condition that you take me with you!
87 PRIME MINISTER (Astonished): You? Fishing?
88 KING: Yes. I think it would be good for my stomachache. Besides, it
89 seems I have a touch of—spring fever! (Curtain)

The End

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 Spring
myNotes

Respond
The Miracle of

to the Text by Helen Hanna

illustrations by Olga Baumert

Collaborative Discussion
Look back at what you wrote on page 120. Tell a partner two things you
learned during reading. Then work with a group to discuss the questions 125

5re_se_m2_spring.indd 125 2/26/2018 9:16:40 AM

below. Support your answers with details from The Miracle of Spring. In
your discussion, explain how your ideas connect to those of others in
your group.

1 Review pages 124   –125. Why is King Bartholomew so annoyed with

his subjects?
Listening Tip
Look at each speaker
while you’re listening,
to show you are
paying attention.

2 Reread pages 128  –132. Why will it be difficult to find food if spring

is forbidden? How do the witnesses feel about this possibility?

Speaking Tip
Think about how
discussion ideas are
connected. Use other
3 How does King Bartholomew change from the beginning of the
speakers’ comments
play to the end? What causes this change?
as a starting point for
your own.

137
Cite Text
Evidence
Write a Response
PROMPT

Respond to the Text You know that plays are stories that can be performed for an
audience. In the play The Miracle of Spring, you read that King Bartholomew imprisons
Spring and is then accused of attempted murder. How does its genre affect how this
story is told? Think about how the dialogue moves the plot forward. What do you learn
from the stage directions and other text features? Cite evidence from the text to
support your response.

EVIDENCE

List elements of the genre that are unique to a play. Note how each element
affects the way this story is told.

138
 Spring
myNotes

The Miracle of

WRITE by Helen Hanna

illustrations by Olga Baumert

Now write your response in a paragraph.

Make sure your response 5re_se_m2_spring.indd 125

125

2/26/2018 9:16:40 AM

 answers the questions.

 explains how the elements in this play affect how the story is told.

 is written in complete sentences.

139
 my Notes
Notice &
Note
Contrasts and
Contradictions

Prepare to Read
GENRE STUDY Poetry uses the sounds and rhythms of words
to show images and express feelings.

• Poems include sound effects, such as rhyme, rhythm, and

meter, to reinforce the meaning of the poem. Not all poems
rhyme, but they all have a rhythm.
• Poems include word sounds, such as alliteration,
onomatopoeia, repetition, and parallel structure, to
emphasize particular words or ideas.
• Poems include figurative language to develop ideas.
• Poems might be organized into stanzas, or a series of lines
grouped together. Each stanza builds upon what is described
in the previous stanza.

SET A PURPOSE Think about the title and

genre of this text. As you read, pay attention to the CRITICAL
rhyme and rhythm in each poem. What do you VOCABULARY
know about poetic forms? Write your ideas here.
seized

hesitate

watchful

scrawled

ditty

refrain
Meet the Author and Illustrator:
Joan Bransfield Graham and restless
Kyrsten Brooker

140
 myNotes

by Joan Bransfield Graham

illustrated by Kyrsten Brooker

141
 myNotes

1 After most poems in this selection you’ll see a label that identifies the poem’s form. You’ll learn
more about these forms in “Ryan O’Brian’s Guide to Poetic Forms” at the end of the selection.

I t started with a rhythm,

a rhythm and a rhyme.
It wouldn’t let me stop,
it ate up all my time.

Rhythm
3 I was seized by a rhythmical beat.
It was something I could not delete.
I went crazy with rhyme,
It just gobbled my time,
Had me clapping and tapping my feet.
LIMERICK
seized If you were seized
by an idea or feeling, you were
suddenly overwhelmed by it.

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 myNotes
4 I tried to eat my breakfast
but didn’t hesitate
to scribble on the napkins
and doodle cross my plate.

hesitate If you hesitate, you

wait to speak or act because
you’re not sure what to say or do.

QUATRAINS

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 myNotes

7 It teased me as I walked to school—

I scrawled on Eddie’s shirt.

HAIKU

scrawled If you scrawled something,

you wrote it quickly and sloppily.
watchful If you are watchful, you pay
attention to everything around you.

144
 9 And, when we hit the playground, myNotes
I scratched words in the dirt.

10

11

12

QUATRAINS

145
 myNotes
13 Then in the cafeteria—
with just two tasty tries—
between my lunch and Aimee’s,
I wrote two lines with fries.

14
COUPLET

146
 myNotes
15 I ran outside at recess,
pulled out a piece of chalk,
didn’t waste a minute—
dashed poems on the walk.
16

ACROSTIC

147
 myNotes

17

TRIOLET

18 I beg you, won’t you help me?

Please help me, be a friend.
Rescue me, I’m captured—
this poem will not end!

148
 myNotes

19 The bell rang and I bolted,

wasn’t running out of steam.
I wrote with mud out in the yard—
chased by the soccer team.

20

CONCRETE, FREE VERSE

149
 myNotes
21 I ran right home and grabbed my bike.
Can I escape this curse?
My wheels were doing curlicues
and writing lines of verse.

22

23

150
 myNotes

24

25 My skateboard might be better—

I found it just in time
to whiz away at top speed CONCRETE

and leave a trail of . . . rhyme.

151
 myNotes

26

27 Dinner was no different,

TERCET
I had . . . I had to S-N-E-E-Z-E.
I looked up at the kitchen wall
and saw three lines in . . . peas.

28 The ditty that I wrote that night

was delectable and meaty.
I inked with marker on my toes,
a new kind of gra-FEET-i.

FEET
29 My feet—
they can’t stay still.
They are always moving
to some cool rhythm I hear
in my head.
CINQUAIN

ditty A ditty is a song or poem that is

short and cheerful.

152
30 Used pick-up-sticks for limericks, myNotes
wrote cinquain in the rain,
stacked sonnets up the staircase—
good grief, this is insane.

Conductor
31 In storms I can conduct a symphony:
I stand in front of all those instruments,
And, wow, I feel excited—what suspense—
As all those sounds become a part of me.
32 I play the wind, the thunder, and the sea!
I am in charge, this power is intense—
A world of rhythm that is huge, immense,
It swirls about me wild and mightily!
33 I get to choose the singer and the song.
With my baton I tell them when to start.
We work together great and I belong;
34 It’s fun to be the leader, be a part
Of all those sounds that sweep about so strong—
That echo in the drumming of my heart.
SONNET

153
 myNotes

36

37

35 My brain went into overdrive,

I started writing faster,
careening wild at breakneck speed—
38
a poetry disaster.

39

40

41

VILLANELLE

refrain A refrain is a verse or phrase

that is repeated in a song or poem.

154
 myNotes
42 My mom called up, “Are you in bed?”
but I could hardly hear her.
I’d found a tube of toothpaste
and was writing in the mirror.

43

44

155
 myNotes
45 I spent a restless night and thought,
Whatever can I do?
When I woke up, I found my pillows
covered with . . . haiku!

restless If you are restless, you find it

hard to relax or stay still.

46
47

HAIKU

HAIKU

48

LIMERICK

156
 myNotes

49

50 I dragged into the classroom

as the bell began to ring.

FREE VERSE

157
 myNotes

51 My teacher’s next assignment?

Speechless
53 Sometimes when I am
asked to speak, my tongue shrivels,
dries, and disappears,
and then my mouth becomes a
hollow bell with no ringer.
TANKA

Blank Verse
54 I’m running out of steam—I’ve got to halt,
This inspiration spree has reached its end.
My fevered Brain Train screeches, brakes, and STOPS.
It pulls in, finds a track, where it can rest.
BLANK VERSE

52 My spring was sprung with this assault—

my brain came grinding to a halt.
My mind became a total blank,

158
 myNotes
55 and I have dear Ms. Frost to thank!

56 P.S. I asked Ms. Frost, “Instead of the poem

about ‘Spring,’ can I turn in some of my ‘recent
work’ if I write it on . . . paper?” She said, “Yes.”
Ms. Frost is so-o cool! I even got an A+. Life is
good. To be more informed about poetic forms,
I did some digging.
57 Here’s what I discovered . . .

159
 myNotes

58 ACROSTIC: If you spell a word (it could be either stressed (´ ) or unstressed ( ).

your name!) downward, you can use each Iambs ( ´ , “sur-PRISE”) and anapests
of the letters as the beginning of a word ( ´ , “in my HEAD”) have a rising
or phrase. EXAMPLE: “RECESS” rhythm; trochees ( ´ , “LIGHT-ning”) and
dactyls ( ´ , “RHYTH-mi-cal”) have a
59 BLANK VERSE: Blank verse is unrhymed falling rhythm. There are many other kinds
iambic pentameter. To find out about that of feet, but these are the most common.
last part, keep reading.
EXAMPLE: “BLANK VERSE” 64 FREE VERSE: A poem written without using a
fixed, formal pattern of rhythm and rhyme.
60 CINQUAIN: Say SIN-kane. The secret code EXAMPLES: “SOCCER BALL,” “TIRED”
for this poem is 2, 4, 6, 8, 2. (Two
syllables/beats on the first line, four 65 HAIKU: A Japanese form which, in only 17
beats on the next, then six beats, eight, syllables (5-7-5), can create a feeling or
and back to two beats in the last line.) It’s paint a scene; usually it’s about nature and
a building thought-wave that crashes and is written now, in present tense; makes you
leaves some treasure. EXAMPLE: “FEET” say “Ah ha! or “Oh, yeah!” EXAMPLES:
“FOOTPRINTS,” “SLEEP,” and “GOOSE DOWN
61 CONCRETE POEM: It’s a picture poem that PILLOW”
takes the shape of what it’s about—word
art, sculpting with words. Use simple 66 LIMERICK: A funny five-line poem written in
shapes—make it easy to read. Experiment iambs and anapests; lines 1, 2, and 5 have
on your computer. Try out different fonts three feet and rhyme, and lines 3 and 4
to see which works best. A major blast! have two feet and rhyme. EXAMPLES:
EXAMPLES: “SOCCER BALL,” “RHYTHM,” “FISHING”
“SKATEBOARD”
67 PENTAMETER: Five feet to each line.
62 COUPLET: Two lines that usually rhyme. EXAMPLES: “CAPTURED,” “CONDUCTOR,”
EXAMPLE: “COUPLET FOR FRENCH FRIES” “FEVER,” and “BLANK VERSE” are all written in
iambic pentameter: “In storms I can conduct a
63 FOOT/FEET: Music has a beat, poetry has symphony,” ´/ ´/ ´/ ´/ ´
feet; each foot contains beats which are

160
 myNotes

68 QUATRAIN: A four-line stanza or poem that 72 STANZA: A pattern or grouping of lines in

usually rhymes; code—abcb, abab, abba (the a poem—couplet (2 lines), tercet (3), quatrain
letters tell which lines rhyme with each other). (4), quintet (5), sestet (6), septet (7),
EXAMPLES: “GOING BANANAS” and “THE octave (8).
BASEBALL GAME.” Both have abcb quatrains.
73 TANKA: A Japanese form, which includes a
69 RHYME: A repetition of sounds at the ends of haiku and adds two more seven-syllable lines
words and usually at the end of a line: score/ to extend or change the meaning: 5-7-5-7-7.
four, flies/surprise, fuss/A+, “the kids EXAMPLE: “SPEECHLESS”
creamed the teachers,/listen to the score:/the
third graders beat them—/twenty-five to 74 TERCET: A three-line, usually rhyming, poem
four!” No, a poem doesn’t have to rhyme. or stanza. EXAMPLE: “PEAS”
Rhyme can boss you around—don’t let it. And
please, DO NOT throw in any dumb word just 75 TRIOLET: This eight-line form has one line
to rhyme. EXAMPLES: “GOING BANANAS,” “THE that repeats three times. Lines 1, 4, and 7 are
BASEBALL GAME,” “PEAS,” and “HANDSOME,” to the same; lines 2 and 8 also match. The first
mention a few. two lines become the last two lines. Got it?
Code: abaaabab. EXAMPLE: “CAPTURED”
70 RHYTHM: Arrangement, flow, measured
motion, regular beat of words, meter— 76 VILLANELLE: Written in iambic pentameter
learning to move to the groove. ( ´ / ´ / ´ / ´ / ´ ), a French form,
usually five stanzas of three lines each with a
71 SONNET: (Was I channeling some 13th century final stanza of four lines. There are two
Italian poet?) The code for this is abbaabba, strong repeating lines. To see the pattern of
cdecde, or cdcdcd. There is an octave how this puzzle fits together look at “Fever.”
(8 lines) and a sestet (6 lines). In the octave If you get two good repeating lines and two
there are two envelope rhymes (that’s the bb sets of words that have lots of rhymes, you
part) tucked into the middles. For a can do this! EXAMPLE: “FEVER”
Shakespearean sonnet, the code is this: abab,
cdcd, efef, gg. Both are 14 lines of iambic
pentameter. EXAMPLE: “CONDUCTOR” is an
Italian sonnet—abbaabba cdcdcd.

161
 myNotes

77 You know how you can make your 82 CONVERSATIONAL: In this voice at least two
voice scary or funny? Well, you can people or things are speaking with each
create different voices in poems, too. other in a conversation. EXAMPLE:
“HANDSOME”
78 NARRATIVE: A story-telling poem.
EXAMPLES: “GOING BANANAS,” “THE 83 Lots of great books can help you learn
BASEBALL GAME” more about all the forms, voices, and
choices you can try when you write your
79 LYRICAL: Explore the music of words and own poems.
individual feelings. In fact, the words to
songs are called lyrics. You are an 84 Have FUN! Happy reading!
important part of this poem, and often Happy writing!
pronouns such as me, my, and I are used.
EXAMPLES: “CONDUCTOR,” “FEVER”

80 MASK: When you put on a mask, like at

Halloween, and speak from the viewpoint of 85 P.P.S. From Ryan: If you show your teacher
the object itself, you are using the mask or you wrote a villanelle or a sonnet, she is
persona voice. EXAMPLE: “BIKE” (The bike going to be so-o impressed. She might
gets to talk for itself!) even faint or give you extra credit or both.
You should definitely try it.
81 APOSTROPHE (OR ADDRESS): This is a poem
where you address or speak to something
or someone who doesn’t answer.
EXAMPLE: “SOCCER BALL” (I love talking
to the soccer ball!)

162
 DO NOT EDIT--Changes must be made through “File info”
CorrectionKey=TX-B;NL-B

myNotes

Respond
to the Text

Collaborative Discussion
Look back at what you wrote on page 140 and talk with a partner about
what you learned during reading. Then work with a group to discuss the
by Joan Bransfield Graham
illustrated by Kyrsten Brooker

145

questions below. Look for details in The Poem That Will Not End to 5re_se_m2_thepoem.indd 145 11/19/2018 11:24:01 PM

support your ideas. Be sure to speak clearly and at a pace that’s not too
fast or too slow.

1 What are some of the places where Ryan writes his poems? What
kinds of things seem to inspire him?
Listening Tip
Make eye contact with
speakers to let them
know you are paying
attention to their
ideas.
2 Review the poem and text on page 148. What has “captured” Ryan?
Do you think he is serious about wanting to “escape” it? Why or
why not?

Speaking Tip
Help listeners
understand what you
have to say. Share
3 At the end of his notes about poetic forms, Ryan advises readers to your ideas in a voice
“have fun” writing poetry. How do Ryan’s poems show that he has that is clear and easy
had fun writing them? to hear.

163
Cite Text
Evidence
Write a Response
PROMPT

Respond to the Text You know that poems use a variety of sound effects, forms, and
figurative language to express ideas. In The Poem That Will Not End, you read about the
daily events in the narrator Ryan’s life. Think about the way the text was organized into
a variety of poetic forms. What techniques, such as rhythm, repetition, and figurative
language, did the poet use? How did the use of poetic forms and techniques affect the
way the events were told? Cite evidence from the text to support your response.

EVIDENCE

List the poetic forms and techniques the poet used to express ideas about
events in Ryan’s life. Note how they affect the way the events are told.

164
 DO NOT EDIT--Changes must be made through “File info”
CorrectionKey=TX-B;NL-B

myNotes

WRITE

Now write your response in a paragraph.

Make sure your response

by Joan Bransfield Graham
illustrated by Kyrsten Brooker

145

5re_se_m2_thepoem.indd 145 11/19/2018 11:24:01 PM

 answers the questions.

 describes the effect poetic forms and techniques have on the events.

 is written in complete sentences.

165
Performance
Task

Essential Question

How does genre affect the way a story

is told?

Write an Expository Essay

PROMPT Think about the genres of the texts you read in this module: fantasy, realistic
fiction, play, and poetry. How are these genres alike and different? What makes each
genre unique? Write an expository essay telling how each genre affects the way a story
is told. Use evidence from the module selections to support your essay.

Make sure your expository essay

 introduces your topic.

 compares and contrasts the genres.

 tells how each genre affects the way a story is told.

 uses text evidence and examples from the selections.

 provides a conclusion.

166
 PREWRITE Map your ideas.

Think about the four genres you read in this module. What makes each genre unique?
How does this affect the way a story is told? Use the map below to plan your writing.

My topic

Fantasy
This genre is unique because ______________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________.

Realistic Fiction
This genre is unique because ______________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________.

Play
This genre is unique because ______________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________.

Poetry
This genre is unique because ______________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________.
167
Performance
Task

DRAFT Write your expository essay.

Use the information you wrote on page 167 to draft your essay. Write a beginning
paragraph that introduces your topic.

Write paragraphs that tell what makes each genre unique and how that affects the way
a story is told. Use text evidence and transitions when explaining your ideas.

Write a conclusion that summarizes your topic.

168
 REVISE AND EDIT Review your draft.

Take a fresh look at your draft to see how you can improve it. Work with a small group
of classmates to review each other’s work and give helpful feedback. Use these
questions to help you evaluate and improve your expository essay.

PURPOSE/
ORGANIZATION EVIDENCE/SUPPORT ELABORATION CONVENTIONS
FOCUS

Does my essay Do I have a clear Did I use Did I use Have I spelled all
answer the introduction to evidence from transition words words correctly?
questions? my topic? the module texts to clearly connect
to support my my ideas? Did I punctuate
Did I explain Does my ideas? dialogue
what makes each conclusion correctly?
genre unique? summarize my
topic?
Did I explain how
the genre affects
the way a story is
told?

PUBLISH Create a finished copy.

Make a final copy of your expository essay. Write legibly using your cursive
writing skills.

169