Building Reading Practice

Excerpt from The Book: "Hide and Seek"

James, Sally, and Mark played together. They played in the playground all afternoon. When it was a little too early for them to come back home, Sally said, “I have an idea! Let’s play Hide and Seek.”"Sure," said Mark, "let’s play Hide and Seek. I’ll be the seeker!” He turned, faced a big tree, closed his eyes, and started counting out loud. Sally and James looked at each other and ran off in different directions to find a hiding place. "Ready or not, here I come!” shouted Mark."Finding Sally will be easy. She always hides in the same place, behind the old swing." But, no matter how much Mark tried, she was not there.As Mark turned around, he saw James running towards “base” and darting after him. Just before Mark touched James's shoulder, James tagged the “base” and yelled out “SAFE!” “Did you get Sally yet?” James asked. “No,” said Mark. “I haven’t been able to find her, and we need to return home.”So both boys yelled out “Come on out Sally, it’s late.” But there was no reply. They yelled again and again, but Sally didn't answer. They began to worry and started searching for her.Mark decided to call his dad to look after Sally. Suddenly, James saw a little shoe behind the big tree. When he got closer, he saw Sally, sleeping next to a small box. "Sally, wake up," he said, "we were so worried about you."When Mark and his dad arrived they were so happy to see that Sally was safe. "What happened? What is that box?" asked Mark. "I don't know," said Sally. "I found it here, and I was so tired so I sat down and fell asleep next to it." “Let’s go back home and see what treasure Sally found,” said Dad.When they got to Mark’s house, they began unwrapping the treasure. They carefully peeled off layers of old blankets and cloth to reveal a wooden box. They slowly opened it and stared in amazement."Oh, my," Sally said in disbelief. "I don’t believe what I'm seeing." Inside the box were jewels of every color you could imagine. "We’re rich," the boys screamed. "Not quite," interrupted Dad. "Someone could have lost this and the right thing to do is contact the authorities.""We are going to the police station," said Mark's dad. When they arrived, they gave the treasure box to the police officer. "Thank you," said the officer, "we will try to find the owner, and will let you know."Several weeks passed with no word from the police. Then, one evening, Mark’s father called James, Sally, and their parents. “The police just called and I think you should come over right now,” he said. "The police are on their way and will explain everything when you get here.”When they arrived at Mark’s house, the police were there with the treasure box. As Sally entered, the captain said, “Sally, unfortunately, we could not find the owner of this box." So this box and its content are yours. Sally smiled, looked at her parents, and said, "I want to donate it. There is probably someone who needs it more.""That is wonderful, you are so thoughtful," said the captain. "I want to donate it to The Animal Hospital,״ said Sally. "Awesome," said the captain, "we should go there right now.""We are so proud of you," said Sally's parents. "Thank you for your great generosity," said the hospital manager. "It made me feel happy", said Sally. "This is the joy of giving," said Sally's parents.