Jimmy liked the playground at his old school in the cityand thought the West
was just a lot of sand and too much open space.
His little sister, Laura, was five and loved the outdoors and the little wild
animals. She often played in the desert and spent time looking at the strange
plants and chasing the friendly creatures she found. Jimmy warned her not
to go too far from the ranch, but Laura knew what she liked and did what she
wanted.
One day Laura hiked toward an interesting-looking hill, which was very
far from their house. When she didn’t come home for lunch, everyone knew
she was lost in the desert somewhere. Jimmy was very worried. He got on his
pony and began galloping across the sand. He rode as far as the creek on the
other side of the ranch. Then he rode through the field of gopher holes where
his sister often played. By three o’clock he had ridden over acres of desert, but
he couldn’t find a trace of his sister. He was ready to cry or even just give up
hope and go home.
Then he saw it! It was a large hill, where Laura often went to collect flow-
ers. He rode up to the foot of the hill. And there was Laura asleep next to a
patch of white daisies. She didn’t see the rattlesnake, which was crawling in
her direction. Jimmy jumped from his pony and moved silently toward his sis-
ter and the snake. He took his lasso, swirled it overhead, and then threw it
above the snake. He missed! He had to try again, so he threw the rope care-
fully into the air, and it landed over the rattler’s head, and this time he caught
the snake and pulled it back into the brushand saved his sister.Exercise 4.8Sample answers are provided.
The Hero
In winter it gets very cold in northern Alaska, because it’s located near the
Arctic Circle. A lot of snow falls to the ground, and a lot oficicles hang from
the rooflines of houses.
Little Anna’s house stays warm and quite cozy, because it has thick log
walls that protect everyone from the wind and cold. There is a large fireplace
in the dining room, where her grandfather keeps a roaring fire day and night.
Anna loves reading or playing near the fire, while her grandfather works his
crossword puzzles or just dozes.
One chilly December day, when the temperature was falling quickly,
Grandfather noticed the fire was getting low. He went out to the barn and
returned with an enormous bundle of firewood. Anna liked helping and
placed pieces of oak and maple in the fireplace. Soon the fire was large224 Answer Key