Following directions Let s have some fun! Read the story. Help Alan by following the directions For three months Alan had waited impatiently for his birthday. He would be nine. Finally he would be old enough to join the neighbourhood club - the Private Eyes. Mike Johnston had started the Private Eyes two years ago when small, shiny items had disappeared from almost every house on Elm Street. The thief turned out to be a crow, but the club never broke up. The Private Eyes continue to solve crimes. Now, Alan must prove he is alert enough to be a member. Today he begins the Quest - a challenge given to everyone who wishes to join. Help Alan solve his riddles and puzzles by working in the box below them. Alan took the box containing the first clue for the quest and left the clubhouse. Outside he stopped and read the clue. It was a code. Alan turned the paper over and found the key on the back. Here is the key: J 0 8 N L = : P A Z < + / A B C D E F G H I J K L M h 3 f m ) b t $! c? r N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z : 3 t 3 t p l / j a + 0 3? Circle the place Alan should go: library lamppost mailbox Alan hurried away. At the he found another clue hidden inside a plastic egg. Alan inspected the inside and outside of the egg but could see nothing out of the ordinary. He unfolded the paper that had been tucked inside. Here is what it said: Alan laughed. His favourite place was his own room, and there he had left his. He hurried up the stairs to find the next clue. This isn t so hard, he said to himself. Quickly finding the book, he opened it. Only a feather fell out. 1. Write yrarbil backwards. 2. Finish the rhyme. In your favourite nook, You ll find the 33
He shook the book again and turned it upside down. There was nothing else in the book. Alan picked up the feather and stared at it. Then he looked at the title of his book. Nest of Five Feathers, he read: Circle the last letter in think. Circle the second letter in mind. Circle the third letter in settle. Circle the second-last letter in track. Circle the first letter in have. Circle the second letter in seven. Circle the last letter in men. Now write the letters in the blanks: Alan quickly followed the directions and hurried down to see his mother. She was working in the, baking cookies. She looked up and smiled when he came in. I see you re doing fine, she remarked, looking at the clock. You figured out the clues faster than your brother did last year. Alan gave her a puzzle look. Well, thanks, Mom, he said, but here I am in the kitchen with no other clues. Am I finished? I don t know, she said, her smile widening. Are you? Alan looked around the kitchen, trying to find something unusual, something that might be a clue. He saw the same curtains, same stove, refrigerator, pots and pans, as always in the kitchen. Sighing, he watched the cookie dough. On the counter beside his mother, a sheet of fortune cookies cooled. Alan sat upright and grinned. May I have a cookie, Mom? His mother laughed. Carefully she chose the cookie nearest to the edge of the pan and held it out. I think this is the one you want, she said. Alan broke open the cookie and took out the tiny slip of paper. He unrolled the paper. On it was written the letters c n r t l t o s, r v t e e! Write the following letters in the blanks to find out if Alan passed his challenge to become a member of the Private Eyes. y o p n g a u a i i a e 34
Something to write Write the biography of the person sitting next to you. Find out all you can about him or her by asking questions. Do not forget to make a note of the answers. Here are some ideas for questions you can ask, but you can think of others too: When and where were you born? How many brothers and sisters do you have? Where do you live? How many people are there in your family? Have you ever lived anywhere else? What interesting or exciting things have happened in your life? What do you most enjoy doing? 35
Revision 1. Write down the opposites of the words in bold. a. My uncle is quite funny, but my aunt is very... b. I was bold in Grade 1 but my sister is very... c. Vain boys give me a pain; I prefer them... d. We try never to be rude but always... 2. Change the following sentences into i. Questions ii. Negatives iii. Tags iv. Passive a. My family loves fun and games. b. We spend a lot of time together. c. We enjoy holidays. d. My grandmother bakes biscuits. 3. Fill in to, two or too. a. The... girls are twins. b. The... boys were... dirty... go... the party. c. The horses were... frightened... stop. d. It is... late and... dark... swim now. 4. Draw your own pictures to express three of the comparisons on page 11. For example: As fit as a fiddle 5. Complete the following sentences with your own words: a. A family is... b. A good mom always... c. Grandmothers are women who always... d. I like babies because they... e. On holidays we... 6. Depict any three idioms on page 11 as you see fit. 36
Read What happened to Adam and Eve? Do you remember what God said to Adam and Eve about the tree in the garden? Do you remember what He said would happen if they ate of it? He said: But you must not eat from the tree of knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat of it you will surely die. Did Adam and Eve die that day? Their bodies did not die that day. Adam and Eve lived many years more, but they died in another way. They were separated from God. To be happy, we must live with God. It is terrible to live without God, to be separated from God. That is what happened to Adam and Eve. God used to come to the garden. He would walk with Adam and Eve and talk with them. Right after they ate the fruit that God had told them not to eat, Adam and Eve were afraid of God and they were ashamed. They ran away. They tried to hide. They tried to hide away from God; but nobody can do that! After a while God came to the garden. He called: Adam, where are you? Adam knew he could not hide from God. God sees everything. Adam came out of his hiding place and told God he was afraid. God said: What is this you have done? Then Adam had to tell God what they had done. Oh, he was so ashamed and so afraid! God is holy. God has no sin. Sin makes us unholy and it keeps us away from God. If we are unholy, we cannot live close to God. Adam and Eve knew they had sinned. They had disobeyed God. That is why they were afraid. They knew God is holy and they knew they had to be punished for their sin. God told Adam and Eve that now pain and sickness would come. He told them that after a while their bodies would die. He sent them out of the beautiful garden. They were not fit to live there any more. He told them that now they would have to work hard to keep alive. He did not come again to walk and talk with them, as He used to. Many unpleasant things began on the day Adam and Eve sinned. The worst was that they were separated from God and afraid of Him. Ever since that day, people have been afraid of God. We cannot help being afraid when we remember that God is holy and we are sinful. On that same day God promised Adam and Eve that some day everything would be wonderful again. He promised a Saviour, who would take sin away and bring us back to God, so that we need not be afraid any more. 37