29 ALICE AND THE BIRD

Alice was fast asleep.

A bird saw her.

“Wake up! Wake up! ”sang the bird.

“Wake up, Little Girl! ”it sang.

Alice waked up!

She jumped out of her bed.

She saw the bird in the tree.

Alice went to play with Patty.

She took her doll with her.

Patty said, “I want the doll! ”

Alice said, “No, I want it! ”

“Give up! Give up! ”sang the bird.

Alice looked up into the tree.

There sat the bird!

“Give up! Give up! ”it sang.

“I hear you, Little Bird, ”said Alice.

“I will give up! I will give up!

Patty, you may have the doll.”

Alice went home to dinner.

Her mother was not there.

“Oh, where is mother? ”she said.

“I want my dinner! ”

“Cheer up! Cheer up! ”sang the bird.

Alice looked up into the tree.

There sat the bird!

“Cheer up! Cheer up! ”it sang.

“I will cheer up, ”said Alice.

“I will cheer up and be happy.”

She ran to play with her kitten.

She sang and was happy.

After dinner, Alice went for a ride.

Then her mother put her to bed.

Her black eyes would not shut.

“Shut them up! ”sang the bird.

“Shut them up! Shut them up! ”

“I will shut them up, ”said Alice.

Soon she was fast asleep.

How happy the bird was!

It had helped Alice all the day.

(Emily Rose Burt)

Word list

cheer up: to become happier

doll: a pretend baby

You Practice

A) Answer the following questions.

1) What was the first thing the bird did to help Alice?

2) Why did the bird tell Alice to “give up”the doll to Patty?

3) Why is Alice upset when she gets home?

4) What is the most important idea in this story?

5) What is a good decision that you made recently?

B) Opposites—Find the opposites to these words in the story.

1) go to sleep: _ _ _ _ _ _

2) stood: _ _ _

3) open them: _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

4) awake: _ _ _ _ _ _

5) sad: _ _ _ _ _

C) True or False? Read the following questions carefully, write true or false for each one.

1) _____ Alice and Patty are friends.

2) _____ The bird helped Alice only in the morning.

3) _____ Alice shared her doll with Patty.

4) _____ Alice's mother was there when she got home.

5) _____ The bird made dinner for Alice.