I Need A Faster Thing! Jolly Phonics · Step 3, Unit 11: /er/ mixed

Each day, Dad gets on his big green bike. 'Back tonight!' he calls, and he zooms away down the road. Tonight? Tonight?! That is a hundred days away. Girl is on the path and rolls her tiny bike. It is slow. So, so slow. 'Wait for me, Dad,' she says. 'I just need a thing that is faster.'

A scooter! Girl grips the bars and zooms down the road, so fast the wind makes her sight blur. But Girl does not tilt. Not one bit. A blue car hums in her path. Girl leans in and pumps harder, until she is right by its bumper. But the car still pulls away. 'Hmm,' says Girl. 'I need a thing with more power.'

Girl grips the helm of a shiny yellow car. First she checks left and right. Then she clicks her seatbelt. She presses down hard and vroom! But then a big green bus rolls up beside her, and it is huge. It is grand. Girl gasps. 'Yes,' she says. 'Yes, yes, yes!'

Girl sits tall in the seat of the green bus. She honks the horn twice, just because she can. Beep beep! The bus chugs past a big orange dig rig at the side of the road. It sits in the dirt, and its bucket gleams in the sun. Girl hits the brake. 'So long, bus,' she says. 'That looks like way more fun.'

The dig rig is super fun. Girl pulls the sticks, and the rig lurches across the land to the sea. Chunk, chunk, chunk! A man on a jet ski spots her from the waves. 'No way!' he yells. 'Is that a kid in a dig rig?' 'Yes!' Girl yells back. 'It is grand. But it is a bit slow.' The man gazes at the dig rig. Girl gazes at the jet ski. They both grin.

'Deal!' they both yell. Girl leaps onto the jet ski and turns the grip. Zoom! The sea sprays up and swirls around her. No ride is as fast as this! Then she spots a speedboat in her path. It bobs on the waves. 'So long, jet ski,' says Girl with a smirk. 'I must hurry.'

The speedboat smashes across the waves. Splash! Crash! Splash! Each wave hits harder than the last. Girl holds on and cheers into the wind. Then, far away, she sees it. A ship. A huge ship, so big it can sail across the globe. Girl gasps. 'That is where Dad is,' she says. 'He must be there.'

Girl makes it. She really, truly makes it! Dad stands right there on the huge ship. He smiles a big smile. 'At last!' he says, and he lifts Girl up to the big helm. She grips it with both hands and steers, and for one perfect, golden moment, she is boss of all the vast sea.

A scooter, a car, a bus, a dig rig, a jet ski, a speedboat, and one mighty ship. That is seven rides, and one girl who never, ever gives up. So tell me. If you must chase Dad across the globe, which ride would you pick first?