I Wish I Had a Rod UFLI Foundations Lesson 122
Practice Words
Alex held up her brand-new rod and grinned. Three sticks. Two bits of string. One perfect rod. 'Steve!' she yelled. 'Last one in the water is a rotten old fish!'
Steve looked at Alex's rod. Then he looked down at his hands. Empty. 'Hang on,' he said. 'I wish I had a rod too.' Alex shrugged. 'So go make one! Sticks and string are all over the place.' She gave her line a swish into the water. 'I'll wait. But not for long.'
Steve ran to the beach where they kept their crafting stuff. His plan was to grab sticks and string, make a quick rod, and be back before Alex caught a single thing. But the pile was nearly bare. A few bits of stone. Some ore. Not one stick. 'Where did it all vanish to?' Steve said.
Steve stared across the water at a far land dotted with trees. Lots of sticks over there. But that was a longish swim. There had to be something closer than that. 'I am not swimming all that way for one stick,' he said. 'That would be foolish.'
He tried the grass land by the town next. They always got good crafting stuff at this spot. Sticks, string, the lot. But the ground was picked clean. Not one scrap left. Steve's eye twitched. A kid had grabbed it all. A kid with a brand-new rod. How selfish!
Then Steve spotted an old stone bin tucked into the hillside. He leaned in for a look. He did not wish for much. And there, hanging on the wall like it had been waiting for him, was a rod! 'Yes!' Steve grabbed it and punched the air.
He held the rod up to the light. The string was thinnish. The stick was cracked. One good tug and the thing would snap in two. Steve sighed. 'Better than nothing. Just.' He tucked it under his arm and kept looking. Sticks and string had to be out there in the grass.
He looked far and wide. He checked the tall grass. He even shook the flowers, just in case. Nothing. Nothing. And more nothing. Clouds rolled in. Steve was getting peckish. That old rod was starting to look like his one and only hope.
Then he spotted something poking up from a hole in the ground. A second rod! Steve jumped down to grab it. But this one was even worse than the first. Cracked right down the middle, barely holding on. 'Come on!' Steve groaned. Two rods, and not one of them could catch a sluggish fish.
The sun was sinking. Steve trudged home with a broken rod in each hand. Two bits of rubbish. Zero luck. One very long day. Alex was going to laugh her head off.
But when Alex saw the rods, she did not laugh. Her eyes went big and wide. 'Steve. Steve! Give me those!' She snatched them up and rushed to her crafting table, fingers flying. 'This bit is still good. And this bit. Not rubbish at all. It will work just fine!'
Alex spun around holding a brand-new rod, built from the best bits of both old ones. She tossed it to Steve. 'There,' she said. 'Now we're even.' Steve grinned. 'Even? I have been at this all day. I will win.' Alex grabbed her own rod and dashed for the door. 'Biggest fish wins. Ready... go!'
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